Wimbledon, England – Amanda Anishimova collapsed to the ground on her lap. Her body fell, her face was directly above the grass of the No. 1 courthouse. She stayed there for a while before she stood up and wiped away any tears and sweat – either would have been appropriate – when she smiled.
It was a six year and mental health break as she advanced to her first, last major final, but after a 6-1, 7-6 (9) victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Tuesday, she did it again.
The 23-year-old American couldn’t hide his enthusiasm after a few hours when talking to reporters.
“I feel like everything is clicking for me. I feel more and more confident in each tournament I’ve played this year,” said No. 13 seed Anishimova. “So I feel like I’m quite confident. Plus, I just enjoy the moment.”
Her victory was in stark contrast to her opponent’s victory in the semi-finals on Thursday.
Shortly before Anishimova concluded her place, Alina Sabalenka came back to defeat Laura Sigemundo at Center Court 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in just three hours. The tournament’s top seed, 27-year-old Sabalenka, has reached the fourth consecutive major semi-final, reaching the rounds in 10 of the past 11 Grand Slam tournaments. She has an astounding 12-1 career record in the quarterfinals. This is the second best mark among women in the open age behind Chris Ebert alone.
On paper, the match between Anishimova and Sabalenka may look like a David vs. Goliath event, but in reality it can be a clash between two well-matched enemies and a blockbuster opponent.
Below is everything you need to enter the semi-finals, and what to expect from both players.
A familiar enemy
Certainly, Sabalenka has three major titles, number one in the world since October, but in reality it is Anisimova that leads the series. (We told them not to be fooled by their resumes, right?) In eight career meetings, Anisimova won five times, including the first two major encounters.
Since the start of the 2024 season and Anishimoba’s comeback, Sabalenka has won two of his three matches. Three of their true shows went to the decision set, and Sabalenka and Anishimoba used the word “tough” when describing what it’s like to face each other.
Sabalenka predicted it was “very aggressive tennis” and called the previous match a “fight.”
Anishimoba appears to agree, and was once again excited by the opportunity, one of the biggest stages of the sport.
“I know she plays some great tennis,” Anishimova added at a press conference Tuesday. “I mean, there’s no one else I can play except her. I’m really looking forward to this experience. I mean, I’m going to play No. 1 in the Wimbledon semi-finals, so it’s going to be something really special.”
Their final meeting
In a showdown in Paris last month, Sabalenka took part in the match as a favorite, but Anisimova reminded me why she arrived at Roland Garros Semis as a teenager, and how good she is for clay.
Sabalenka opened the 16 outing round with her jumping to a 4-1 lead and appearing to cruise towards victory. However, Anishimoba refused to retreat. She became increasingly aggressive, and even leveled up her five. However, Sabalenka relied heavily on a strong serve that notched three aces in one game late in the set, earning 11 overall and earning an opener in 50 minutes.
Anisimova made Sabalenka’s power comparable to most of the match, but it lacked the (improved) diversity and versatility of Sabalenka. Anisimova saved six match points on serves, but Sabalenka ended up winning 7-5, 6-3. Sabalenka later told reporters in Paris that she knew she had to “change the rhythm towards her” to be successful, explaining that this was a key component of her strategy.
However, grass is another surface, and the two have never played against each other. Sabalenka believes it can present another challenge.
“I’m sure this surface will fit her game very well,” Sabalenka said Tuesday. “So she’s been doing very well so far. She serves well. She’s hitting very pretty and heavy shots.”
The quest for Sabalenka’s main title No. 4
On tours over the past few seasons, no one has been as consistent on the tour as Sabalenka. In addition to her record in Slams, she also has a few months of holds in the world’s top rankings (currently she has a 4,751 points lead in live rankings with a chance to further promote it even further by the end of the tournament) and since its inception in 2024, Sabalenka has reached the final in three major major capital letters of the past.
“(She) is number one in the world for a reason,” said Emma Radukanu after Sabalenka defeated her in the third round.
However, while Sabalenka won US Open in September, she lost the trophy at the Australian Open (where she was a two-time defending champion) and the French Open. Following a devastating three-set loss to Paris’ Coco Gough, Sabalenka said he learned from experience and referred to it in a match against Siegemund on Tuesday.
“To be honest, I think if we didn’t learn that lesson at the French Open, we could have lost this match,” Sabalenka said. “After a while, ‘Now, it’s Wimbledon’s quarter-final, you can’t give up. You can’t take over your emotions and lose another match.”
“I was reminding me that it was my dream, why I gave up so easily, and I had to keep fighting. Basically, that’s it. I was willing to push myself, push myself and get points to get those tough points.”
Wimbledon is the only major that Sabalenka has yet to reach the finals, and it’s clear that that means a lot for her, especially after her set-off in Melbourne and Paris.
The rise of Anishimoba has returned to its peak
Anishimova’s career was filled with the highest and lowest prices in the early days of the tour. After an incredible junior career, winning the 2017 Girls’ title at US Open, Anisimova won her first WTA title and reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros in 2019 as a 17-year-old, but withdrew from the US after the death of her father, who was a longtime coach.
There have been other successes, such as the 2022 Wimbledon Quarter Final and the 250-level title in Melbourne that same year, but in May 2023 he called tennis “extremely unbearable” and announced an indefinite break from the sport.
“I’ve been really struggling with mental health and burnout since the summer of 2022,” Anishimoba, who has since been ranked 46th, wrote on social media. “…At this point, my priority is my mental well-being and taking a break for a while. I’ve been working as hard as I can to push it through.”
A few months later, after a trip with friends, focusing on other interests, Anishimoba returned. She reached the fourth round at the Australian Open in her second tournament, losing to Sabalenka. Her rankings plummeted outside the top 400 during her absence, so she played somewhat modestly before the first few months and even had to play in Wimbledon qualifying. She failed to tie the main after losing in the third round of qualifying.
However, this season, Anishimova has rediscovered or replaced her previous form. She won the biggest title of her career at the 1000-level Qatar Open in February, reaching her first grass final at Queen’s Club last month. She called the comeback a “slight roller coaster” on Tuesday, but she believed in her break and everything she went through to take her to where she is now.
“I think it really helped me,” Anishimova said. “It came out of that break and it wasn’t all upside down, and I definitely had some ups and downs, I was just getting used to my lifestyle and becoming an athlete at this level, not easy.
“I definitely had to come back and really work on the fitness side and definitely take part in my time training. Yeah, it was a journey. Since last summer, it really feels like it’s really on the rise for me. Finally I found my game and confidence.”
After the quarterfinals, Anishimoba will make his top 10 debut next week. She will likely go up to No. 7 as she defeats Sabalenka and advances to the first slam final.
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Emotion Anisimova defeats Pavlyuchenkova to reach Wimbledon semifinals
Amanda Anishimova gets emotional after reaching Wimbledon’s semi-finals for the second time after a fierce battle straight set victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Who could be waiting for the final?
No on the second day of Wednesday’s quarter-final action. Eight-seeded and five-time major champion Iga Swiatek defeated 19th-placed Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 7-5, while the resurrection and unseeded Belindavensik defeated No. 7 seed Mirra Andreeva 7-6(3) 7-6(2).
Sabalenka and Swiatek have won two of the best on the Tour in recent years and met in many memorable finals, but have never played in the major finals. During the French Open, Sabalenka defeated three-time champion Swiatek in the semifinals 7-6 (1), 4-6 and 6-0. The much-anticipated slam final between the two – in the perhaps most unlikely tournament – is compelling.
Of course, the Anisimova-Bencic Final – a showdown between two recently returned players looking for their first major title – is appealing. Or, in that respect, it could be any combination of finalists.
What’s certain is that there will be a new first Wimbledon champion on Saturday.
