Amanda Anisimova enjoyed a stellar Wimbledon campaign up until the final, where she was heavily beaten.The American star produced one of the shocks of the year in the semifinals, when Anisimova knocked out Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.Advancing to her first major final, Anisimova took on five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek.Struggling from the very first ball on Centre Court, Anisimova lost to Swiatek 0-6, 0-6, after just 57 minutes.Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty ImagesReacting to the new world number seven’s crushing defeat, a WTA star who lost to Anisimova at Wimbledon has suggested the real reason for the result.Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova blames the ‘completely different’ conditions on Court One and Centre CourtEn route to the final, Anisimova defeated Russian star Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 7-6 in the quarterfinals.Appearing as a guest on Bolshe!, Pavlyuchenkova shared her thoughts on Anisimova’s 0-6, 0-6 defeat in the Wimbledon final.“I didn’t have time to watch, I wanted to watch, but I didn’t have time. Sometimes, of course, you don’t want to watch women’s matches either when you’ve already been eliminated,” she said.“I was very surprised by the score, 100%. It just seemed to me that Amanda [Anisimova], after she beat [Aryna] Sabalenka, was in great shape, and that the grass was her surface.”More Tennis NewsPavlyuchenkova did, however, offer up an explanation as to why Anisimova failed to win a game in the Wimbledon final.Photo by Frey/TPN/Getty Images“The only thing is that Centre Court is much slower than Court One, and Anisimova, before me, played [Linda] Noskova on Court One, with me on Court One,” she said.“It’s completely different.”Round Court Opponent Result Score F Centre Court Iga Swiatek Loss 0-6, 0-6 SF Centre Court Aryna Sabalenka Win 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 QF Court One Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Win 6-1, 7-6 4R Court One Linda Noskova Win 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 3R Court Three Dalma Galfi Win 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 2R Court 12 Renata Zarazua Win 6-4, 6-3 1R Court 15 Yulia Putintseva Win 6-0, 6-0 Amanda Anisimova’s court scheduling at Wimbledon in 2025Reaching the fourth round, Anisimova was scheduled on Court One, which she remained on for her quarterfinal win over Pavlyuchenkova.Then she was moved to the ‘slower’ Centre Court for her semifinal match and the final with Swiatek.Anisimova’s hard-hitting style is less suited to the slower surfaces, whereas Swiatek, a clay-court specialist, may in fact have preferred the conditions on Centre Court.The conditions likely wouldn’t have affected Anisimova as much in her semifinal win over Sabalenka, as her Belarusian opponent plays just as hard, if not harder, than the American.We’ll never know how Anisimova would have performed in the final if the conditions had been to her liking, but it’s certainly an interesting theory from Pavlyuchenkova.What happened to the other players Iga Swiatek beat in Grand Slam finals?Anisimova became Swiatek’s sixth Grand Slam final victim on Saturday, as the Pole maintained her perfect record.Only one player who suffered a defeat to Swiatek in a Grand Slam final managed to bounce back and win a major of their own.Coco Gauff fell to a convincing 1-6, 3-6 defeat in the 2022 French Open final, but didn’t let that affect her, as she rose to the top of the women’s game one year later.Beating Sabalenka in the final, Gauff won her first Grand Slam title at the 2023 US Open and added to her major tally by securing another win over the world number one at the 2025 French Open.Anisimova will surely be looking to Gauff for inspiration, as she looks to avoid the fate of the other players who lost to Swiatek in Grand Slam finals.Grand Slam final Runner-Up WTA Ranking Best Grand Slam result since 2020 French Open Sofia Kenin 26th 4R – 2020 US Open, 2021 French Open 2022 French Open Coco Gauff 2nd W – 2023 US Open, 2025 French Open 2022 US Open Ons Jabeur 71st F – 2023 Wimbledon 2023 French Open Karolina Muchova 12th SF – 2023 US Open, 2024 US Open 2024 French Open Jasmine Paolini 9th 4R – 2024 US Open 2025 Wimbledon Amanda Anisimova 7th – Players who lost to Iga Swiatek in Grand Slam finalsIt remains to be seen how Anisimova will perform at Grand Slams in the future, as she looks to get her hands on a major title.Anisimova will return to Grand Slam action at the 2025 US Open, when the tournament begins on Sunday, August 24.
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