Anisimova stuns Sabalenka to face Swiatek in Wimbledon final

Amanda Anisimova reacts after the women's singles semifinal match between Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Amanda Anisimova of the United States at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Britain, July 10, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

LONDON, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Amanda Anisimova of the United States delivered a stunning upset in a Wimbledon semifinal on Thursday, defeating top seed Aryna Sabalenka to secure her first-ever Grand Slam final berth.

The 13th-seeded American will face eighth seed Iga Swiatek in the final.

Anisimova saved 11 of the 14 break points and converted her fourth match point to triumph 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

"It was such a tough match and a little bit of a roller coaster there," Anisimova said after the match.

"I struggled to hold my serve in the second set. It just goes to show when you miss a crucial point or lose a game, the margins are so slim, especially when you're playing, I mean, the No. 1 in the world."

"She's such a tough player. I knew that I had to really dig deep and make as little mistakes as possible. So it's really hard trying to have to play perfect tennis because that's the only way to really get the win," she added.

Sabalenka, who lost the Australian Open and French Open final this year, blamed her loss mainly on her returns.

"I think it's obviously that today returning game was much worse. Like, my returns were much worse compared to the matches before," she said.

Anisimova will face Swiatek in Saturday's final after the Pole eased past former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-0 in the other semifinal.

Swiatek had not reached a final at any level since winning her fifth grand slam title at the French Open last spring, and now she is only one match away from her first senior Wimbledon title.

"Honestly, I never even dreamt it was going to be possible for me to play in the final," she said after her win.

"I'm just super excited. I thought I experienced everything on the court, but I didn't experience playing well on grass. I feel confident and I'm just going for it. For sure it's working," she said. ■

Amanda Anisimova hits a return during the women's singles semifinal match between Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Amanda Anisimova of the United States at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Britain, July 10, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

Iga Swiatek celebrates after the women's singles semifinal match between Iga Swiatek of Poland and Belinda Bencic of Switzerland at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Britain, July 10, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

Iga Swiatek returns a shot during the women's singles semifinal match between Iga Swiatek of Poland and Belinda Bencic of Switzerland at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Britain, July 10, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

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