Admittedly, Saturday wasn’t Amanda Anisimova’s best day on the court. At the very end of a stellar grass-court season, the American was defeated 6-0, 6-0 by Iga Swiatek in the Wimbledon singles final.
One day, though, cannot erase the strides the 23-year-old has made. After defeating World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to make her first Grand Slam singles final, the former teenage phenom will make her Top 10 debut in the PIF WTA Rankings on Monday.
It was only a year-and-a-half ago that Anisimova returned to tennis after taking a break from the sport for eight months. She has reached career-best form over the past year, and she doesn’t plan on deviating from her trajectory after one tough defeat.
“When I got back to the locker room, I kind of had that switch in my mind of, ‘You know what, this is probably going to make you stronger in the end,'” Anisimova said to press after the final. “And to not really dig myself down or put myself down after today, and just try and focus on how I can come out stronger after this.
“I think it’s honestly, like, a fork in the road. It’s whatever direction you want to go in. I’m going to choose the path of working towards my goals and to try and keep improving, hopefully put myself in more positions and opportunities like today.”
Anisimova has taken pleasure having much of her family in London as she posted her career-best Grand Slam result. She brought her four-year-old nephew Jaxon onto No. 1 Court to celebrate her semifinal victory earlier in the week.
“I think just being surrounded by people I love [helps],” Anisimova said. “I obviously have a lot of family here. I’m really fortunate that they’re all here, especially in times like this.
“I think just receiving all the comfort I can tonight will be super helpful. Yeah, I’m just excited to get a few days off and turn my mind off of everything and, yeah, just spend a lot of time with my family and friends. So that will be nice.”
Anisimova’s biggest tribute was to her mother Olga, who flew in for the final. She gave a particularly heartfelt runner-up speech about her mother, after she received her second-place plate from the Princess of Wales.
“My mom has sacrificed so much,” Anisimova continued in press. “That was why I was getting so emotional, because she’s literally done everything she can and more to get me to this point in my life. Same goes for my sister. She would do anything for her kids.
“She’s literally the most selfless person that I’ll ever meet. I’m a very lucky daughter to have her in my life. I was just trying to credit her as much as I could because, for sure, I would not be in the position I’m in if it wasn’t for my mom. She just means the world to me and more.”
Anisimova admitted to being fatigued after her six wins this fortnight. “If anything, it’s my physicality that I need to work on,” she said. “To be able to last two weeks in a Grand Slam is definitely something that you need to work a lot on. It’s not an easy feat.”
Nevertheless, she will head back to the North American summer hard-court season at a projected career-high of World No. 7. Her next Grand Slam campaign will be in her home country — the US Open.
“It’s been such a special two weeks for me,” Anisimova said. “I’ve enjoyed every moment that I got to experience out there. There’s a lot of positives I can take with me.”
