American Amanda Anisimova achieved a remarkable victory by defeating Aryna Sabalenka, the world’s top-ranked women’s player, in a three-set battle during the Wimbledon semifinals on Thursday. Anisimova secured her spot in the final with scores of 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 and will face the winner of the match between Iga Swiatek and Belinda Bencic, set for Saturday.
As the 13th seed, Anisimova has reached a Grand Slam final for the first time in her career. Her previous best performance at a major tournament was reaching the semifinals at the French Open in 2019. After the match, Anisimova expressed her disbelief, stating, “This doesn’t feel real right now, honestly. Aryna is such a tough competitor, and I was absolutely dying out there. I don’t know how I pulled it out.”
Anisimova’s path to the final marks a significant turnaround from last year’s Wimbledon, where she did not advance past the qualifying rounds. In 2022, her best result at the All-England Club was reaching the quarterfinals. Following a solid year in 2024, where she ended ranked 36th in women’s tennis, Anisimova has had her best season yet professionally, including winning her first WTA 1000 title earlier this year. By July, she climbed to her career-high ranking of 12th.
Sabalenka’s defeat continues a pattern for her at Wimbledon, as this is the third time in five years she has fallen short in the semifinals. Previously, she lost in the same round in 2021 and 2023. Although she has already won the Australian Open and U.S. Open titles last year, this latest loss eliminates her from reaching a Grand Slam final yet again in 2025.
Should Anisimova claim victory on Saturday, she would become the third American woman to win a Grand Slam this year, joining Madison Keys, who won the Australian Open, and Coco Gauff, champion of the French Open. At just 23, Anisimova would also be the youngest American woman to reach the Wimbledon final since Serena Williams in 2004.
This narrative of triumph for Anisimova highlights not only her personal hard work and resilience but also represents a blossoming year for American women in tennis.