LONDON — Just over two years ago, Amanda Anisimova stepped away from tennis, overwhelmed by burnout. Fast forward a year, and she faced a tough road back, fighting through qualifying rounds at Wimbledon due to her ranking of 189th, which kept her out of the main draw.
But look at her now: Anisimova has ascended to Grand Slam finalist status after toppling the world No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka, with a thrilling 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory on the vibrant Centre Court this Thursday.
In Saturday’s championship showdown, Anisimova will go head-to-head with Iga Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam champion who cruised into her first Wimbledon final with a dominant 6-2, 6-0 win over Belinda Bencic.
Swiatek’s performance was nothing short of masterful, as she kept Bencic at bay throughout their less-than-thrilling semifinal, concluding the match in just 71 minutes with serves reaching up to 119 mph and a staggering 26 winners to just 23 unforced errors.
Clearly, she’s proving her prowess on grass courts, thank you very much.
“Tennis constantly surprises me. Even though I’m young, I thought I had seen it all on the court, but I had never experienced the joys of playing well on grass until now,” Swiatek expressed.
With a flawless record of 5-0 in major finals—4-0 at the French Open’s clay and 1-0 on the hard courts of the U.S. Open—this marks her first significant breakthrough at Wimbledon, where she previously hadn’t advanced past the quarterfinals. After relinquishing her top ranking to Sabalenka last October, Swiatek, now seeded No. 8, is eager to reclaim her place.
Saturday’s victor will be the eighth consecutive woman to achieve first-time Wimbledon championship glory.
Thirteenth-seeded Anisimova, who hails from New Jersey and grew up in Florida, is making her mark, returning to the semifinals at a major for the second time after a quarterfinal exit at the 2019 French Open at 17.
“It doesn’t quite feel real just yet,” Anisimova shared, asserting her triumph after sealing the contest with a stunning forehand winner on her fourth match point. “I was totally spent out there. I have no idea how I pulled through.”
After taking a break in May 2023, Anisimova shared her struggles with mental health, which had persisted for nearly a year.
Now at 23, she’s showcasing her best form yet, with her crisp groundstrokes—especially her backhand—powerful and precise. Regardless of the outcome in the final, she’s guaranteed to break into the WTA’s top 10 rankings for the very first time next week.
“If you had told me I’d be in a Wimbledon final, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Anisimova chuckled. “At least not this soon. The turnaround has been incredible, and to find myself in this position is beyond description.”
On the other hand, Sabalenka, who is now 0-3 in semifinals at the All England Club, falls short of becoming the first woman to reach four consecutive Grand Slam finals since Serena Williams achieved the feat a decade ago.
After an injury kept her from Wimbledon last year, Sabalenka snatched the U.S. Open title last September, marking her third Grand Slam win.
She was the runner-up to Madison Keys at the Australian Open and to Coco Gauff at the French Open, where her post-match remarks led to some backlash, prompting her to apologize both privately and publicly. However, the two players patched things up prior to play at Wimbledon, sharing moments of fun and camaraderie online.
During her post-match news conference, Sabalenka succinctly stated, “She was the better player,” with a chuckle.
“Losing is rough, you know?” she confessed when asked about her emotions. “It’s a moment when you feel like… you don’t even want to exist anymore.”
Anisimova, now the youngest American woman to contest a Wimbledon final since a 22-year-old Williams in 2004, improved her head-to-head record against Sabalenka to 6-3, showcasing remarkable resilience against the 27-year-old Belarusian as both athletes exchanged powerful hits and vocal expressions throughout the match.
Both players fired impressive serves—Sabalenka clocking in at 120 mph, Anisimova reaching 112 mph—and strove to conclude rallies swiftly, demonstrating first-strike aggressiveness.
Each rally averaged just three strokes, with 167 of 214 total points lasting fewer than five shots, and only seven extending to nine or more.
Probably a good thing, too, given the sweltering conditions.
The temperature hit a sweltering 31 degrees C during the first set, causing delays as some fans in the unshaded lower level began to feel ill. Sabalenka kindly distributed water bottles and an ice pack she was using for cooling, while Anisimova draped her neck with an ice-filled towel while resting on the sidelines.
A defining factor in the match was Anisimova’s ability to save 11 of the 14 break points she faced.
A particularly intense moment came in the second set when Sabalenka expressed her frustration after Anisimova made noise during a rally. After leveling the score at 3-all, Sabalenka let out another shout.
Sabalenka, who ended the first set with a double fault, managed to equalize by clinching the second set with a powerful 114 mph service winner.
She then broke serve to start the third set, which could have rattled Anisimova.
But she remained unfazed, forging ahead with a four-game streak to establish a 4-1 lead, extending it to 5-2. Tension mounted when Anisimova let her first match point slip away at 5-3, allowing Sabalenka to break back at 5-4.
Yet Anisimova held her ground, breaking back to secure her hard-fought win, covering her mouth in disbelief as she celebrated.
