Amanda Anisimova unleashed three of her impressive 20 aces during a thrilling tiebreaker, overcoming Sofia Kenin with a score of 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (3) to advance to the third round of Wimbledon on Thursday, with none other than Kate, the Princess of Wales, gracing the All England Club with her presence.
Last year, after a tough match against Iga Swiatek, Kate offered comfort to Anisimova, who found herself trailing 3-1 in the decisive third set before battling back to break her fellow American in the sixth game.
“There were moments that felt truly challenging. I can’t express how thrilled I am to move on to the next round,” Anisimova shared from No. 2 Court.
“I never imagined I’d be grateful for my serve today,” she remarked. “Serving isn’t my forte, but it feels great to finally say I did a good job.”
The sixth-seeded Anisimova showed her intense emotions by hitting her racket against her leg during the tense deciding set.
“When I found myself down 3-1, I had to remind myself to keep fighting. This could be my last opportunity at Wimbledon… just enjoy it,” Anisimova advised, looking ahead to her matchup against the 26th-seeded Madison Keys. “I constantly try to remind myself to have fun; after all, it’s Wimbledon. I can be hard on myself at times.”
In another exciting development, Swiatek, who previously dominated Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in the 2025 final, took just 70 minutes to dispatch 2021 Wimbledon finalist Karolina Pliskova with a score of 6-1, 6-3.
The reigning champion is set to face the promising Filipino talent Alexandra Eala, who impressively rallied to defeat Maya Joint 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 in the third round. Notably, Joint had previously interrupted Serena Williams’ singles comeback on Tuesday.
