Amanda Anisimova advanced to her first Grand Slam final with an upset win against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday at Wimbledon, continuing the recent dominance of American women at the majors.
The 23-year-old earned a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory—her first against a reigning world No. 1—after two hours, 36 minutes on Centre Court. After going toe-to-toe with Sabalenka in power-packed baseline rallies throughout the afternoon, Anisimova's defense and touch helped her get over the line in the final set. She closed out the match with a break of serve on her fourth match point, after missing out on one as she attempted to serve out the victory at 5-3.
An American woman has now reached the final at four consecutive majors, after Jessica Pegula (US Open), Madison Keys (Australian Open) and Coco Gauff (Roland Garros). Anisimova will bid to become the third consecutive American major champion after Keys and Gauff when she takes on Iga Swiatek in Saturday's final.
Her career-best major run will earn her a Top 10 debut and also sets the stage for another starring performance at her home Grand Slam at the 2025 US Open. Before Anisimova's return to New York, check out a few fast facts on the American.
Prioritizing mental health
Suffering from burnout, Anisimova stepped away from tennis in May of 2023. She returned to training that September and ultimately made her return at the start of the 2024 season, reaching the Australian Open fourth round early in the second event of her comeback.
"For sure it's a nice feeling winning matches. Being in that high-stress environment is unlike anything else," she said that year in Melbourne. "But I also really enjoyed my time at home. I think it's really special to just spend time with my friends and family and just have a normal day-to-day life. To me both of those are quite nice.
"But I didn't miss it in a sense, just the daily grind. I don't know. They're just both very different sides to life. But I don't mind the normal day-to-day life because I do like being at home. I get really homesick when I'm on the road, so that's something that I struggle with a lot."
She's been deep in the Grand Slams before
Anisimova's first major break through came six years ago, when she reached the 2019 Roland Garros semifinals at the age of 17. She beat 11th seed Sabalenka and third seed Simona Halep, the defending champion, that year in Paris.
She also reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2022, beating Coco Gauff along the way, and has now progressed to the fourth round or better eight times at the Slams. Adding to the intrigue of her 2025 Wimbledon run, Anisimova was knocked out in the final round of qualifying last year in London.
The US Open is the only major in which she has not been beyond the third round. She has competed five times in the New York main draw, reaching the third round in 2020.
In addition to missing the 2023 event during her break from tennis, Anisimova also withdrew from the 2019 US Open as she grieved the tragic death of her father, Konstantin Anisimov. The longtime coach of his daughter, Anisimov suffered a heart attack shortly before the start of the 2019 tournament.
Success at the WTA 1000s foreshadowed this Wimbledon run
Anisimova's Wimbledon run comes on the heels of several big results for the American at the WTA Tour's most prestigious level. After reaching her first WTA 1000 final in Toronto last summer, a result that won her the US Open Wild Card Challenge, Anisimova won her first 1000-level title this February in Doha.
She beat Jelena Ostapenko in the Doha final and was rewarded with her Top 20 debut in addition to the trophy.
