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4 hours ago
US Open 2025
Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 24 August-7 September
Coverage: Live radio commentaries across 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, plus live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website & app
A teary-eyed Amanda Anisimova looked away as Aryna Sabalenka lifted the US Open trophy high into the air.
It is the second time in 57 days that the American has come up short in a Grand Slam final – but the circumstances are vastly different.
At Wimbledon in July, Anisimova froze in her first-ever major final – losing 6-0 6-0 against Iga Swiatek – but she can hold her head high despite going down 6-3 7-6 (7-3) at the hands of Sabalenka.
Few backed the 24-year-old to recover so quickly from that demoralising defeat at SW19, but Anisimova has displayed incredible mental strength.
“I didn’t fight hard enough for my dreams today,” Anisimova said.
“With finals I have a lot of nerves, and it’s something I’m trying to work on, but I wish I played more aggressive.
“I feel like if I fought harder, maybe I would have given myself more of a chance.”
World number one Sabalenka knows better than anyone how Anisimova is feeling.
Victory in New York gave Sabalenka her fourth Grand Slam singles title, but she has also suffered defeat in three major finals – including two this year.
“I know how much it hurts. But trust me, the moment you’re going to win the first one…” Sabalenka told Anisimova.
“And you are going to win it. You play incredible tennis.
“You’re gonna enjoy it even more after the tough losses.”
Anisimova’s run over the past two weeks will have done plenty to banish the ghosts of her previous major final appearance – first earning revenge over Swiatek in the quarter-finals before battling past two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka in the semi-finals.
As the music played and the stage was assembled for the trophy ceremony on Arthur Ashe, Anisimova put her head in her towel and cried, before composing herself and staring up at the closed roof.
It was a moment of reflection for the American as Sabalenka raced through the crowd to celebrate with her team.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, former British number one Annabel Croft said Anisimova has an “unbelievable sense of character” – and leaning on that will help her come back stronger once again.
The world number eight surprised even herself with how quickly she moved on from her Wimbledon loss, admitted she cried for 30 minutes before getting on the phone with a friend and “laughing it off”.
The rebuild this time might even be a little easier.
Anisimova has built an inner-belief on home soil and picked up plenty of new supporters along the way.
‘Anisimova has nothing to hang her head about’
ReutersAll the great stories have twists along the way and that is no different for Anisimova.
She has long been tipped to challenge for Grand Slams after a successful junior career, which included beating Coco Gauff to win the US Open girls’ title in 2017.
But injuries halted her progress in the professional ranks and she took a seven-month break in 2023 to focus on her mental health.
In a further sign of her resilience, Anisimova lost in the third round of qualifying for Wimbledon in 2024 but reached the final the following year.
“I am so admiring of Anisimova,” Croft said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“The Wimbledon final was humiliating and embarrassing, all of those things. It is so hard to see her sobbing.
“It [losing against Sabalenka] probably was not as bad as she thinks it was. She got into her head a little bit which prevented her using her serve. She will bounce back.”
Former world number one and 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova urged Anisimova to “be nicer to herself”.
“Anisimova has nothing to hang her head about, she has had a great summer,” Navratilova said on Sky Sports.
“If someone would have told her that she would have been in the finals of Wimbledon and the US Open she would have been over the moon.
“She needs to be nicer to herself, she is too much of a perfectionist.”
