Amanda Anisimova got quite the birthday surprise.
Fellow tennis stars Mirra Andreeva and Daria Kasatkina decorated the world No. 10’s U.S. Open locker with several viral photos of Anisimova that turned into memes online across the tennis space.
“HBD Meme Queen,” the two wrote as a sign on Monday for Anisimova’s 25th birthday.
The American tennis star posted a video of the photos on her Instagram story, along with various other birthday shoutouts from friends prior to her opening match at the hard court slam.
“Dead,” she wrote in the post as her reaction.
Anisimova is often animated throughout her matches, especially in heated moments.
It was seemingly easy for Andreeva and Kasatkina to put together the collage that featured various clips of Anisimova bending over on the court, putting her hands in the air to question a moment or call, and looking up at the sky in frustration.
Several of the photos were from Anisimova’s Round of 32 match at the Cincinnati Open against Alexandra Eala where she was spotted drinking a mystery beverage in a clear plastic cup that baffled the Tennis Channel announcers.
Fans thought it looked like a beer, but it was later confirmed to be a Red Bull.
It was speculated the ATP and WTA regulate the commercialized businesses on tour. Thus, Anisimova was required to pour the drink in a cup rather than drink it out of the can.
During media availability ahead of the U.S. Open, a reporter asked Anisimova about the memes and fan edits to her reactions on the court.
She couldn’t help but smile and laugh before admitting she “can’t help it.”
“I definitely see them. They’re very entertaining and very funny,” Anisimova said. “I didn’t always think that, because I’ve definitely always been very expressive, and an emotional player and make all kinds of faces that I didn’t even know my face could possibly make.
“When I was 17 and I played at the French Open in the semis, I was going through the whole range of emotions and I was making all kinds of faces. The next morning I woke up and I saw the pictures, I was mortified. I told myself ‘Oh my God. This is awful. I can never make these faces again. I’m never gonna do it again.’ But here we are today. I can’t help it. It’s who I am. Now I’m able to find them entertaining and hilarious. But at the time when I was a teenager I really thought that was quite awful.”
Anisimova, who was in the U.S. Open final a year ago against Aryna Sabalenka, is set for her first match on Monday against fellow American Ashlyn Krueger.
She had early exits at Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year and made it to the quarterfinals in Australia.
Anisimova will hope to have a back-to-back finals appearance in Queens.
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