US OPEN

September 6, 2025

Amanda Anisimova

Press Conference

A. SABALENKA/A. Anisimova

6-3, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations on a great tournament and a great run. Congratulations. Questions, please.

Q. I just want to ask two quick ones. What's it like to have the power of that crowd at your fingertips? I would imagine it hadn't felt like the way it felt before. Then does the experience of the last two months make you hungrier than ever about your tennis?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, it was an amazing atmosphere, of course, and I tried to enjoy the atmosphere as much as I could. Especially in the second set when I started to come back, they were really backing me, and I think that was really helpful to try and stay in the match.

I've been really motivated, and I really wanted to give myself the best shot in the final. I don't know. Like, making it to the final is obviously really special, but it would have been a dream come true to make it all the way.

But, yeah, I mean, of course I'm motivated, and I hope I can keep working really hard to give myself more opportunities to be in more and more finals.

Q. I just wanted to ask about something I think you said in the speech. I think you said, "I didn't fight hard enough for my dreams today." Could you explain what you meant by that? Because it looked like you were fighting.

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I don't know. I just felt like throughout the match I wasn't playing my best tennis. I don't know. I feel like with finals I have a lot of nerves, and it's something I'm trying to work on, but I just wish I played more aggressive. Of course, she was playing amazing. She was playing very aggressive and doing all the right things, so she made it very difficult for me today.

Yeah, I mean, I didn't win today, so of course I didn't do enough. That's just the reality, and I have to accept that. Yeah, I feel like if I fought harder, then maybe I would have given myself more of a chance, but I feel like I was really kind of in the back seat today.

Q. You said that you had a lot more winners than her throughout the...

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Sorry. I'm just looking at your jacket. (Laughing.)

Q. You had a lot more winners than her throughout the match. I'm curious if you sensed that, that you were kind of dictating and putting her on defense much more than Sabalenka is used to doing?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: I don't know. It didn't feel like that at all. I felt like I was really rushed, and it was really hard to have any momentum or rhythm. Of course, I knew that I have to be the more aggressive player if I want to win, and it was just really hard on this given day.

I was trying to stay in the match and figure out a way of how I can make it more difficult for her, but yeah, I mean, the rallies weren't long at all. It was really tough, and I didn't really notice that I was making more winners than her.

Q. You seemed unhappy with something when you were throwing the ball up to serve. Was it the roof or the lights? What was bothering you?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Well, I haven't played on the court during the day with the roof closed, and it was literally, like, white, and I couldn't see the ball when I was serving. Like, the whole match, I think starting from the warmup, I was, like, this is really going to be a problem for me. I didn't know what to do.

There was no way of adjusting, because I could not see the ball when I was serving, and that was a huge shock to my system, because I knew if I can't hold my serve, it was going to be very tough to stay in the match.

Of course, now I know that, and it's something I can bring into other tournaments or when I have to experience that again, but it was extremely frustrating for me. I mean, I was not expecting that at all, and that made my serving today very, very difficult.

Q. I just wondered, you talked about sort of feeling tired before your last final. I just wondered how you felt going into this one.

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: No, I actually felt, like, fine. Of course, I was mostly nervous, but I really learned from the last final and that Grand Slam of what I need to do.

I was kind of treating it like I have a marathon every single day, and I'm going to be ready for it. I was training as hard as I can, like, throughout any fatigue that I had. I was really trying to do all the right things to give myself the best possible chance of winning today, but just wasn't enough.

Yeah, I definitely felt better physically today.

Q. Earlier in the tournament you talked about calling on mindfulness tactics. Just talk about how in some matches you can do that and in others it's more of a challenge.

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I feel like every match is obviously going to be different, and it's something I always try and do, and I try and practice a lot of mindfulness things and a lot of things that will just calm my nervous system and give myself the best chance to have energy and positive mindset throughout the match.

I feel like I've done my best, honestly, with all of that stuff. Also, listening about Wimbledon every single day of the last two weeks, I mean, I've done really well with that. I've tried to turn everything around for myself. Obviously today was better than my last final, but yeah, again, today was a really tough match. She made it difficult for me, but it doesn't mean that I didn't do all the same things that I've been doing every other day.

Q. You've played Aryna a lot over the years, of course. Was there anything she did today that was a little different or that surprised you at all? Then, I would also just like to ask you about what makes it impossible to beat her in a tiebreaker? I mean, her record in those is just incredible this season.

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, she came out, and she was playing great tennis from the start. Obviously she's No. 1, and she's very capable of playing amazing tennis, which she did that today. I give all the credit to her.

Yeah, I mean, I also have a pretty good record in tiebreaks, I'm pretty sure. I just wasn't playing great. Couldn't serve again. Yeah, I mean, that's the reason why she's No. 1, and that's why I said that in my speech. I truly really admire her, and she puts in a lot of work, and that's why she's where she is.

Yeah, we've had a lot of tough matches. I wish today would have gone a bit deeper, but that's the way it is.

Q. Another great run. With all of your success this year, this will probably be the first time you are in contention to qualify for the WTA Finals. I'm just curious how that changes how you feel coming into the fall and what it means to navigate, feel more and more part of the top of the women's game.

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, it was actually a goal of mine in the start of the year. Me and my agent, we were joking about that (laughing), that that would be a goal of mine, and it was kind of far in the reach when I was starting off the year, but now I have a chance to qualify and play in it, so that's really special.

It's really hard to look at the fall and think about that right now, because I mean, today was a pretty hard loss to take.