American-born tennis star Amanda Anisimova burst into tears after suffering a crushing defeat in the women’s Wimbledon final in only 57 minutes on Saturday.
Anisimova was blown away by Poland’s Iga Swiatek and failed to win a single game as she lost her first Grand Slam final 6-0, 6-0 on Centre Court. It is the first time since 1911 that a Wimbledon women’s singles final has ended with such a scoreline.
The 23-year-old looked devastated and could no longer hide her emotions during her post-game interview with the BBC, having been handed her second-place trophy by the Princess of Wales.
As interviewer Annabel Croft began to ask her about her difficult day, Anisimova could not help but cry as the crowd back into rapturous applause to support her.
She said: ‘Thank you to everyone that’s supported me since my first round match here. You guys have carried me through this entire Championships.
‘Even tough I ran out of gas a bit today and I wish I could have put in a better performance for you, you guys have been there for me and lifted me up so thank you so much.’
Amanda Anisimova burst into tears after suffering a crushing defeat in the Wimbledon final
Anisimova was blown away by Poland’s Iga Swiatek, losing her first Grand Slam final 6-0, 6-0
The Princess of Wales was on hand to provide some word of comfort to Anisimova
Anisimova’s comeback has been one of the stories of the fortnight, with the former teenage prodigy having stepped away from tennis for eight months in 2023 for mental health reasons.
Last year she did not even make the first round having lost in qualifying but at the All England Club she has shown what made her such an exciting talent, upsetting Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals.
Anisimova, after taking time to cry, said: ‘Iga, you’re such an incredible player, obviously showed today. You’ve been such an inspiration to me, an unbelievable athlete. Congratulations to you and your team.;
The American thanked her mum, Olga – who was born and raised in Moscow, for flying to London this morning to see the match, adding: ‘It’s definitely not why I lost today. I’m so glad I get to share this with you.’
Anisimova’s fellow American player Coco Gauff paid a tribute to her on social media, writing: ‘So much to be proud of Amanda. Keep your head up’.
A first Grand Slam final is always a nerve-racking occasion and it was obvious from the start that Anisimova was struggling to get her legs moving and her arms swinging freely.
She could not find her first serve and was making error after error, while Swiatek, who had won all five of her previous slam finals, looked right at home.
The Pole is one of the best front runners the sport has seen and she did not allow Anisimova any chance to settle as the groans of the crowd – who had paid more than $400 per ticket – grew ever more audible.
Iga Swiatek won her first-ever Wimbledon title with a destructive display in just 57 minutes
The breezy conditions did not help, and it took Swiatek just 25 minutes to wrap up the first set, with Anisimova winning only nine points.
The American twice screamed in frustration, and probably rising panic, after errors in the opening game of the second set.
The eight former champions sat in the Royal Box would have empathized with Anisimova’s predicament but she could find no way of getting any kind of foothold in the match.
Every half chance was either snuffed out by Swiatek or crushed by another wild mistake – she made 28 unforced errors in the 12 games – and a final Swiatek winner put her out of her misery.
