London
CNN
–
It was charged that no one had hoped for the Wimbledon women’s final, and ended as a match that American upstar Amanda Anisimova wanted to forget.
The 23-year-old always knew she was against it. In her first Grand Slam Final, she faced a five-time major champion who appears to have reinvented her game with Grass.
But even the biggest IgaświąTek fans would not have predicted the 6-0, 6-0 thrashing at Centre Court on Saturday.
The demolition work took less than an hour. It was also the first time since 1911 that the Wimbledon women’s final won without losing a single game.
Everything went wrong for Anisimova, but everything got right for świąTek. Perfect storm with two very different outcomes for either player.
“I think I was a bit frozen with my nerves, and I was probably a little tired for the last two weeks,” the very calm Anishimoba told reporters at a post-final press conference.
“It was obviously a bit hard to digest, especially right after that, and not what I was hoping for the first Grand Slam Final.
“I’m sure I was a bit shocked too, but I told myself that I would definitely come out strong after this.”
Despite his fierce defeat in the final, we must not forget the incredible tournament that Anisimova had at SW19 this year.
No one really turned the world No. 12 for a title run in Grass.
However, as the big name dropped out of the female draw, Anishimoba continued to approach her maiden grand slam final.
After that, the semi-finals came against world number one Alina Sabalenka. If you ask Anishimova today, she might say she hoped the tournament was over after that amazing victory.
The Americans have shown all great things about her game with Sabalenka.
However, in reality, none of that form was on display in Saturday’s final. Her serve wanted, and 28 forced errors showed what she was in.
In a post-match comment, Anishimoba said he thought the way he struggled with fever during the semi-finals could lead to a drop in levels in the final.
She also said she felt exhausted during the warm-up but didn’t want to take anything away from her opponent’s “incredible” performance.
Shortly after the match, Anishimoba called out the courage to do an interview with her on-court in one way or another.
After shedding tears, she managed to speak eloquently about what must have felt like one of the most difficult moments of her career.
However, she explained that she simply “drained gas” in the final, but the love she showed her family and friends in the player’s box spoke volumes about the journey she took.
In 2023, Anishimova decided not to touch the racket for months while fighting what she described as burnout.
When she left tennis, it was about helping her own mental health, which she struggled after a few seasons on the professional tennis tour, Hamster Wheel.
When a hotel-to-hotel bouncing is not enough, each tennis match is like a psychological game of chess. No wonder teenage geniuses, like Anisimova, can get bored of it quickly.
During the break, Anishimova learned a lot about herself, spent time with her loved ones, and said that one of her new hobbies was art.
In 2024, she came back and proved people wrong.
After his semi-final victory at Wimbledon, Anishimova told reporters that people told him that after taking such a long break, they would never reach the pinnacle of tennis again.
She previously said it was a “special” feeling that shows how wrong the suspicious person was at SW19 this year.
“My fighting spirit has brought me to the finals today,” she said as the tournament ended.
“I wasn’t playing perfectly. There were games where I was struggling and I wasn’t making the most of my potential, but I think the most important thing is to stay focused, get past certain moments and focus, try to lift myself up and not be negative about myself.”
No one needs to tell Anishimoba that there will be moments ahead in her career.
If anything, this tournament shows that her game is sufficient to reach the final of the Grand Slam.
But first, it’s more important. After showing so much support throughout the tournament, Anishimoba vowed to spend the necessary time with family and friends.
But whatever comes next in her career, she can get the feeling that it is driven by the feelings she felt on centre court in this year’s final.
“There are a lot of improvements,” she said. “If anything, I think it’s my experience with how to deal with nerves. It was my first Grand Slam final, at least I have that experience right now.”
