The Longest Short Day at Wimbledon: An American Finalist and a ‘Double Bagel’ Loss
Amanda Anisimova reacts during the trophy ceremony after the Wimbledon final.
London
Tennis is cruel. Every sport is cruel in its own way, but tennis cruelty is a barren place, because of the forced isolation. It’s really just you. You triumph alone, you suffer alone.
Saturday at Wimbledon, it was Amanda Anisimova’s turn to suffer. Until then it had been a dream tournament for the 23-year-old American, who’d reached the first major final of her career after toppling World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semis.
Match of a lifetime, that stunner was. Knocking off Sabalenka was both a highlight and evidence of the 13th-seeded Anisimova’s continued recovery after leaving the sport due to burnout.
“It’s become unbearable being at tennis tournaments,” Anisimova candidly announced in May 2023. “At this point my priority is my mental well-being and taking a break.”
She returned in early 2024, crawling out of the hinterlands of the Top 200 and winning a tournament earlier this year in Doha, but this magical run at the All-England Club was the richest reminder of Anisimova’s talent.
Not long ago, Anisimova had been one of tennis’s teenage comets, a New Jersey-born daughter of Russian emigres who charged to the fourth round at Australia and then the semis at Roland-Garros.
She was the next big thing. Then she stopped, because she had to.
Anisimova wasn’t shy about discussing her time off, how beneficial it had been, not touching that racket and focusing on anything besides tennis. It actually helped her tennis.
“Being able to prove that you can get back to the top if you prioritize yourself–that’s been incredibly special to me,” she said.
Anisimova walked away to save Amanda, and now she was playing better than ever. It was a useful message in a sport that routinely punishes young talent, and burnout is worn as a badge.
Then Saturday.
Anisimova was not the favorite. On the other end was Iga Swiatek, who’d never won Wimbledon but had five majors and blitzed through Belinda Bencic in the semis, 6-2, 6-0.
Swiatek, who’d made her name on the French Open clay, had historically struggled to adapt her game to grass. Her best Wimbledon was a quarterfinal in 2023.
It became as routine as the fickle weather and strawberries—the annual, baffled dismissal of Iga Swiatek.
Not anymore. Swiatek looked like peak Swiatek. She leapt on Anisimova immediately, breaking her serve and continuing to pounce. It was rough to watch. In about the time of a sitcom rerun, Swiatek closed out the first set 6-0–an embarrassing opening set “bagel” in a championship final.
Iga Swiatek won her sixth career major title with the victory at Wimbledon.
Anisimova was not helping herself. She was double-faulting on her serve, sailing forehands deep and wide, getting caught flat-footed when Swiatek made her change directions. A restless crowd barked “Come on Amanda” as encouragement, but it didn’t help. Swiatek rushed to a 3-0 second set lead. Dread filled the room.
This is when tennis is at its loneliest—when nothing’s working, and you’re helpless and floating out to sea. It’s hard enough when you’re a hacker at the chain-link courts. Imagine doing it in front of 15,000 people. At Wimbledon.
A frustrated Anisimova swung her racket sharply after missing a point. She drove a ball into the wall. She smacked the insides of her shoes. She stared upward at the afternoon sky as if to ask: Why?
Tennis is like that, too. It’s a sport that requires monastic commitment and endless repetition, hitting hard balls in the dark when nobody cares, and sometimes, it’s just not your day.
Anisimova had followed her older sister, Maria, onto the court when their parents, Olga and Konstantin, moved the family to the tennis salt mines of Florida. The sport became her life. Even after Konstantin’s sudden death from a heart attack in 2019, tennis remained in charge.
She had given so much, but this afternoon, the sport wasn’t giving anything back.
Anisimova was going down. The question was: How badly? There was history some remembered: A 1988 French final in which Steffi Graf broomed away Natasha Zvereva 6-0, 6-0. There was history no one remembered: the last double-bagel women’s final at Wimbledon occured in 1911.
Anisimova, who’d begun her tournament with her own 6-0, 6-0 victory, would end her run on the opposite side of that brutal score.
0-6, 0-6.
When it was over, Swiatek fell to the ground and skipped over to celebrate with her associates. Anisimova walked over to a chair and covered her face in a towel. She left the court to collect herself for a few minutes, but returned.
That’s another thing: Tennis makes both finalists stick around for a ceremony. The runner-up has to spend 20 more minutes in the last place on Earth he or she wants to be. It’s like being invited to the wedding of your ex. And having to give a speech.
Anisimova handled it with grace. She began by praising Swiatek, who was brilliant all day. She had kind words for tournament organizers and the crowd that pushed her along. This double bagel aside, it had been an unforgettable tournament.
This is when tennis is at its loneliest—when nothing’s workingAnisimova reacts during the final.
Anisimova wept when she pointed out Olga. Her mother had flown in that morning to be there, and Anisimova was so grateful she was there, even in this moment. Or maybe especially because of this moment. “My mom’s put in more work than I have, honestly,” Anisimova said. Olga brushed away tears behind her sunglasses.
Anisimova said what everyone who loses a final says, that they’ll use the loss as motivation. She’d already recovered from the tennis depths. Why couldn’t she do it again?
“I’m going to keep putting in the work,” she said. “I always believe in myself and I hope to be back one day.”
A cruel sport, tennis doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes you don’t get back. But who doesn’t want to believe in Amanda Anisimova?
