US Open 2025: Hear them roar

Amanda’s night to remember

Just six minutes before the clock struck 1:00am in New York City, Anisimova converted her third match point, leant back and gave out a huge scream as she finally sealed a three-hour win against former world No.1 Naomi Osaka.

At the net, Anisimova told Osaka she was proud of her and the way she has found a way back to her best level after returning from maternity leave.

After the handshake, Anisimova took a second to soak it all in and sunk to her knees, her head touching the centre court ground – she had just made the final at her home Grand Slam, less than two months after losing the Wimbledon final 6-0, 6-0 to Iga Swiatek.

Two years ago, Anisimova was on an indefinite break from tennis as she was dealing with burnout and mental health concerns. Like Osaka, she returned to the tour at the start of 2024 and this summer, she is playing an aggressive, unburdened kind of tennis everyone knew she was always capable of.

The 24-year-old gave us a lesson in the art of bouncing back, as she put the Wimbledon final firmly behind her to become the youngest player to reach the Wimbledon and US Open women’s singles finals in the same season since Serena and Venus Williams achieved that feat in 2002.

She will rise to a career-high No.4 in the world on Monday.

Osaka, who knocked out former champion and No.3 seed Coco Gauff in the fourth round, and two-time semi-finalist Karolina Muchova in the quarter-finals, threw everything at Anisimova, firing 32 winners, including 15 aces throughout the match.

But Anisimova also brought the fire, unleashing 50 winners of her own in a see-saw affair that saw her win 67 percent of the points when returning Osaka’s second serve.

Asked how she managed to finally shake off the Osaka threat, a breathless Anisimova said on court: “Oh my God, I don’t know. Naomi is playing amazing tennis, she’s back where she belongs.

“I told her I’m so proud of her after having a baby, playing at this level is insane. She was really giving me a run for the final. I wasn’t sure I was going to make it past the finish line, I had to dig deep. It was a huge fight out there today.”

Osaka was broken while serving for the opening set, but still managed to clinch the tiebreak and claim a lead. In similar fashion, Anisimova was broken while serving for the second set but held her nerves to take the breaker.

In the decider, Osaka dropped just two points behind her first serve but was punished on her second delivery as Anisimova converted the one break point she could create in that frame to seal the deal.

“Most of the time I thought that it's going to slip away from me, and I'm not going to make it into the final,” Anisimova confessed in her press conference.

“At some points I was trying to accept that, as tough as that was. And in the later moments of the second set I was trying to remind myself what was on the line and the opportunity I have.

“I stepped onto the court, and I felt like I wasn't playing my tennis because I was nervous, and I was letting the stress get to me a little bit, but then I tried to dig deep and find my game. I feel like throughout the match I was able to find it more and more, and yeah, the most important thing was that I kept fighting.”

Anisimova’s win means an American has now made the final in five consecutive Grand Slams.

She takes a 6-3 head-to-head lead entering her final against Sabalenka, who lost to Anisimova in the Wimbledon semi-finals two months ago.

On her part, Osaka was proud of her run this summer, that saw her reach the final of the WTA 1000 in Canada and return to a Grand Slam semi-final for the first time since the 2021 Australian Open.

“Honestly I don't feel sad,” said Osaka, who had never lost a major semi-final or major final before.

“It's really weird. Well, it's not weird, because I just feel like I did the best that I could. Honestly, it's kind of inspiring for me, because it makes me just want to train and try to get better, and hopefully just give it my very best shot again and see what happens. But I think I can't be mad or upset at myself.”

Aryna stands her ground

Earlier in the night, Aryna Sabalenka was at her defiant best as she roared past Jessica Pegula in three tight sets to reach her fourth final in the last five Grand Slams.

She gave a similar roar to Anisimova’s as she landed her 43rd winner of the contest to move into her third consecutive US Open final.

“I think I really played great tennis. I think I handled that pressure really well. I'm super proud of this win,” said the world No.1, who is gunning for a fourth major crown.

Pegula climbed from 2-4 down to take the opening set but couldn’t stop Sabalenka, despite dropping a mere four points on serve in the decider.

Sabalenka is having an incredible year but has also suffered some heartbreaking losses on the big stage, falling to Madison Keys in the Australian Open final, to Coco Gauff in the Roland-Garros final, and to Anisimova in the Wimbledon semis.

Her reaction to her win over Pegula on Thursday was a reminder of how resilient she can be and how badly she wants to defend her title and not go slamless this season.

“I badly wanted to give myself another opportunity, another final, and I want to prove to myself that I learned those tough lessons and I can do better in the finals,” said Sabalenka.