Anisimova Stuns World No. 1 Sabalenka to Reach First Grand Slam Final at Wimbledon
American Amanda Anisimova delivered the biggest win of her career on Thursday, defeating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in a thrilling three-set semifinal at Wimbledon.
Anisimova battled past the top-seeded Belarusian 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to secure her spot in Saturday’s final, where she’ll face the winner of the match between Iga Swiatek and Belinda Bencic.
Seeded 13th, the 23-year-old has reached her first-ever Grand Slam final. Prior to this breakthrough run, her deepest showing at a major came in 2019, when she reached the semifinals at Roland Garros. “This doesn’t feel real right now, honestly,” Anisimova said in her post-match interview. “Aryna is such a tough competitor and I was absolutely dying out there. I don’t know how I pulled it out.”
Just a year ago, Anisimova didn’t make it out of the Wimbledon qualifying rounds. Her previous best result at the All England Club was a quarterfinal appearance in 2022.
After finishing the 2024 season ranked No. 36 in the world, Anisimova has put together the most impressive campaign of her young career. She claimed her first WTA 1000 title earlier this season and entered July at a career-high No. 12 in the rankings.
Sabalenka, 27, fell short of a Wimbledon final once again, marking her third semifinal exit at the tournament since 2021. Despite winning both the Australian Open and U.S. Open last year, Sabalenka has now come up short in all three Grand Slam events of 2025 — losing two finals and now a semifinal.
If Anisimova lifts the trophy on Saturday, she’ll join Madison Keys (Australian Open) and Coco Gauff (French Open) as American Grand Slam champions this year. At 23, she also becomes the youngest American woman to reach the Wimbledon final since Serena Williams in 2004, when a 22-year-old Williams was defeated by Maria Sharapova.
