The 2025 edition of the Wimbledon championships featured one of the heaviest defeats in Grand Slam final history.
Amanda Anisimova was handed a 6-0, 6-0 defeat by Iga Swiatek in the title bout at the All England Club last year, with the Pole winning the tournament for the very first time.
It marked just the second time in the Open Era that a double bagel had occurred in a major final, following Steffi Graf’s 6-0, 6-0 win over Natasha Zvereva at the 1988 French Open.
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Swiatek became the first player, man or woman, from her country to win a Wimbledon singles title, and went within an Australian Open crown of the Career Grand Slam.
Anisimova, however, was on the wrong end of history, and it was clear to her then-coach, Rick Vleeshouwers, before the match that the final was not going to go well.
Amanda Anisimova’s former coach reflects on the Wimbledon loss
In an interview with Diary of a Professional Tennis Coach, Vleeshouwers said: “Yeah, well, obviously the semifinal was insane, but very demanding, like not only physically, but also in the head.
“And we decided to not practice the day in between, which if I look back and I could change one thing, that was definitely the thing.
“Not to practice like one hour, but at least go maybe to the indoor course at the All England Club and just do some serving returns just to stay connected with the environment. But she needed time off and she spent the whole day, I think, with family and relaxing.
“And then on the day of the final, we were warming up. And I recall after maybe three rallies, she came to me and she says, I cannot stand, I can barely stand on my feet, I’m so tired. So at that time, I already knew like, okay, this is going to be a challenging one.
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“I reflected a lot, maybe I should have told her at that point, okay, just try to bang every ball in the corner from the start and see where it takes you.
“So the first point, first serve, she serves 150k per hour. And that sends already an image like, please, I’m here for the kill. So I didn’t understand that one, but she couldn’t get her pace in the serve.
“And okay, the match went by and after the loss, it’s crazy to lose with those numbers. Everybody asked me this question, like, how was it? But I didn’t see Amanda in that match. So that’s the thing I told her as well.
“I said, sorry, it’s gonna feel like s—, but I didn’t see you on the court. So please feel horrible about it in the next days, but it’s gonna pass because if you look in the mirror, you weren’t yourself that day.
“It’s really unfortunate that it happens in the final. But we’ll bounce back and you see like, the US Open in the quarterfinal (when she beat Swiatek), people also asked me, yeah, how was she now able to win? But the game plan was still the same. Nothing changed. Amanda was just a different person.
“And with a two-week Grand Slam event, that’s something I think you need experience with, and Iga has already done it before multiple times. She was completely ready. And we were completely not ready physically and mentally.
“So yeah, unfortunate, but that still doesn’t take away that it was a great tournament.”
How Amanda Anisimova bounced back at the 2025 US Open
For a lot of players, a 6-0, 6-0 defeat in a Wimbledon final would’ve been an impossible mental obstacle to overcome, but not for Anisimova.
At the US Open later that year, the American put together another astonishing run, which included revenge against Swiatek.
Anisimova beat Swiatek in the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows, overcoming her Wimbledon conqueror in straight sets.
She then went on to defeat Naomi Osaka in the semifinals, but ultimately fell to Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
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