Amanda Anisimova’s season has not stalled—it has slipped out of rhythm. Madrid was supposed to be the moment she re-entered the conversation on clay. Instead, a wrist injury keeps her out, extending a stop-start campaign that has yet to find sustained traction.
Ekaterina Alexandrova’s withdrawal adds to the list, but this is Anisimova’s story first. The American is not just missing tournaments—she is struggling to build continuity in a season that has lurched between promise and interruption.
There have been flashes. There have also been sharp regressions.
Anisimova’s recent form – last 11 matches (rallyher.com)
- Loss vs Belinda Bencic – 2-6, 2-6 (Miami R16)
- Win vs Yuliia Starodubtseva – 6-4, 6-2 (Miami R32)
- Win vs Ajla Tomljanovic – 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 (Miami R64)
- Loss vs Victoria Mboko – 4-6, 1-6 (Indian Wells R16)
- Win vs Emma Raducanu – 6-1, 6-1 (Indian Wells R32)
- Win vs Anna Blinkova – 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 (Indian Wells R64)
- Loss vs Jessica Pegula – 6-1, 4-6, 3-6 (Dubai SF)
- Win vs Mirra Andreeva – 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(4) (Dubai QF)
- Win vs Janice Tjen – 6-1, 6-3 (Dubai R16)
- Walkover vs Barbora Krejcikova – (Dubai R32)
- Retired vs Karolina Pliskova – 5-7, 7-6(3), 4-1 RET. (Doha R32)
The sequence tells its own story. Anisimova is still capable of high-level wins—her comeback against Andreeva and dominant display against Raducanu underline that—but those moments are not linking together.
Instead, the pattern is fragmented: strong wins, followed by heavy defeats. Against top opposition, particularly Bencic and Mboko, the gap has been stark. In Miami, she won just 52.6% of first-serve points and 43.8% on second serve in that loss—numbers that leave little margin at this level.
Even deeper in the data, there are inconsistencies. Double fault rates spike in certain matches, second-serve points dip sharply, and pressure moments—break points saved—remain uneven.
That lack of stability is the real issue. Not level, but repeatability.
From breakthrough to imbalance
The contrast with 2025 remains striking. Then, Anisimova’s game was built on clarity—early ball-striking, controlled aggression, and the ability to hold that level across matches.
Now, the structure feels looser. The coaching split earlier this season hinted at a reset, but without consistent match play, those adjustments have little chance to settle. Since Miami, her absence has only reinforced that sense of drift.
Madrid, intended as a re-entry point, instead becomes another missed opportunity.
Update note: Magdalena Frech took Amanda Anisimova’s spot in the 2026 main draw.
Alexandrova adds to growing absence list
Alexandrova’s withdrawal comes with less scrutiny but reflects a similar lack of footing. A lower back issue disrupted her early season, and her return in Linz and Stuttgart yielded just one win.
Her game—reliant on precision off both wings—has lacked its usual edge. When that timing slips, matches quickly follow, and without consistent play, it has been difficult to correct.
With Rome and Roland Garros ahead, her decision leans toward preservation rather than risk.
A clay swing without momentum
For both players, the clay season begins without a base layer. No sustained run, no clear trajectory—just intermittent signals of what might still be there.
For Anisimova in particular, the task is becoming simpler, and harder: play matches, build rhythm, and reconnect the pieces of a game that still exists in flashes.
Until that happens, each withdrawal feels less like a pause—and more like a continuation.