Anisimova Upsets Sabalenka To Reach Wimbledon Final
Just over two years ago, Amanda Anisimova stepped away from the game she loved. In May of 2023, citing burnout and with regard to her mental health, the New Jersey-born Anisimova took an indefinite break from tennis, not playing competitively for the final eight months of that year.
That seems a distant memory now. She returned to the tour in early 2024, and on Thursday, the 23-year-old Anisimova reached the first major final of her career, defeating world number one Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
“This doesn’t feel real right now,” Anisimova said in her post-match, on-court interview. “If you told me I’d be in the final of Wimbledon, I wouldn’t believe you. To be in the final is indescribable.”
After winning the first set, Anisimova seemed to lose her grip on the momentum as Sabalenka won the second set, and proceeded to break Anisimova in the opening game of the deciding set.
But Anisimova dug in, breaking back right away as she proceeded to win the next four games to take a commanding 4-1 advantage. A few games later, Anisimova tried to serve out the match up 5-3, but Sabalenka would not go away quietly, breaking back to move within 4-5.
Anisimova won the first three points of the game to set up three more match points. Sabalenka saved two of them, but at 30-40, Anisimova ripped a cross court forehand winner to seal the victory, and book her place in the Wimbledon final.
“I was dying out there. Aryna is such an incredibly tough competitor, such an inspiration to me and so many other players,” Anisimova added. “We’ve had so many tough battles and to come out on top, to get into the final at Wimbledon was incredibly special.”
Anisimova will face five-time major champion Iga Swiatek, who is in search of her first Wimbledon title. Swiatek defeated Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-0 in her semifinal match on Thursday.
