Wimbledon, England — Amanda Anisimova has upset first-placed Alina Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at Wimbledon on Thursday, reaching the first Grand Slam final of her career, more than a year after taking a break from tennis due to burnout.
Born in New Jersey and raised in Florida, Anishimova, the 13th seed, was playing in the second major semifinals at the age of 17 after losing that stage at the 2019 French Open.
In May 2023, she took a break from tour and said she was “struggling with my mental health” for nearly a year.
Anishimova will face Iga Switek or Belinda Bensik, who will be playing Thursday for the trophy on Saturday.
For Sabalenka, who replaced Swiecsk in first place in October, the defeat prevented her from becoming the first woman to reach her fourth consecutive Grand Slam final since Serena Williams a decade ago.
Now, Anisimova is as strong and smooth as ever, especially on the backhand side. She is guaranteed to break into the top 10 of the WTA rankings for the first time after Wimbledon is over. No matter what happens in the title match, 12 months later, losing in the herbivorous major qualifiers and not getting into the main bracket.
In Saturday’s final, Anishimova will try to become the first American woman to win Wimbledon since Williams in 2016, according to an ESPN survey. The American woman lost her final three Wimbledon finals.
Sabalenka missed Wimbledon due to an injured shoulder a year ago and won the US Open in September last year with his third slam trophy.
During Williams’ run from 2014-15, she won four major titles.
Sabalenka was runner-up for the Madison Keys at the Australian Open in January and the Madison Keys at the Cocogoff at the French Open in June. Sabalenka and Gauff smoothed things out at All England Club before the start of the grass tournament, danced together in the grass at the main stadium, and posted a video on social media.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.