Just before the start of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, Andy Roddick surprisingly named Amanda Anisimova as the dark horse in this tournament. He said, “Watch out for Anisimova too…if she gets hot, she can beat anyone in the world.” Who would have thought then that in just a few days’ time, she would become the first American player to reach both her first two women’s singles Grand Slam SFs not on hard court since Jennifer Capriati? With her incredible win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the QF, she secured her place for the first time in the Wimbledon SF. Is she now knocking at the doors of a major final?

Well, as things stand, Amanda Anisimova has got off to a bright start in her SF match against Aryna Sabalenka. She won the first set by 6-4, and there has been a close fight so far in the set as well. Seeing her incredible performance in this tennis legend, Chris Evert shared a very interesting thought. She said, “She (Anisimova) hits so flat, so flat. It’s amazing how much accuracy she has...” Evert looks clearly impressed with her clean, hard-hitting game. Can Anisimova keep this fight intact for the rest of the match?

Talking about her Grand Slam goals, Anisimova once admitted, “I want to be able to achieve, like winning a Grand Slam, and becoming No. 1 one day.” With her win in the QF match, she not only became the first woman born in the 2000s to reach the semifinals of Wimbledon, but with her incredible run at Wimbledon, she has now also come closer to securing a spot in the Top 10 of the women’s singles ranking. So, getting up further in the Rankings seems to be just a matter of time for the 23-year-old, but what about winning a major title?

Amanda Anisimova looked quite impressive in her 6-1,7-6(9) triumph over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the previous match. Following that victory, she said, “It’s a super special turnaround for me, considering where I was a year ago and losing in the qualies here last year, which was a bit heartbreaking. I’ve done a lot of work since then, have really pushed my way through I feel like this year. I’ve dealt with some injuries and [gotten the better of] that and have worked on my physicality, also.” 

Amanda Anisimova now feels that everything has been kind of clicking for her at the moment, and she feels more confident with each tournament she has played in this season so far. With high confidence and her power-packed game to counter someone like Aryna Sabalenka, does she really stand a chance against the world number one?

Martina Navratilova analyzes Amanda Anisimova’s chances against Aryna Sabalenka

Amanda Ansimova had to overcome a lot of challenges in her life. Be it her mental struggles or a personal loss, at one point in time, she was even sidelined from tennis. During an interview with ESPN, Chris Evert had asked her, “What made you come back?” Replying to that, she had said, “I always knew deep down that no matter how long I was gonna take off, I was gonna come back to the tour. I still felt like there were so many things I wanted to achieve in the sport. Winning a Slam is definitely one of them, and I didn’t wanna walk away so early after sacrificing so much of my life and working so hard. Once I came back, I found this new passion for it. I feel like it’s a passion I didn’t feel back then or maybe when I was a teenager. Every win is that much more special now.“

Talking about wins, what are her chances of winning this SF clash against the world number one, though? Well, just like Andy Roddick, even Serena Williams’ ex-coach had previously hailed Amanda Anisimova’s clean hitting and firepower. He claimed that her game could really be effective on this surface. Both Aryna Sabalenka and Amanda Anisimova have a similar style of play. However, interestingly, the American has a lead of 5-3 in the H2H record. Does Anisimova have a chance of extending this lead further by securing her spot in the final of the 2025 Wimbledon?

Well, to this, Martina Navratilova said, “I certainly do. With that head-to-head, she knows she can beat her. She’s done it before.” Amanda Anisimova took the first set, Aryna Sabalenka came back in the next one, and things look well poised for an epic end to this blockbuster clash. Who, according to you, has the edge to win this battle? Check out EssentiallySports’ minute by minute update of the Championships on our Live Blog.