The Japan Times - Anisimova stuns Sabalenka to reach Wimbledon final

Anisimova ended Sabalenka's bid for a maiden Wimbledon title with a superb display of hitting in a semi-final played in scorching temperatures on Centre Court.

The 23-year-old will face Polish eighth seed Iga Swiatek or Swiss world number 35 Belinda Bencic in Saturday's final.

"This doesn't feel real right now, honestly. Aryna is such a tough competitor and I was absolutely dying out there. I don't know how I pulled it out," Anisimova said after her epic victory in two hours and 36 minutes.

"We've had so many tough battles and to come out on top and be in the final of Wimbledon is incredible."

Anisimova is only the second player in the Open era to reach a women's final at a Grand Slam after losing in qualifying at the previous year's event.

"If you told me I would be in the final of Wimbledon, I would not believe you. It's indescribable to be honest," she said.

Reaching her first Grand Slam title match was a cathartic moment for Anisimova, who was hailed as a teenage sensation after reaching the 2019 French Open semi-finals aged just 17.

She had struggled to live up to the hype after that breakthrough run at Roland Garros, which included a win over defending champion Simona Halep.

Anisimova took an eight-month break from tennis in 2023 after suffering with depression brought on by the scrutiny and expectations that came with being a teen prodigy.

"I was just struggling with the lifestyle and just dealing with a lot of stress from it, and it was affecting me a lot on the court," she said in May.

"I felt like it was just unfair for me to keep pushing and pushing as if I'm not a human being."

Immediately after returning to action last year, Anisimova dropped outside the top 400.

But she won the Qatar Open this February and showed she was comfortable on grass by reaching the Queen's Club final in June.

After reaching her first Wimbledon semi-final, Anisimova was already guaranteed to move into the top 10 in the WTA rankings for the first time next week.

Now she is within touching distance of finally fulfilling her potential with a first Grand Slam crown.

- Dramatic finale -

Sabalenka was in the All England Club semi-finals for the third time, but once again she fell short of a first final appearance at the All England Club.

It was another painful loss in 2025 for Sabalenka, who has yet to win a Grand Slam this year and let her emotions boil over after losing to Coco Gauff in three sets in the French Open final in June.

Beaten in the Australian and Roland Garros finals since winning the 2024 US Open, Sabalenka failed in her bid to reach a fourth successive Grand Slam title match.

The 27-year-old has now lost six of her nine meetings with Anisimova, who avenged her French Open last 16 defeat to the Belarusian last month.

In a bruising first set, Anisimova crucially saved four break points in the seventh game and moved ahead in the match thanks to a Sabalenka double-fault.

Anisimova's double-fault in the second set handed Sabalenka a 4-3 lead, a present the Belarusian seized to level at one-set all.

Sabalenka looked on course for victory when she broke in the first game of the deciding set, only for Anisimova to break in the next game and again in the fourth.

In a fittingly dramatic finale, Anisimova could not convert a match-point when she served for the match.

But Sabalenka lost her nerve in the next game as Anisimova sealed the biggest win of her life.

M.Ito--JT