Aryna Sabalenka Calls Out Amanda Anisimova For Celebrating Points ‘Too Early’ During Wimbledon Semifinals

Aryna Sabalenka had asked Amanda Anisimova to apologize after the American luckily won a net cord point in the third set of the Wimbledon semifinal.

Aryna Sabalenka Calls Out Amanda Anisimova For Celebrating Points ‘Too Early’ During Wimbledon Semifinals

Aryna Sabalenka (image via Wimbledon)

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Bravery, composure, and a little bit of luck helped Amanda Anisimova stun World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Wimbledon semifinal. However, Sabalenka was not happy at Centre Court when Anisimova basked in the lucky moment in the third set that propelled the American to a 5-2 lead in her maiden Wimbledon semifinal.

Anisimova’s forehand clipped the net cord and dropped short on the Belarusian’s side. Sabalenka tried to reach the net but couldn’t do so on time. While the 23-year-old raised her arms in relief as she won the game, Sabalenka expressed her unhappiness over Anisimova’s supposedly unapologetic behavior. Trailing 2-5, Sabalenka felt Anisimova was celebrating “too early”, something that she delved into during her post-match press conference:

I was just trying to chase the ball. She was already celebrating it. I was like, ‘I mean, that’s a bit too early.’ She kind of pissed me off, like saying, ‘That’s what she does all the time’…

Though Sabalenka then held serve and fought back to reach 4-5, Anisimova, with a brilliant forehand winner, soon sealed the victory with a scoreline of 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

Anisimova is now into her first Grand Slam final. Although she outclassed Sabalenka, both of them made a huge number of unforced errors, with Anisimova making 42 unforced errors. She will have to play with much caution as she meets five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek in the finals.

This will mark their first meeting on court. Swiatek has been in extremely fine form throughout the grass swing and reached the Wimbledon final after a dominant 6-2, 6-0 victory over Belinda Bencic, where she was not broken at all by her opponent.

Iga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova have reached their maiden Wimbledon final

Amanda Anisimova and her upcoming opponent, Iga Swiatek, have had a somewhat similar trajectory this grass swing. Both reached their maiden grass court final ahead of SW19. Anisimova did it at the Queen’s Club Championships, where she lost to Tatjana Maria, while Swiatek did it at the Bad Homburg Open, where she lost to top seed Jessica Pegula.

Amanda Anisimova
Amanda Anisimova (Image via X/TNT Sports)

They both then reached their first Wimbledon semifinal this year and are now in their first Grand Slam final of the year. The last two women’s singles Grand Slams were won by Americans—Madison Keys and Coco Gauff. However, it will be a difficult challenge for Anisimova to join her compatriots in this list on Saturday.

Iga Swiatek is playing at a high level on both serves and returns. Her movements are quick and sharp, and errors are minimal. She has reached the final, dropping just one set on the way. The Pole’s brilliant grass swing marks a resurgence after going a year without reaching any WTA final, struggling on her beloved clay court and hard court.

Aryna Sabalenka’s heartbreaking exit

For Aryna Sabalenka, this marks a heartbreaking exit. She had a tough loss in both the Grand Slam finals this year. However, coming to Wimbledon, she has learned to manage her emotions better. She still has some positives to look back upon this year, such as her three titles in Brisbane, Miami and Madrid and her unique accomplishment of crossing 12,000 WTA ranking points, being only the second player to do so.

Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka (via Punto de Break)

Sabalenka now has 12,420 points after her run at Wimbledon. Serena Williams is the only person to have accumulated more ranking points than Sabalenka, with a staggering 13,615 points, which she reached in 2013.

Also Read: (Video) Aryna Sabalenka Stops Wimbledon Semifinal Against Amanda Anisimova to Help Fainting Fan