From an injured player to the Wimbledon runner-up, Anisimova reveals that Zheng Qinwen's former physiotherapist is the key contributor.

Despite losing to Swiatek in the Wimbledon final, it cannot be denied that Anisimova is one of the most successful players in women's tennis this new season.

What made the biggest impression about the American girl during this year's Wimbledon was not her tearful speech after losing, but her words after saving five match points and winning in the quarterfinals against Pavlyuchenkova, when she knelt down and exclaimed, "Last year I was still playing in the qualifiers!"

It is precisely because Anisimova made the leap from a qualifier last year to this year's Wimbledon runner-up that her comeback has been dubbed "another tennis prodigy" by the public, highlighting how quickly the American girl has risen into the world’s top ten.

After the match, some people comforted Anisimova, saying she should not worry about losing to Swiatek in the final, because comparing last year's injured Anisimova to this year's powerhouse Amanda shows that she has achieved tremendous success in tennis, and there is no need to focus on temporary losses.

Thus, a new topic arose: how did Anisimova rise from being injured to becoming a Grand Slam runner-up?

Last year, the American girl's best performance in a Grand Slam was reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open, and after that, she had no notable results. Even though she won her first 1000-level title in Doha this year, due to a lack of impressive performances afterward, Anisimova seemed like a fleeting firework, a moment of brilliance.

Observant netizens discovered that Anisimova's remarkable turnaround at Wimbledon began with changes made after April. The training time increased from an initial 50 minutes of pain-free practice to suddenly three hours. This increase in training volume provided Anisimova with limitless potential for her subsequent breakthroughs.

When discussing how her fragile physique underwent a sudden transformation that laid the foundation for her runner-up finish at Wimbledon this year, Anisimova recently revealed the secret in an interview with The Athletic, crediting Zheng Qinwen's former physiotherapist Shadi as the key figure in her transformation.

Before Shadi became Anisimova's physiotherapist, the American girl frequently suffered injuries during matches, which greatly impacted her performance on the court.

However, everything changed after this female physiotherapist left Zheng Qinwen's team and joined Anisimova's team.

According to the American girl, Shadi only did three things for her, and it transformed her completely.

Previously, Anisimova often faced stamina issues in the second set. After Shadi became her physiotherapist, she discovered this was related to Anisimova's habit of consuming a large amount of calorie-rich foods. Thus, Shadi implemented a plant-based diet, recommended more dark vegetables, and included protein-rich foods like fish and chicken to improve her nutrition, effectively eliminating calories that wouldn’t help her stamina.

The second thing was to force Anisimova to drink more water! The American girl rarely drank water before, mainly substituting it with coffee, which severely affected her sleep. Poor rest naturally impacted her training quality.

When Anisimova followed Shadi's advice, she realized she had made a huge mistake by not recognizing this sooner, and she was fortunate that Shadi corrected her in time.

The third thing this female physiotherapist did for Anisimova, considered the most important, significantly reduced her injury frequency, allowing her to completely bid farewell to her injury-prone past and become the "powerhouse" in the eyes of netizens.

Before each training session, Shadi would communicate with the strength coach and trainers about Anisimova's training plan, especially making scientific and reasonable arrangements for the left muscle groups, which were prone to injury, ensuring the intensity and quality of training while minimizing the risk of injury, allowing Anisimova to leave behind her previous injury-prone physique.

It can be said that it was Zheng Qinwen's former physiotherapist's meticulous care for Anisimova's body, as well as providing more reasonable training suggestions during her menstrual cycle, that completely transformed the American girl, allowing her to say goodbye to her previous "injured" self.

Looking back at Anisimova's journey at Wimbledon, she played fiercely in almost every match. Particularly in the semifinal against Sabalenka, Anisimova managed to hold her own in such a strong contest, vividly demonstrating the significant effects of Shadi's work on her physical condition.

"I started working with Shadi this year; she is a physiotherapist and an important member of my team," Anisimova emphasized Shadi's "chief" role when she said this, perfectly illustrating the significance of this physiotherapist to her.

Shadi is also a lovely girl, and in response to Anisimova's praise, she humorously remarked, "I feel a bit like her mom."(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Moon River's Starry Sky)