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Former American tennis stars John Isner and Tennys Sandgren threw a reporter’s line of questioning at Amanda Anisimova on Thursday while she was at the Australian Open.
Anisimova was pressured by a journalist to share her thoughts about the United States and playing under the American flag. She didn’t bait the reporter, and he clarified what he meant in a follow-up question.
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John Isner of the United States serves against Michael Mmoh of the United States during day four of the 2023 US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 31, 2023. (Jerry Lai/USA TODAY Sports)
“In the context of the last year of everything that’s happened in the United States, does that complicate that feeling at all?” asked the reporter.
“I don’t think that’s relevant,” she shot back.
Isner was among those who ripped the question on social media.
“Popular opinion: Let’s ask tennis questions to the players at a tennis tournament. This is so lame,” Isner wrote on X.
Sandgren didn’t mince words either.
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Tennys Sandgren of the United States reacts against James Duckworth of Australia (not pictured) during the Citi Open at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center on August 3, 2021. (Scott Taetsch/USA TODAY Sports)
“Bug reporter,” he added. “Write to The Economist if you’ve got the chops. If not ask her how her backhand was and move on.”
Anisimova’s response was a stark contrast from what Coco Gauff said during the tournament earlier this week.
Gauff was asked about her thoughts on the “state of America” a year into President Donald Trump’s second term.
“I hope going forward that we can have a lot more peace in our country and more kindness in the way we talk to each other about different topics and things like that,” she said via The Tennis Letter. “Obviously, I’ve been pretty vocal about how I felt. At this point, I feel kind of tired of talking about it, just because it’s hard to also be a black woman in this country and have to experience things, even online, and see marginalized communities being affected. And knowing that I can only donate and speak up. I’m trying my best to do that.
Amanda Anisimova of the United States in action against Simona Waltert of Switzerland during the first round on Day 2 of the 2026 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 19, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Robert Prange/Getty Images)
“But, yeah, I’m hoping that as time goes on that we can reach a state that we’re not in right now, and we keep moving forward. I posted the video of Martin Luther King, and it was kind of like saying, ‘We’ve got to keep moving forward,’ even though things may not be as calm as I’d like them to be right now.”
