Amanda Anishimova won’t accuse you of doubting her at Wimbledon.
A 23-year-old American who took nearly a year off in 2023 due to burnout in 2023 Alina Sabalenka was astounded as others after beating the world 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in Thursday’s semi-final match. After various American stars hadn’t reached the Grand Slam semifinals since falling as a teenager at the French Open in 2019, the New Jersey native modelled her game.
But now, as the underrated No. 13 seed, she is one of the last competitors standing on the grass filming history.
“The atmosphere today was special. I know she’s number one, but I just want to say a huge ‘thank you’ to everyone because a lot of people were rooting for me,” Anishimoba said after breaking Sabalenka twice in the third set.
Few people hoped this opportunity would be created. Centre Court dated Saturday with the chance to become the first American in London to win in London, to be the first American since Serena Williams in 2016.
Anishimova, who plays in her first grand slam, will earn her fourth consecutive major on the tour if she finishes on a successful show. Jess Pegra won the US Open in September before Madison Keys welcomed Australians this year, before Madison Keys welcomed Australians.
“Alina is a very tough competitor. I was almost dying there,” Anishimova said. “She is an incredible competitor and an inspiration for me and many other players. We’ve had so many tough fights and came to the top today to advance to the finals at Wimbledon.
Anisimova didn’t have the popularity of current highly rated American women on tours such as Gauff, Pegula, Keys and Emma Navarro, but that’s changing. Her name was the trend for X (formerly Twitter) at Wimbledon, following a series of vicious forehand winners in the final set with tournament favorite Sabalenka.
The battle of mental health
Following his first round defeat at Mutua Madrid Open in May 2023, Anisimova used Instagram to announce he was leaving tennis. Anisimova chose to build friendship over on-court deals, trying to avoid and alleviate tennis tensions entirely.
She details her mental health struggle this week after winning the quarterfinal against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and hopes that being published in her revelation will help others endure the same.
“I just feel honest and vulnerable, but in a way I feel vulnerable on topics that may be a bit stigmatized. I think that’s very important. You can struggle with your mental health because other people have different perspectives and perspectives.” “It’s just as important as your physical health. Especially when it comes to pursuing sports and this as a career. If you don’t know the right balance, your lifestyle can be different.”
Her first tournament, following an eight-month layoff, was the New Zealand ASB Classic, a warm-up ahead of the 2024 Australian opening. From there, she worked to be happy on the court leading up to her greatest victory in history over Sabalenka on Thursday.
