Amanda Anisimova won’t fault you for doubting her at Wimbledon.
The 23-year-old American who took nearly a year off tour in 2023 due to burnout was surprised as any after beating World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in Thursday’s semifinals match. The New Jersey native who grew up in Florida modeling her game after various American stars hadn’t reached a Grand Slam semifinal since falling at the 2019 French Open as a teenager.
But now, as the underrated No. 13 seed, she’s one of the last competitors standing on grass with a shot at history.
“The atmosphere was special today. I know she’s No. 1 but so many were cheering for me so I just want to say a huge ‘thank you’ to everyone,” Anisimova said after breaking Sabalenka twice in the third set.
Few expected this opportunity to arise, a Centre Court date on Saturday with a chance to become the first American to win in London — on the men’s or women’s side — since Serena Williams in 2016.
Anisimova, who’s playing for her first Grand Slam, would be the fourth consecutive American win a major on tour if she finishes with a successful showing. Jess Pegula won the U.S. Open in September prior to Madison Keys taking the Australian this year and, of couse, Coco Gauff’s memorable triumph over Sabalenka in Paris.
“Aryna is such a tough competitor. I was dying out there,” Anisimova said. “She’s such an incredible competitor, such an inspiration to me and so many other players. We had so many tough battles and to come out on top today to get into the final at Wimbledon is incredibly special.”
Anisimova’s never had the popularity of current, higher-rated American women on tour like Gauff, Pegula, Keys and Emma Navarro, but that’s changing. Her name was trending on X (formerly Twitter) at Wimbledon following a series of vicious forehand winners in the final set against Sabalenka, the tournament favorite.
Mental health battle
Following a first-round loss in the Mutua Madrid Open in May 2023, Anisimova used Instagram to announce to announce she was stepping away from tennis, saying that being a professional athlete “can get lonely at times” after starting the year with a 3-8 record. Anisimova chose building friendships over on-court dealings and tried to alleviate the strain of tennis by avoiding it altogether.
She detailed her mental health struggles this week following her quarterfinal win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and hopes that going public with her revelations could help others enduring the same.
“I feel like just me being honest and vulnerable about a topic that might be a bit stigmatized in a way, I think that was super important, and for other people to have a different outlook or perspective on, you can struggle with your mental health,” Anisimova told ESPN’s Chris Evert on set. “It’s just as important as your physical health. Especially when it comes to sports and pursuing this as a career. The lifestyle can be different if you don’t find that right balance.”
Her first tournament back following an eight-month layoff was the ASB Classic in New Zealand, a warmup ahead of the 2024 Australian Open. From there, she worked on being happier on the court leading up to Thursday’s all-time win over Sabalenka, her sixth career victory in nine tries over the top-rated Belarusian.
