Can Amanda Anisimova avenge a 6-0, 6-0 Wimbledon loss to Iga Swiatek at the 2025 US Open?

NEW YORK—You are an introverted 24-year-old American former tennis prodigy with a moving backstory that includes mental health struggles and a hiatus to treat them. You are ranked No. 8, and have been to exactly one Grand Slam final. You were overwhelmed in it, losing 6-0, 6-0. The loss was mitigated by your grace and dignity in a runner-up speech that endeared you countless fans.

On Wednesday in Flushing Meadows, you will stroll out into the maw of Arthur Ashe Stadium, where some 23,000-plus spectators will be waiting, to play a singles quarterfinal.

OR: You are an excitable, inquisitive 24-year-old Grand Slam champion six times over, from the tennis hinterland of Poland. You are ranked No. 2, but have already enjoyed a lengthy sojourn at the very top. Your most remarkable win occurred less than two months ago in the Wimbledon final, where you mercilessly ended a heart-rending comeback saga without surrendering a single game.

On Wednesday, you will stroll out into the cauldron of Ashe, where some of the most jingoistic fans in tennis will waiting, to play a singles quarterfinal.

Dear reader, I ask you: who would you rather be in this scenario, Amanda Anisimova or Iga Swiatek?

“I'm really excited and looking forward to it,” Anisimova said, after booking her place in the quarters with a win on Monday night over Beatriz Haddad Maia. “At this stage of the game you're going to play a really tough opponent, regardless. So, to be able to have a rematch, to face her again and give myself another chance, I'm really, really happy about that…It's going to be a really tough challenge, but I feel like I've been playing well.”

Swiatek declined to comment on the match-up after her routine fourth-round win over Ekaterina Alexandrova earlier in the day but before Anisimova’s night-match. “There's no point now for me to overthink who I'm going to play. I'm just going to see who wins, and that's it. I'll prepare.”

Swiatek’s attitude obscures the fact that a tennis match is very rarely exclusively about forehands and backhands, or topspin vs. slice, although imperturbable Jannik Sinner may make it seem so. Unpredictable emotions simmer under the surface in every match. Doubts gnaw, thoughts invade. Confidence waxes and wanes. This upcoming battle is likely to be an epic illustration of all the things tennis is about besides those drop shots and double faults.

The Xs and Os do matter, though, even if there are very few secrets. This match is likely to play out with the Wimbledon champion trying to pull Anisimova this way and that, trying to deny her time to square up and draw a bead on the ball with her superb, rock-steady backhand or powerful forehand.

Swiatek will be intent on converting a high percentage of first serves, often following them up with heavy, topspin forehands meant to push Anisimova back, off the baseline.

Anisimova has been working hard to improve her serve, her own goal a desire to take control of points and fending off Swiatek, an aggressive returner. Swiatek has a penchant for turning points into track meets, and she puts all but the best movers on the Hologic WTA tour (a group that does not include Anisimova) on the back foot. But execution will play the main role, especially under the circumstances.

Neither woman has a glaring advantage over the other in any of the various statistical categories tracked by IBM or the WTA, which is worth mentioning mainly because it just goes to show how the outcome of any match is usually determined by how a handful of points is decided.

It really means a lot [to be this far], because I know how hard it is to play at this Slam. It's the city, and there's a lot going on. Also, being a home slam, it puts a little bit more pressure on the American players, I think. But I really just tried to embrace it since the first day that I got here. It's really a dream come true to be in the quarterfinal. I'm just very grateful. Amanda Anisimova

Anisimova will be the overwhelming, sentimental favorite—everyone, including Swiatek, knows that. But Anisimova has been very good about tamping down the revenge angle, and quashing the suggestion that the loss at Wimbledon has somehow been a benefit, making her a better player. Losing a Wimbledon final without winning a game was a painful, unforgettable blow, period. She has acknowledged it, and moved on.

“I don't think it (losing) helped me become a better player in any way,” she said, explaining that “bouncing back” over the summer was somewhat difficult because that Wimbledon situation was so novel. “It wasn't a good performance by any means. I feel like maybe I learned some things from it, and some things I can do differently. But above all, I think it was just a learning experience.”

Although Anisimova won the junior singles title here, this is the furthest Anisimova has gone in a main draw. Swiatek, the 2022 main draw champion, is a seasoned veteran who has played in 10 previous quarterfinals and knows what lies in store in these last, critical rounds.

“It really means a lot [to be this far],” Anisimova said, “because I know how hard it is to play at this Slam. It's the city, and there's a lot going on. Also, being a home slam, it puts a little bit more pressure on the American players, I think. But I really just tried to embrace it since the first day that I got here. It's really a dream come true to be in the quarterfinal. I'm just very grateful.”

One player’s dream is another one’s nightmare. Swiatek has shown repeatedly that she can handle the super-sized nature of the US Open, where many of the familiar challenges are magnified for foreign players.

“For sure it’s harder to focus here (than at Wimbledon),” Swiatek said. “The sensation is different, and it's harder to be in your bubble…At Wimbledon you don't have it [the elaborate player introductions], but here suddenly everybody is reminding you how much you won. Then the screens, you know, on the stadium, sometimes you see the lights during the point. It's a totally different experience. It's harder here, for sure.”

Swiatek took some criticism after the Wimbledon match for keeping the pedal to the metal the entire way, denying Anisimova even a game. She tried to put that issue rest on Monday, explaining:

“I think most of us were raised that way, to win every point. But obviously, because of the score at Wimbledon, everybody started asking this question. When you don't play sports, you don't get it, but if you do, then you know that you're not going to give anything for free.”

That sentiment serves as the champion’s code, and it has carried Swiatek far. But it’s unlikely that on Wednesday, the crowd in Gotham will be sympathetic to Swiatek’s point-of-view as the American underdog seeks sporting redemption.