Each year, at the start of January, many of them wants to win a Grand Slam. Or even that, to win it title, not in the majors, but good ones.
Amanda Anisimova reached into the final at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2025, but she couldn’t do it. However, she was close, on the hardcourts. At the 2026 Australia Open, she lost against Jessica Pegula at the quarters, yet last year, she began to climb. She played terrific on grass, beating some terrific players, but in the final in London, she froze up. Not winning a game versus Iga Swiatek, 0-6, 0-6. She must have cried, but in a month later, she started to bring higher again, in the final at the US Open, she upset Swiatek in the quarters on the hardcourts, and also she beat Naomi Osaka in the semis. She was so close in the final, but the No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka won 7-6 in the second set. At least Anisimova was almost there. Now her goals is maybe to win a Grand Slam, but when?
“I think we all share, is to win a Grand Slam. I’m doing everything I can in my capacity to try and get there, to try and achieve my goals.
But I’d say it’s obviously a process,” Anisimova said. “You have to really try to tie in all the things together. I feel like I’m really trying to figure out everything I need to do to give myself the best possible chance.
I’m more focused on just the overall process of getting there instead of the outcome. Hopefully one day I can achieve it.”
The 23 Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, started early, winning for the first time at the 1999 US Open, and then she took off, with her amazing forehand and her backhand, her huge return and millions of aces, plus her darn good second serves.
For the most part, Williams was focused, almost all the time.
“I feel like Serena was such an icon and a legend. To be able to try to follow in her footsteps, obviously that’s almost impossible to be able to achieve for the majority of us,” Anisimova said. “But it is the goal. It is that motivation. She’s been an inspiration to each one of us Americans as well as everyone else from other countries. You also have a lot of youngsters coming in like Iva Jovic, who are performing well [she won Dubai]. Their attitude is great. I feel like there’s a really good group of us right now that’s really strong. It’s really exciting.”
A couple years ago, she was struggling, and she stopped for a while. She was slow, and she missed so many balls, losing a lot. Yet eventually, the American became more smarter, and older, too. Her confidence flew up.
“I feel like I’m actually feeling a lot less pressure and stress than when I compare it to Australia. I feel like I was able to reflect and kind of reset my goals, focus more on the process. I feel a lot better now that I have kind of let go of a lot of that stuff. I’ve just redirected things that I’m paying my attention to and putting my energy into.”
After you lose, and you get on the plane, will you breath, and think about some other things, with music, or different sports? Anything to have fun? A lot of people don’t do it, much. She is playing Dubai.
“I’d say the biggest thing is probably being self-aware. I don’t think you’re really able to figure things out or get to the root problem if you don’t kind of sit with yourself and reflect on what’s actually going on. I think it just takes time, kind of figuring out where my problem is stemming from, my emotions and feelings,” she said. “Sometimes I feel like it’s confusing. In the moment it’s really hard.The more time you take, like the easier it is to figure out, reflecting on the last few weeks, what has been kind of going in the wrong way. That’s the thing I do, is try to look back at everything, piece together certain things, see patterns. So it’s something I do personally.”
Ben Shelton takes Dallas over Taylor Fritz
Ben Shelton lost to Jannik Sinner in the quarters at the 2026 Australian Open in three sets, and he nailed the ball, here and there, but the Italian was more consistent. Plus, Sinner cracked it with his gigantic forehand and his backhand. Shelton can be enthusiastic, but he can miss it, short. However, he last week, he won Dallas, beating Taylor Fritz 7-5 in the third. A very tough, match.
“I think my level is better, becoming a lot less limited. This game takes time, and the results don’t always come when you want them,” he said. “I’m getting to the point now where I’m getting stopped up by the toughest challenge. I think my level is better a lot less limited. This game takes time, and the results don’t always come when you want them. It’s just going to take that one time where I do do it to kind of get me over the hump.”
There are a lot of good players now, the men, but not great, yet. Yes, each day, you can play amazing, but other times, you can play mediocre, you just have to fight, and change it up. No one, with the exception for Andy Roddick, who won the 2003 US Open title, and then, that was it for the Americans in the Slams, to grad, it. Can somewhat do it in 2026? At least Fritz reached into the 2024 US Open, yet he lost against — guess who? — Sinner .
The No. 9 Shelton is pushing himself, now.
“It’s always been that way for me. Certainly not discouraged from a performance like this, but I want to see myself get out in front and see what I can do from there in a match rather than falling behind just because I know how I feel when I get out in front at Slams. I’m untouchable. I guarantee the other guys at the top feel the exact same.
It’s a matter of time and work just trying to put all the pieces together, because I’m not complete yet, but I feel myself becoming more complete.”