World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has hit out at Amanda Anisimova following her disappointing semi-final loss on Centre Court on Thursday. The Belarusian was visibly upset by Anisimova’s behavior during the match, which she felt impacted her composure. Sabalenka suffered a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 defeat against the 13th seed, ending her dream of reaching her first final at the All England Club.
The turning point of the match, according to Sabalenka, came when Anisimova celebrated a point too early, which rattled the top seed and led to an exchange of emotions between the two players.
“I was just trying to chase the ball. She was already celebrating it. I mean, that’s a bit too early. Then she kind of pissed me off saying, ‘Oh, that’s what she does all the time’,” Sabalenka said in her post-match press conference.
Despite the anger, Sabalenka admitted that the incident actually motivated her to fight harder in the match.
“I was grateful that she actually said that because it actually helped me to keep fighting. I’m like, ‘OK, now I’m going to show you the tennis’. I came back because I got really angry in that moment. Probably in the third set, I should have remembered that,” she added.
However, Sabalenka expressed disappointment over another incident—this time involving a point won by Anisimova after an unexpected net deflection, during which the American didn’t offer an apology.
“I just looked at her and, I mean, for sure she didn’t hear me. I was like, ‘You don’t want to say sorry?’ She just wanted, I guess, badly to win this match,” Sabalenka said.
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