NEW YORK – The moment she lost the Wimbledon Final in July, and tears flowed into her face, Amanda Anishimova was determined when she spoke to the crowd.
She had just lost 6-0, 6-0 to Iga Swiatek in a devastatingly quick 57 minutes, and Centre Court fans seemed fascinated by her words as she continued to speak.
“I know it wasn’t good enough today, but I’m going to continue working,” Anishimoba said. “And I always believe in myself, so I hope to come back here someday.”
The 24-year-old American hasn’t returned to the massive finals anyway, but she had the opportunity to revenge Swiatek’s losses on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the US Open. Like the All England Club, she took part in the match as a clear underdog, but this time with vocal support from the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Anishimova found a way to pull off the upset for a 6-4, 6-3 victory to advance to her first semi-finals in New York.
When it ended just 53 days after his disappointment at Wimbledon, Anishimoba looked almost expressionless at first. Or maybe she was shocked after winning the third match point. However, after she exchanged a hug in an unstable swiatek, a huge smile appeared on her face, and she nodded with her arms on her head.
“Playing here is something very special and I’ve been running my life here,” Anishimova said in a court moment. “I mean, the first day I got here, I was like, ‘OK, let’s try and get through a round.’ But yeah, this is such a dream and coming back from Wimbledon like that is really special to me.
“I feel like I worked so hard to start over, which means today proved everything to me. I can do that, so yeah. This is really special.”
To bring about the seasonal revival of Anisimova is an understatement. Anishimoba, an exciting junior prospect and 2017 US Open Girls Champion, entered the professional scene in the 17-year-old’s surprising semi-finals at the 2019 French Open. Hype and support quickly followed.
However, her career was derailed by many personal and professional setbacks, including her father’s unexpected death and several injuries. After a difficult start to the 2023 season, Anishimova announced that she would take an indefinite mental health break as tennis became “extremely unbearable” for her.
She spent eight months away from the tour, taking the time to pursue other interests, “resetting” with words. She returned to the beginning of 2024 and reached the fourth round at the Australian Open, but the comeback year had almost complicated results.
But 2025 is completely different. Anishimoba won the biggest title of his career at the 1000th level Qatar Open in February. She arrived at her first Grass Court Final at Queen’s Club in June, followed by a miraculous run at Wimbledon. She then entered the top 10 for the first time since. After her victory over SwiaTek on Wednesday, she is expected to rise to No. 5’s new high.
Anishimoba says that after Anishimoba cried, mopeed and cried after his defeat, the phone call with a friend immediately called her after helping her lose and find humor. She took a little break following Wimbledon and spent time with her younger nephew, surfing on the beach in Montauk, New York, but played the Canadian Open by the end of the month.
She only had two wins in the two tournaments leading up to the US Open, so she never made her way past the third round of the tournament. However, she has arrived at the last major brimming of the year, still with momentum and aggressiveness.
“I think having that experience and experiencing what the final is like, some of the thoughts and certain things that can enter this tournament can be especially good at dealing with stress and tension. “Just the way the final progressed, I think it gave me a better perspective on how I should handle my nerves.”
With his profile and seed height, Anishimova has played every match on show court so far. She dropped only one set – against Jacqueline Christian, who was not seeded in the third round – otherwise he has solid control over every match. She recorded a bagel set against No. 18 seed Beatrice Haddad Maia in the 16th round on Monday. Throughout her first five matches, she has the second most in the tournament with 28 aces, and she won 82% of the service game.
On Tuesday night, while preparing for the quarter-final match from her hotel room, she was forced to rewatch the Wimbledon Finals and did everything she could. It was difficult, but necessary. She was exhausted when she realized she was “slow as hell,” but she already believed she was in a better position this time, as she had experience before.
On Wednesday, “Come to Manda and get this baby!” and “We love you, Amanda” Anishimova broke in the opening game of the match, just like she was at Wimbledon. “When I couldn’t hold that first game, I was, really, right.”got it, Let’s go now“She said with a laugh at the press conference, “It was a bit stressful.”
However, she quickly recovered by breaking Swiatek. And she said, it “certainly put stress on my shoulders.”
After filming the opening set, the first rediscovered the championship form as Swiatek won the first two games on hand from the second set.
However, Anishimova seemed unstoppable, and she tried to fire herself with a positive assertion and continued to pursue all the points – that she later admitted that it wasn’t natural to her. She won six of her next seven games, winning behind her powerful servings, fierce returns and unwavering attitude. She had 23 winners that day and had just 12 unforced errors.
Swiatek said her inconsistent serving day “makes a difference” to the outcome of the match. However, she also said she was not surprised by the level that Anishimova brought.
“I think everyone knows how Amanda can play,” Dorigent’s Sweet told reporters after the game. “Yeah, she didn’t work, but Wimbledon didn’t work, but she’s not going to make the same mistakes or feel the same way all the time.
“No, I know she’s a good player. She can play great tennis, so for me, I was ready for a tough game.”
Anishimoba later called it the “most meaningful victory” she had ever had.
Now, Anishimoba, who has made her third career major semi-final, will next take on four-time major champion Naomiosaka. Anishimoba defeated Osaka twice, but has not faced her since 2022.
On Thursday, just 24 hours after one of the biggest wins of her career, she has the opportunity to reach her second straight SLAM Finals. But no matter what happened, she made her feel proud of what she had already achieved this summer. And it was proven to myself and the world.
“It certainly feels a bit surreal,” she said to the reporter’s packed room. “I mean, I have that belief in myself and I have the confidence to play at the top level. And I can face off against all those in these top three and top ten. I have shown it.
“There’s been really competitive these days and the Grand Slams are really difficult, so I’m really pleased to be able to make it so far for the first time.”
