(Video) Amanda Anisimova’s Furious On-Court Reaction Goes Viral After Losing to Jessica Pegula in the Dubai Open Semifinals

Jessica Pegula now leads Amanda Anisimova 5-0 in their head-to-head record on tour.

(Video) Amanda Anisimova’s Furious On-Court Reaction Goes Viral After Losing to Jessica Pegula in the Dubai Open Semifinals

Amanda Anisimova's furious reaction has gone viral (via X/The Tennis Letter)

In Short
  • Amanda Anisimova lost to Jessica Pegula in the Dubai Open semifinals, marking her fifth consecutive defeat to Pegula.
  • Anisimova expressed frustration by smashing her racket after the match, reflecting her disappointment.
  • Jessica Pegula advanced to her 21st WTA tour-level final and will face Elina Svitolina, who defeated Coco Gauff in the semifinals.

Amanda Anisimova was visibly frustrated after her excruciating fifth consecutive defeat against fellow compatriot Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships. The American star was eager to beat Pegula for the first time in her career, but after failing to do so, she took the anger out on her racket and begged.

After a disappointing early retirement at the Qatar Open in the second round, which halted her title defense, Anisimova was desperate to quickly make amends. The 24-year-old had dropped in the WTA rankings from World No.4 to No.6 after failing to defend the WTA 1000 title in Doha last week.

She came through a Titanic battle against Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals, which left the Russian teenager in tears after a topsy-turvy three-set clash at the Center Court in Dubai, in which Anisimova left the court with a smile after stopping Andreeva from defending the WTA 1000 title.

Anisimova then faced Pegula on Friday (February 20) in the semi-finals. She lost to Pegula in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open last month in straight sets and was the second favorite to win the clash. However, she started the match with more aggression than the 31-year-old Pegula, who will turn 32 on February 24.

Anisimova won the first set without much sweat and continued with the rhythm early in the second set. She led 3-0 before Pegula won her first game of the set after hitting great serves. Anisimova then let Pegula break her for the first time in the match, and the World No.5 made sure she continued with the momentum on the court.

The huge let-off for Anisimova saw her win just one game in the remainder of the set, with Pegula winning 6-4. Just one break of serve was enough for Pegula to swing the pendulum to her side and she raced to a 4-1 lead in the deciding set, which left Anisimova in a race against time to seize back control of the tie.

Pegula ran away with the victory 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach her 21st WTA tour-level final and first this season. After the match, Anisimova was trying to put her rackets into her bag, but, in her anger and in a hurry, it seemed difficult, so she smashed the racket on the back a couple of times before forcing it in. She then put the other rackets into the bag and walked quickly away from the court, disappointed.

Jessica Pegula says she and Elina Svitolina share almost the same style of play

Jessica Pegula reaching the final of the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai means she has a chance to earn more than 500 ranking points, as she crashed out in the round of 16 last year after losing to Linda Noskova. The American star will face Elina Svitolina in the final. Svitolina has won the Dubai Tennis Championships twice in her career.

Jessica Pegula (2)
Jessica Pegula (Image via X/WTA)

Speaking ahead of the clash on Saturday (February 21), Pegula noted that she has a similar playing style to Svitolina and that their matches have become more competitive in the past few years on tour. Pegula holds a 5-3 lead in their head-to-head record, but Svitolina won their last meeting at Indian Wells last year:

I think the last time I played Elina (Svitolina) was at Indian Wells last year. So it’s been about a year since I last faced her. Our matches are always tight; we have a pretty similar playing style. I’d say we’re both more counterpunchers, but we can also play aggressively. We’re very solid, I think, on both forehand and backhand.

Svitolina defeated Coco Gauff in the semi-final of the Dubai Tennis Championships to earn a place in the final. The Ukrainian won in three sets, her second win over the American star in less than a month, having beaten Gauff in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in Melbourne.

Also Read: Roger Federer Offers Advice to Joao Fonseca Who’s ‘Bit Like’ Jannik Sinner