Aryna Sabalenka walked into the press room, let out a dry laugh, and said, “You’re not gonna see a Roland Garros press conference. Anyone who was waiting for that, you can leave right now.” And sure enough, despite being edged 6–4, 4–6, 6–4 in a match under 31 °C sun with medical timeouts and crowd interruptions, no outbursts followed. The restraint following the Coco Gauff controversy was new, but the frustration hadn’t gone anywhere, still. 

In the match, her returns deserted her. “My returns were much worse compared to the matches before,” she admitted. The numbers back her: just 39.7% return points won on Anisimova’s first serve, and 40% on her second. Still, she clawed back into the match. “I gave everything I had at the moment,” she said, but in the final game, Anisimova had flattened her second serve twice.  “Losing sucks”, she declared. And yet, acknowledged her opponent’s courage. 

“I have to say that she was more brave today. And maybe when I was just trying to stay in the point, she was like… playing more aggressive,” she said. Anisimova indeed hit 25 winners and saved 11 of 14 break points, chasing down every ball and owning centre-court in the late exchanges. Despite her admiration for Anisimova’s boldness, one specific moment during a point when celebration overtook play right in between the match irritated her.

Anisimova was seen celebrating early during a point in the second set. Seeing this, Sabalenka looked a bit annoyed as she stared at the umpire, perhaps wondering what was really going on. Discussing this moment in her press conference, she said, “I was just trying to chase the ball. She was already celebrating it. I was like ‘I mean, that’s a bit too early.’ She kind of pissed me off like saying ‘That’s what she does all the time.’ But I was grateful and thankful that she said that because I was like, it actually helped me to keep fighting. I was like ok, now I’m gonna show you the tennis. I came back because I got really angry in that moment. Probably in the 3rd set I should’ve remembered and probably it would’ve helped. But it is what it is.” 

Despite the on-court antics, Amanda Anisimova has now taken her record to 6-3 against Aryna Sabalenka. She is now also just the third player to defeat Sabalenka on all three surfaces at the WTA level. Since 1990, Anisimova is the fourth player to defeat the WTA number one at Wimbledon en route to a maiden Grand Slam final. The titles look great. But what’s even better is what she had to say to her opponent post-victory. 

Amanda Anisimova showcases her admiration for Aryna Sabalenka

 Amanda Anisimova shared a few kind words for her opponent. She said, “This doesn’t feel real right now. Aryna is such a tough competitor. I was absolutely dying out there. I don’t know how I pulled it out. She’s an inspiration to me and so many other people. We’ve had so many tough battles. To come on top today and be in the Wimbledon final is so incredibly special. The atmosphere was incredible. I know she’s #1. But a lot of people were cheering for me. I just wanna say a huge thank you to everyone.”

Moving forward, Anisimova has never faced Iga Swiatek in her career before. Do you think she can beat the five-time Grand Slam champion and win her maiden major title? Stay on top of every twist and turn in the Championships with our Live Blog.