I’ll maybe have what she’s having.
Amanda Anisimova took sips from a curious beverage during her Round of 32 match at the Cincinnati Open against recent DC Open winner Alexandra Eala on Monday night, leaving Tennis Channel broadcasters completely puzzled.
Why?
The mystery drink looked like a beer.
Broadcasters Lindsay Davenport and Brett Haber noticed the drink midway through the second set during a changeover, with the latter saying instantly, “What is that, Lindsay?”
“Could be apple cider, Brett?” she responded.
“I mean I would never suggest that a player was drinking a beer in the middle of a match but that’s certainly what it looked like,” Haber said, as players are prohibited from drinking alcohol during a match.
“I’ve never seen that,” Davenport added.
Haber concluded: “It could be non-alcoholic. It could be cider. It could be anything. We don’t know.”
The moment caught fire on social media and many fans loved the idea of the world No. 10 women’s singles player possibly breaking the rules.
“Amanda Anisimova just casually slugs Miller Lite, hits 74 unforced errors, and easily defeats Alexandra Eala. This is what American tennis is ALL about!” one X user wrote.
Other fans guessed it was Red Bull or something similar, and with that, they speculated the ATP and WTA regulate the commercialized businesses on tour. Thus, Anisimova had to pour the drink in a cup rather than drink it out of the can.
Whatever it was, the beverage seemingly powered Anisimova to win the last two sets to take the match 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 and she will face Linda Nosková in the Round of 16 on Thursday.
Anisimova reached the finals of both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year but came up short in a thrilling return to tennis after the American star took an eight-month sabbatical in 2023 to focus on her mental health.
For the hard-court season, the 24-year-old reunited with her former coach Hendrik Vleesehouwers after a three-month split.
The two went their separate ways after the Sunshine Double (Indian Wells and the Miami Open) this year, which came as a surprise given she had played her best with the Dutch coach.
She partnered with Sebastian Sachs briefly for Roland Garros and Wimbledon, but didn’t see any better results than in 2025. She exited in the Round of 32 in both slams.
At the National Bank Open in Toronto, Anisimova bowed out in the Round of 16 to Elina Svitolina.
On Thursday, she will aim to push further ahead of the year’s final Grand Slam in New York.
