Blinding Lights: Amanda Anisimova rues missed opportunities, serve woes after US Open final

NEW YORK — The bright lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium proved too much for Amanda Anisimova, who fell to a locked-in Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6 (3) in Saturday’s US Open final.

The match was played under the closed roof due to rain and thunderstorms, creating an unexpected wrinkle for Anisimova as she faced the world No. 1 in her second Grand Slam final.

The American stopped play several times to complain to chair umpire Mirjana Veljovic that the stadium lights were literally too bright, but was told nothing could be done.

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“I haven’t played on the court during the day with the roof closed, and it was literally white,” Anisimova said in her post-match press conference. “I couldn’t see the ball when I was serving, like, the whole match.

“I think starting from the warmup, I was, like, this is really going to be a problem for me. I didn’t know what to do.”

Anisimova said she effectively had to serve blind, going off feel and hoping for the best against Sabalenka, who capitalized on the openings. Her serve was broken five times—three in the first set and twice in the second. Another telling stat: she won only 10 points on her second serve (36%) all match, including just two in the lopsided opening set.

“There was no way of adjusting, because I could not see the ball when I was serving,” she said. “That was a huge shock to my system, because I knew if I can’t hold my serve, it was going to be very tough to stay in the match.”

Despite her struggles, Anisimova kept herself competitive with her ground game, hitting more winners than Sabalenka (22 to 13). But she also racked up more errors and never settled into a rhythm as Sabalenka powered to her fourth Grand Slam title.

Read More: Amanda Anisimova roars into US Open final with marathon win over Naomi Osaka

The 24-year-old was also trying to erase the sting of a brutal Wimbledon final loss to Iga Swiatek earlier this summer, when she was beaten 6-0, 6-0.

Still, the American can take pride in a career-best season. She’s set to climb to No. 4 in the world on Monday—a new career high—after winning her first WTA 1000 title in Doha and reaching back-to-back Grand Slam finals.

For the first time, she’s also in the running to qualify for the season-ending WTA Finals in Riyadh.

“It was actually a goal of mine in the start of the year. Me and my agent, we were joking about that, that that would be a goal of mine.

“It was kind of far in the reach when I was starting off the year, but now I have a chance to qualify and play in it, so that’s really special.”