Amanda Anisimova admits the reason she keeps losing in finals after her US Open defeat to Aryna Sabalenka

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Amanda Anisimova was hoping to avoid a third successive final defeat when she played Aryna Sabalenka in New York.

The American star has enjoyed the best year of her career in 2025, breaking into the WTA top ten for the first time.

She made headlines at the All England Club when Anisimova qualified for the Wimbledon final, a match she lost in straight sets, 0-6, 0-6.

Bouncing back at the US Open, the 24-year-old returned to the championship match, but fell short once more, as Sabalenka beat Anisimova in straight sets.

During her post-match press conference, Anisimova explained why she keeps losing in finals on the WTA Tour.

Amanda Anisimova admits she feels ‘a lot of nerves’ when playing finals

After the match, Anisimova shared her thoughts on her defeat to Sabalenka, outlining what she struggles with in finals.

“I just felt like throughout the match, I wasn’t playing my best tennis,” she said.

“I feel like with finals, I have a lot of nerves. It’s something I’m trying to work on, but I just wish I played more aggressively.”

Anisimova has played eight WTA Tour finals in total and holds a losing record of 3-5.

Having now lost three in a row, Anisimova is concerned that she may not be ‘fighting’ hard enough when the pressure is on.

“Of course, she was playing amazingly, she was playing very aggressively and doing all the right things, so she made it difficult for me today,” she said.

“But I didn’t win today, so of course, I didn’t do enough.

“That’s just the reality, and I have to accept that, and yeah, I feel like if I fought harder, then I would maybe have given myself more of a chance, but I feel like I was in the back seat today.”

In Anisimova’s defence, she was playing against one of the very best players in the women’s game, just as she was in the Wimbledon final.

Sharing her thoughts on Sabalenka as a player, Anisimova gave plenty of credit to the world number one.

“She came out and she was playing great tennis from the start. Obviously, she’s number one and she’s very capable of playing amazing tennis and she did that today,” said Anisimova.

“I give all the credit to her.

“I truly, really admire her. She puts in a lot of work, and that’s why she is where she is.

“We’ve had a lot of tough matches. I wish today had gone a bit deeper, but that’s the way it is.”

Disappointed with the result, Anisimova may feel better about herself when she looks at the WTA rankings on Monday.

Set to debut at a new career-high ranking of fourth in the world, it’s clear to see the American’s hard work is paying off.

Another set of rankings are also looking pretty good for Anisimova as she is now well-positioned to accomplish one of her pre-season objectives.

Amanda Anisimova edges closer to WTA Finals qualification

Following her run to the final at Flushing Meadows, Anisimova moved herself to within touching distance of WTA Finals qualification.

Currently fourth in the race, it would take a real collapse from Anisimova for her not to make an appearance in Riyadh later this year.

Proud of her efforts in 2025, Anisimova admitted qualification for the WTA Finals was a somewhat unrealistic target she set for herself at the beginning of the year.

“It was actually a goal of mine at the start of the year, she said.

“Me and my agent were joking about that, it was kind of a reach when I was starting off the year.

“Now I have a chance to qualify and play in it.

“But it’s really hard to look at the fall and think about that right now, because today was a pretty hard loss to take.”

Anisimova will no doubt take a few days to recover from her defeat to Sabalenka in the US Open final before jetting off to Seoul for the Korea Open, which begins on Monday, September 15.