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Amanda Anisimova breaks down in tears after back-to-back grand slam final losses: ‘Didn’t fight enough for my dreams'
Amanda Anisimova was left extremely emotional after her final loss to Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open final.
Amanda Anisimova announced herself to the WTA tour with a run to the finals at Wimbledon with some signature wins, and then did it all over again only a couple of months later as she put away top-quality players and grand slam champions to reach the US Open final and enter the top five in the rankings with a strong showing at her home tournament.
Unfortunately for Anisimova, it ended in dual heartbreak: after a rough 6-0 6-0 loss at Wimbledon to Iga Swiatek, she fell once again in straights, albeit after a much stronger performance against Aryna Sabalenka in New York, losing 6-3 7-6.
Anisimova has a lot to be proud of from her performance in the second half of the season, but there is no question that two consecutive grand slam finals losses would be a taxing and emotionally intense experience. It all caught up with the 24-year-old, who needed a moment at the conclusion of the match to settle her nerves as she broke down in tears on court.
After she lost the tiebreaker in the hard-fought second set, the emotion of the moment caught up with the American, who has had to battle adversity and come through mental and personal hurdles in the past to ensure she can begin to produce her best tennis.
Later, speaking while accepting her runners-up trophy, Anisimova was aware of the pluses and minuses to take away from this match and this tournament as a whole, one which saw her beat grand slam and former US Open champions Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff.
“It’s been a great summer. Losing two finals in a row is great, but also super hard. I think I didn’t fight hard enough for my dreams today,” said Anisimova. She will see the failure to win a slam as a failure, but it does put her on the platform as one of the players to watch out for the rest of the year ahead of the WTA Tour Finals. Her words also hinted at a determination to come back stronger from this setback, and to put in planning to accomplish that last step to being a slam champion.
