In the Wimbledon final, Amanda Anisimova apologized to the audience present on the center court, both for her performance in the match and for the emotion that made it difficult for her to give a subsequent speech.
Anisimova, a 23-year-old American tennis player, who was playing in her first final of a tournament of this magnitude, took the opportunity to thank her mother, Olga Anisimova, for making the effort to attend in person.
Visibly excited, Anisimova continued addressing her mother: “So thank you for being here and breaking the superstition of flying.” With a smile, she referenced her defeat in 57 minutes, stating: “Definitely, that’s not why I lost today.” “I am very happy to be able to share this moment and that you are here to witness it in person. I know that you no longer see me play live so often, because you do a lot for my sister and me, and you always have,” added Anisimova. “I love you very much.” Reaching the final of a Grand Slam, after eliminating Aryna Sabalenka, world number 1, in the semifinals, already represented a great achievement for Anisimova, born in New Jersey and raised in Florida from the age of 3. During her adolescence, she stood out as a player, defeating Coco Gauff in the US Open junior final in 2017. Quickly, she made a name for herself as a professional by reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open two years later. In May 2023, he announced a break from competition due to mental health issues, related to burnout. Anisimova returned to action in 2024, but her ranking, at 189 a year ago, did not allow her to enter a tournament like Wimbledon directly, so she tried, unsuccessfully, to qualify. “Regardless of what happened today, you should be proud of the work you are doing,” Swiatek told her. On Saturday, Anisimova became the second woman in the Open era, which began in 1968, to reach a Grand Slam final a year after losing in the qualifying phase. Now, she will rise to the top 10 for the first time. After the match, he thanked his team for “taking care of me” during “the whole way, all last year”. “I know today wasn’t enough, but I will keep working,” Anisimova affirmed. “I always believe in myself, so I hope to be back here someday.”“My mother is the most selfless person I know, and she has done everything to get me to this point in my life,” expressed Anisimova, whose father passed away in 2019, when she was 17 years old.
Amanda Anisimova
