Amanda Anisimova Explains Why the U.S. Open Crowd Is Like Nothing Else in Tennis

The top-ranked star sat down with Sports Illustrated ahead of the action at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Though she moved to Miami when she was young, Anisimova was born in New Jersey, adding a hometown element to the Open. / Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

The U.S. Open has returned to New York City for another year, and the atmosphere is no doubt already as electric as one would expect.

But in addition to the exciting location, it's also the crowds that make this tournament stand out from the rest—at least according to No. 9 Amanda Anisimova, who will compete in the Open's women's singles draw, beginning Aug. 24.

Ahead of her appearance and in conjunction with her partnership with Vita Coco, Anisimova sat down with Sports Illustrated last week, when she outlined what makes sets the atmosphere in Queens apart from others on the schedule.

“I would say it's different from any other tournament because of how rowdy it gets," she said. "And personally, I love that kind of atmosphere, and I feel like it brings a lot of energy to the matches.

“For me, when I start to get tired or I have a very long match, I feel like I draw a lot of energy from the crowd. I feel like it's such a special atmosphere to play in and on top of that, the crowd makes it very fun, even though we're the ones playing. I try to have fun during my matches, so it's always really enjoyable."

That's just that Empire State of Mind.

After competing in the revamped mixed doubles tournament with Holger Rune of Denmark, Anisimova will next appear in the first round of women's singles, where she'll open with a match against Kimberly Birrell of Australia on Tuesday, Aug. 26.

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