During her Round of 32 match at the Cincinnati Open on Monday night, American tennis player Amanda Anisimova drew attention from commentators and fans alike for a mysterious beverage she consumed between games. The drink, served in a cup, appeared amber and frothy, leading to widespread speculation about its contents.
Tennis Channel broadcasters Lindsay Davenport and Brett Haber noted the unusual drink midway through the second set. "What is that, Lindsay?" Haber asked, to which Davenport responded, "Could be apple cider, Brett?" Haber then mused, "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." He added that while players are prohibited from consuming alcohol during matches, the beverage could have been non-alcoholic or a type of cider. "It could be anything. We don’t know," he concluded.
The moment quickly gained traction on social media, with many users humorously speculating it was beer or an energy drink like Red Bull. Some fans theorized that Anisimova may have had to pour the beverage into a cup rather than drink it directly from its original container due to tour regulations.
Regardless of the drink's identity, Anisimova went on to win the match against Alexandra Eala with a final score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. She is scheduled to face Linda Nosková in the Round of 16 on Thursday.
Last year, Anisimova reached the finals of both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. She returned to professional tennis after an eight-month sabbatical in 2023 focused on her mental health. For the current hard-court season, the 24-year-old player has reunited with her former coach Hendrik Vleesehouwers. Earlier in the year, she briefly partnered with Sebastian Sachs for the clay and grass court seasons, but saw similar results to the previous year, exiting both Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the Round of 32. At the National Bank Open in Toronto, Anisimova was eliminated in the Round of 16 by Elina Svitolina. Her performance in Cincinnati positions her to potentially advance further in the lead-up to the year's final Grand Slam in New York.