Anisimova Reaches First Grand Slam Final At Wimbledon

Amanda Anisimova
Amanda Anisimova (photo: Jürgen Hasenkopf)

WIMBLEDON/WASHINGTON, July 10, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

As the roar of the Centre Court crowd welcomed each of the four players competing in the Wimbledon Championships women’s singles semifinals Thursday afternoon, one couldn’t help think that in just a little more than 48 hours, one of them will become a first time Wimbledon champion, lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish that is presented to the winner of the grass-court major.

Anything can happen in tennis and each of these women – battling for their first Wimbledon final and in the prime of their respective careers – know how victory and adversity can stand side by side and decide their own fate.

Each semifinal – World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka versus No. 13 seed Amanda Anisimova followed by No. 8 seed Iga Swiatek versus unseeded Belinda Bencic – featured a major champion against an opponent looking to win their first.

In the first semifinal between the top-seeded Sabalenka from Belarus and American No. 5 Anisimova, the 23-year-old who was born in New Jersey and grew up in Florida continued her resurgent season by reaching her first major final. Anisimova defeated Sabalenka, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 37 minutes on Centre Court with the roof open on a sweltering summer afternoon to become the first American finalist at Wimbledon since Serena Williams in 2019.

Anisimova will face five-time major champion Swiatek in Saturday’s championship match after the Polish star eliminated Bencic, 6-2, 6-0, in an hour and 12 minutes. It will be their first meeting on the WTA Tour after meeting once, in 2016, in juniors won by Swiatek.

After losing in qualifying at Wimbledon last year, coming after taking an extended mental-health break from tennis, Anisimova has long been seen by many – tennis players and coaches as well as tennis media – as a potential major champion. Next week, she will break into the WTA Top 10, regardless of whether she wins the Wimbledon title or finishes as runner-up.

Upon securing match point on her fourth try, a relieved but smiling Anisimova said during her on-court interview, “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. She’s such a tough competitor and an inspiration to me and, I’m sure, so many other people. 

“We’ve had so many tough battles and to come out on top today and be in the final at Wimbledon is so incredibly special. The atmosphere was incredible today. I know she’s No. 1 but a lot of people were cheering for me today.”

By winning, Anisimova became the third American women’s finalist in a major this year, following Madison Keys winning the Australian Open and Coco Gauff capturing the French Open. A common denominator is each beat No. 1 Sabalenka en route.

As the opening set unwound, in which there were two delays of play due to fan heat reactions, Anisimova saved all four break points she faced in her fourth service game. Then, on serve after nine games, Anisimova won the 56-minute first set 6-4 after Sabalenka double-faulted away set point.

In a matchup that was high on quality and featured plenty of hard-hitting play from both players – combining to hit 22 winners – Anisimova handled the pressure moments better than the more-established champion Sabalenka.

It’s worth noting that Anisimova had won 28 consecutive matches when she’s garnered the opening set. Would this statistic favor her against Sabalenka going forward? The answer would be yes – but it wouldn’t be an easy journey and it would take some time for victory to unfold.

Soon, the pressure would be on Sabalenka to find a way in which to overtake Anisimova’s attack play from both wings. At 3-all, though, it was Anisimova who cracked first. She double-faulted on break point and Sabalenka had converted her first break point of the match after whiffing on her first four opportunities. Sabalenka consolidated the break with a flourish after hitting a pair of forehand winners coupled with her fifth ace for a 5-3 lead. Anisimova hung tough in the ensuing eight-minute-plus, 16-point game – saving four set points – and held her serve after Sabalenka lost the game with a backhand unforced error.

Serving for the second set, Sabalenka won the game – and set 6-4 – with a solid service winner. It was a set that was filled full of grip-it-and-rip-it drama and noise coupled with joy for the World No. 1. Sabalenka had elevated her game just enough while Anisimova’s game declined a little.

After an hour and 48 minutes, it came down to a decider to see who would advance to their first Wimbledon final. Sabalenka broke first, at love, with a backhand winner parlayed with three unforced errors by Anisimova. However, Anisimova got the break right back in the next game after Sabalenka committed an unforced error on a forehand return, ending a tense 10-point game, then held her serve for a 2-1 advantage. Next, Anisimova broke for a 3-1 lead after Sabalenka lost the break point with a forehand unforced error by overhitting an overhead smash.

In the fifth game, Anisimova was tested. She faced two break points, down 15-40, but saved both and even mustered a couple of game points with some fabulous shotmaking. She held serve for 4-1 by hitting a cross-court forehand winner that caught Sabalenka off-balance. It was the fourth-straight winning game for Anisimova.

With the finish line in sight, could Anisimova keep her nerves in check with a Wimbledon final riding on the outcome? In an edge-of-your-seat drama, Sabalenka saved a break point at 30-40 to gain deuce. Then, she won the game with a backhand winner. Next, Anisimova held serve for 5-2 after hitting a forehand volley winner while also taking advantage of backhand forced error by Sabalenka.

As the semifinal reached two hours and 24 minutes, Anisimova simply needed to hold serve once more. First, though, Sabalenka held at love. At last, it was time for the young American star to prove her mettle. However, Sabalenka wasn’t quite ready to throw in the towel. She gained a break point at 30-40 after Anisimova struck an errant backhand, but failed to convert the break point after hitting a backhand error of her own.

Soon, Anisimova gained a match point after an unforced error by Sabalenka, but lost the next point with a backhand unforced error. Then, Sabalenka got another break-point chance with a forehand smash winner and won the game after Anisimova hit a backhand long.

Suddenly, Sabalenka was back on serve at 4-5. However, Anisimova persevered and gained another match point at love-40, but Sabalenka wasn’t done yet. A couple of forehand forced errors from Anisimova kept Sabalenka’s hopes alive. Finally, on her fourth match-point opportunity, Anisimova won the semifinal after striking a forehand winner to wrap up the four-shot rally.

The crowd of 15,000 strong erupted in joyous applause and Anisimova unabashedly showed her emotions. She covered her mouth with her right hand as she looked toward her box, where her team and assorted members of her family were assembled. Then, Anisimova approached the net and shared a hug with the fallen Sabalenka.

When Anisimova was interviewed on court a short while later after making her first major final, she said with a hint of laughter in her voice, “To be honest, if you had told me I would be in the final at Wimbledon, I would not believe you. At least not this soon because it’s been a year turnaround since coming back and to be in this spot, it’s not easy.

“So many people dream of competing on this incredible court. It’s been such a privilege to compete here, and to be in the final is just indescribable, honestly.”

Meanwhile, during her post-match news conference, Sabalenka tersely summed up her feelings about losing to Anisimova in a mere five words: “She was the better player.”

Swiatek charges into first Wimbledon final

In the second semifinal, No. 8 seed Iga Swiatek took control of her match against No. 35 Belinda Bencic of Switzerland from the outset. The former World No. 1 from Poland dropped just two games along the way and won comprehensively, 6-2, 6-0, in one hour and 12 minutes.

The five-time major titlist (four French Open titles and one US Open crown) reached her first grass-court Grand Slam final in her sixth Wimbledon appearance. Swiatek is the first Polish player to reach the Wimbledon singles finals since Aga Radwanska in 2012.

“Honestly, never dreamed it would be possible for me to play in the final,” Swiatek said during her on-court interview. “I’m super excited and just proud of myself.

“Tennis keeps surprising me. I thought I lived through everything even though I’m young. I thought I had experienced everything on the court, but I hadn’t experienced playing well on grass. Now, I’m super excited and enjoying it.”

In a match-up of two first-time Wimbledon semifinals, Swiatek energetically took apart Bencic from first ball to last ball. She won 83 percent of her first-serve points – dropping just five points on her first serve – and hit 26 winners to just 13 unforced errors. Her serve was not broken and she broke Bencic’s serve five times in eight tries. By the end, she outpointed Bencic 55-32.

Swiatek, who has not won a title since Roland-Garros in 2024, is now through to her least-successful major. However, she’s playing the best grass-court tennis of her life, after reaching the Bad Homburg final on grass last month in a tune-up for Wimbledon and going 6-0 at the All England Club.

Siniakova and Verbeek win Wimbledon mixed doubles title

Katerina Siniakova of Czechia has won her 11th major doubles title – fourth at Wimbledon – and first mixed doubles crown after teaming with Sem Verbeek of the Netherlands, who celebrated winning his first Grand Slam title. It was their first title together as a team.

Together, the Czech/Dutch duo won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title over Luisa Stefani of Brazil and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3), in two hours and two minutes on Centre Court Thursday evening.

Siniakova and Verbeek combined to hit nine winners – including two aces – and won 76 percent of their first-serve points. They converted one of five break points and outpointed Stefani and Salisbury 81-73.

En route to winning the mixed doubles title, Siniakova and Verbeek dropped just one set, back in the first round.

“It’s very special. It means a lot. We had a lot of fun on the court,” Siniakova said. “I really enjoyed it. Thank you for playing with me, Sem. It was really an amazing time here. To be back on the Centre Court with this atmosphere, it’s always amazing. I’m just really happy I could be here again.”

Added Verbeek: “It’s been an honor and a pleasure to compete next to such a great doubles legend, one of the best to ever do it. Thank you for making this a Thursday that I will remember for the rest of my life.”

Last year, Siniakova and Tomas Machac won an Olympic gold medal in mixed doubles for Czechia at the Paris Olympic Games.

On Friday, Siniakova will return to compete with American Taylor Townsend in the women’s doubles semifinals, where they are seeded No. 1, against No. 4 seeds Shieh Su-Wei of Taiwan and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia.

Around the All England Club

In the men’s doubles semifinals on No. 1 Court, No. 1 seeds Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia were upset by unseeded Ricky Hijikata of Australia and David Pel of the Netherlands, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (9) in two hours and 59 minutes. There were no break points converted by either team and by the end, there was just a two-point difference in total points as Arevalo and Pavic outscored Hijikata and Pels 138-136.

The victory advanced the Aussie/Dutch duo to Saturday’s final, where they will face No. 5 seeds Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool of Great Britain, who edged past No. 4 seeds Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina, 6-3, 6-4, in 64 minutes on No. 1 Court. The winners combined to serve 11 aces and hit 18 winners. Cash and Glasspool, who have won 13 straight matches – and titles at Queen’s Club and Eastbourne – are the first all-British duo to reach the Wimbledon men’s doubles final since 1960.

Thursday’s Wimbledon results

Friday’s Wimbledon order of play

By the numbers

At age 23, Amanda Anisimova is the youngest American woman to reach the Wimbledon semifinals since Serena Williams in 2004. She’s also won more matches on grass this year (12) than any other player on the WTA Tour.

“Quotable …”

“Every single match we’ve played. It’s always been tough. We’ve gone three sets in a lot of them. So I think we’re both big hitters, and big hitters like to go at it against each other.

“I feel like we always bring the best in each other’s game, and we always raise the level when we play against each other. I always enjoy the challenge that she brings. I’m sure it’s the same vice versa.”

– Amanda Anisimova of the United States on facing World No. 1 and top seed Aryna Sabalenka, as quoted by the WTA Tour website.

 

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