LONDON: Aryna Sabalenka said ‘losing sucks’ and admits her return game let her down after she was knocked out in the semi-finals at Wimbledon.
The world No. 1 fell in a three-set roller-coaster to Amanda Anisimova, who is the first player in the Open Era to reach a Wimbledon final after playing in the qualifying tournament 12 months earlier. It is the third time Sabalenka has fallen in the semi-final stage at SW19 after also losing in 2021 and 2023. Coming into her latest match, she had dropped only one set in the tournament.
“Losing sucks, you always feel like you want to die, you don’t want to exist anymore, and this is the end of your life,” she said during her press conference.
“But then you sit there a little bit and you think about what you could have done differently in the match. You see stuff where you weren’t at your best in the match. You see that the other player performs much better.
“But the first moment is always the worst one because every time you compete at that tournament, and you get to the last stages, you think that you’re getting close to your dream.”
Sabalenka attended her press conference in a much calmer mood compared to her loss to Coco Gauff in the French Open final. After that match, she blasted her performance and then suggested Iga Swiatek would have won the match had she played. She later apologised for her remarks and personally spoke to Gauff.
As for her clash against Anisimova, Sabalenka says the biggest factor she struggled with was her return game. According to tournament data, she produced 12 return unforced errors, which was twice the amount of her opponent.
“My returns were much worse compared to the matches before,” she said.
“I have to say that I did my best. I gave everything I had at the moment. Okay, my return game didn’t work well. I still came back. I still had chances.
“She (Anisimova) was more brave today. Maybe when I was trying to stay in the points, she was playing more aggressively.
“I think I should have been a little bit more brave today and remember that I’m at the top of the ranking, and I can do that.”
This isn’t the first time Ansisimova has caused Sabalenka trouble. She has now lost to her six times on the Tour across three different surfaces.
As for her season overall, she has been denied the title at three consecutive major tournaments this year. Losing in the final of the Australian Open earlier this year, as well as the French Open. In comparison, she won two out of three Grand Slams played in 2024.
“I think even though I lost a lot of finals, I lost tough matches at the slams this year, I still think that the consistency I was able to bring till this moment, it’s impressive,” she commented.
“Still a lot of things to be proud of. This experience shows that next year I’m only hungrier and angrier. These tough defeats help me to come back much stronger.
“I have huge hopes for next year.”
