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Amanda Anisimova vows to return stronger after being ‘frozen’ with nerves during Wimbledon final defeat
Anisimova showed resilience by completing her on-court interview after the final.
It was billed as the Wimbledon women’s final that no one expected, it finished as a match that American rising star Amanda Anisimova will want to forget.
The 23-year-old always knew she was up against it, playing in her first grand slam final against a five-time major champion who has seemingly reinvented her game on grass.
But even the biggest Iga Świątek fan would never have predicted the 6-0, 6-0 thrashing that played out on Centre Court on Saturday.
The demolition job took less than an hour. It was also the first time since 1911 that a Wimbledon women’s final was won without the champion dropping a single game.
Everything went wrong for Anisimova, while everything went right for Świątek. The perfect storm, with two very different outcomes for either player.
“I think I was a bit frozen there with my nerves and maybe the last two weeks I got a bit tired,” a very poised Anisimova told reporters during her post-final press conference.
“It was a bit tough to digest, obviously, especially during and right after. It’s not how I would have wanted my first grand slam final to go.
“I think I was a little bit in shock after as well, but I told myself I’ll definitely come out stronger after this.”
Despite the heavy defeat in the final, we must not forget the incredible tournament that Anisimova has had at SW19 this year.
No one really tipped the world No. 12 for a title run on the grass, there were simply too many better players, with too much experience in this competition.
But as the big names dropped out of the women’s draw, Anisimova kept getting closer to her maiden grand slam final.
Then came a semifinal against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Ask Anisimova today and she might say she wished her tournament ended after that brilliant win.
The American showed everything that is great about her game against Sabalenka: Her booming backhand drawing gasps from the Centre Court crowd who started to fall in love with the youngster.
But, in truth, none of that form was on display during Saturday’s final. Her serve was left wanting and 28 unforced errors just demonstrated what state of mind she was in.
In her post-match comments, Anisimova said how she had struggled with the heat during the semifinal and thought that maybe could have caused her level to drop in the final.
She also said she felt fatigue during her warmup, but didn’t want to take anything away from her opponent’s “incredible” performance.
Showing courage in defeat
Straight after the match, Anisimova somehow mustered the courage to conduct her on-court interview, something that has become tradition at Wimbledon over the decades.
After brushing away the tears, she managed to speak so eloquently about what must have felt like one of the most difficult moments of her career.
But while she explained how she simply “ran out of gas” in the final, the love she showed her family and friends in the player’s box spoke volumes about the journey she’s been on.
In 2023, Anisimova stepped away from the sport, deciding not to touch her racket for months while she combatted what she described as burnout.
The time away from tennis was to help her own mental health, which had suffered after several seasons on the hamster wheel that is the professional tennis tour.
If bouncing from hotel to hotel is not enough, each tennis match is like a psychological game of chess. It’s no wonder that teenage prodigies, like Anisimova was, can quickly get tired of it all.
During the break, Anisimova said she learned a lot about herself, spending time with the people she loves and exploring new hobbies, one of which was art.
In 2024, she returned and set out proving people wrong.
After her semifinal win at Wimbledon, Anisimova told reporters that people had said she would never reach the top of tennis again after taking such a long break.
She previously said it was a “special” feeling to show how wrong doubters were at SW19 this year.
“My fighting spirit has gotten me to the final today,” she said as her tournament came to an end.
“It wasn’t me playing perfect. There were matches where I struggled and I wasn’t playing to my full potential, but I think just me staying focused and fighting my way through certain moments and focusing and also lifting myself up and trying to not get negative on myself was the most important thing.”
No one needs to tell Anisimova that there will be brighter moments in her career to come.
If anything, this tournament has shown her game is good enough to reach a grand slam final while still having plenty of areas to improve – and that’s exactly what she’s promised to do going forward.
First, though, the more important things. Anisimova vowed to spend some much-needed time with her family and friends after they showed so much support throughout the tournament.
Whatever comes next in her career, though, you get the sense it will be driven from the feeling she felt on Centre Court during this year’s final.
“There’s a lot of improvement,” she said. “If anything, I think it’s more experience for me on how to handle nerves. It’s my first grand slam final, so at least I have that experience now.”
ATP Davis Cup Grand Slam
Jamie Murray retires after 36 years, closing the ‘Murray era’ in doubles
Jamie Murray retires after 36 years, ending a career that included a doubles world No. 1 peak today.
Jamie Murray confirmed his retirement on social media Wednesday, announcing that his long run in professional tennis is over. The former doubles world No. 1 and seven-time Grand Slam doubles champion posted images spanning his career and wrote that “[his] tennis journey [is coming] to an end after 36 years.”
In the message, Murray acknowledged the role his family played in his career. He thanked his mother Judy and his brother Andy for their support, saying their backing helped him “achieve everything I could in the game.” He added: “I feel very fortunate and privileged for all the amazing experiences this great sport has given me,” the 40-year-old wrote in the Instagram post.
Murray finishes his career with 34 tour-level titles, two of those won alongside his younger brother. The Murray pairing was central to Great Britain’s 2015 Davis Cup triumph, the country’s first Davis Cup victory in 79 years, with the brothers taking crucial doubles matches in the quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds.
In 2016 Jamie reached a milestone for British doubles players by becoming the first British man to attain the world No. 1 ranking in doubles; he held that position for nine weeks. He also joined Andy as his doubles partner for Andy’s final Wimbledon tournament in 2024.
The social post offered a reflective ending to a career that spanned more than two decades and encompassed Grand Slam titles, a stint at the top of the doubles rankings and a key role in a historic national team victory. Murray’s announcement marks the close of a defining presence in doubles competition and a notable chapter in recent British tennis history.
ATP Grand Slam
Becker’s 1989 US Open trophy sells for more than $357,000 at auction
Becker’s 1989 US Open trophy brought more than $357,000, becoming the priciest trophy sale on sale.
Nearly 40 years after he lifted it, Boris Becker’s 1989 US Open Men’s Singles trophy sold at auction for more than $357,000. The lot is now the most expensive tennis trophy ever sold and the second-most expensive piece of tennis memorabilia ever to reach the market, behind only Novak Djokovic’s racquet, which sold for $450,000 in February.
Prestige Memorabilia noted the rarity of the sale: “Such trophies virtually never leave the possession of the player who won them. To the best of our knowledge, this example represents the only known US Open Men’s Singles champion trophy from the Open Era ever to reach the public market.”
Becker received the sterling silver trophy after defeating Ivan Lendl in the 1989 final, a victory that represented his fourth Grand Slam title and his only US Open championship. Crafted by Tiffany & Co., the trophy had been on loan to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island before appearing at auction.
The trophy’s appearance on the market traces back to Becker’s bankruptcy proceedings. He was declared bankrupt in 2017 and, beginning in 2019, sold trophies and personal memorabilia to raise funds for creditors. Items reported as sold included the 1989 US Open trophy, a 1985 Wimbledon replica trophy, a 1988 Davis Cup trophy, and a Hall of Fame ring. The bankruptcy case led to criminal proceedings; Becker was convicted on four charges under the Insolvency Act, served a fast-tracked sentence in 2022, and was released in December 2022. During the London court proceedings he reportedly owed creditors $62.5 million and said a majority of his career trophies had been sold, gifted, or “lost,” leaving him unable to produce them for creditors.
According to the auction lot description, the trophy stands 14 inches tall, is made of sterling silver, and bears the inscription: “United States Tennis Association / United States Open Tennis Championship / Men’s Singles / Boris Becker / 1989.”
© 2026 David Benito
Equipment Finals Grand Slam
Sabalenka debuts Wilson Blade v10 and reflects on pressure, regret and grief in Esquire profile
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka debuts a Wilson Blade v10, discusses grief, regrets and lessons. Read on
Fans missing Aryna Sabalenka at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix have been met with a steady stream of new material from the world No. 1. Sabalenka unveiled her new racquet and posed for a fashion-forward Esquire cover shoot while speaking with editor-in-chief Michael Sebastian.
The Wilson advertisement for the Blade v10 carries a simple declaration: “Pressure is power,” a line that echoed Sabalenka’s 2026 run. A four-time Grand Slam champion, the 27-year-old rebounded from an Australian Open final loss to Elena Rybakina by completing the Sunshine Double, taking back-to-back titles at the BNP Paribas Open and the Miami Open. In Miami she avenged the Australian Open defeat to Rybakina in straight sets.
Asked how she might have lived her life outside tennis, she said she would be a “boxer or a model,” and in the Esquire conversation she addressed mistakes and hard lessons.
“I have a lot of regrets. I think we all do,” she told editor-in-chief Michael Sebastian. “Mistakes make us better people. It’s tough to be the person without regrets and mistakes. You better stay away from those people.”
Sabalenka also revisited a difficult moment after the Roland Garros final, when she was hesitant to immediately praise Coco Gauff following a three-set defeat. “I have to take my time after the match before I go to the press conference when I lose the match, because when you do it straightaway, you’re still that emotional person,” said Sabalenka. The two players later smoothed things over and recorded conciliatory TikToks.
Beyond on-court swings, Sabalenka spoke about personal loss. She has carried the grief of losing her father in 2019 and urged emotional honesty. “It’s important to grieve, to cry, to go through the emotions,” she said. “Never hold it inside, because it’ll destroy you from the inside.”
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