American Amanda Anisimova shocked the Belarusian to reach her first Grand Slam final on Thursday, ending world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka’s hopes of winning Wimbledon. The No. 13 seed won 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the women’s singles semifinal on the Center Court, becoming the first player born in the twenty-first century to advance to the Wimbledon final.
Since Serena Williams ten years ago, Sabalenka wanted to become the first female to advance to four straight Grand Slam finals. After missing Wimbledon last year because of a shoulder injury, she won her third major in September 2024 at the US Open before losing to Madison Keys in Melbourne and Coco Gauff in Paris.
After the other five seeds were eliminated by the tournament’s second day, the two-time Australian Open champion was the clear favorite in London. However, on Thursday, when she was only two victories away from winning Wimbledon for the first time, she was defeated by the cool-headed Anisimova, who stole the show with her precise groundstrokes, especially on the backhand side.
This year, Sabalenka has experienced heartbreak twice in the major finals.
“This doesn’t feel real, I was absolutely dying out there,” she stated.
“I’m not sure how I managed to pull it off. It is truly remarkable to win today and go to the Wimbledon final.
This year, Sabalenka has lost heartbreakingly in two major finals: once in Australia to Madison Keys and again in Paris to Coco Gauff. She has participated in the last three Grand Slam finals, but this time she won’t even be in the main event on Saturday. The winner of Thursday’s second semifinal between former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic and five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek will play Anisimova.
Sabalenka had the opportunity to establish some dominance with an early break of serve in the third set, but Anisimova took the next four games to take a commanding lead after a clumsy service game.
There was a flashback of her nerves when Sabalenka grabbed three break points while Anisimova served to end the match. She had held two match points at 5-4 in her quarterfinal match before being forced into a tie-break.
However, Anisimova persevered and recovered to win the match at the third chance thanks to her tenacity and resolve. Sabalenka continues to work toward her goal of making it to her first Wimbledon final and major outside of the hard courts.
