Amanda Anisimova shared a moment with the Princess of Wales after her Wimbledon defeat with their interaction heightening her emotion after she had gone off court in tears
Beaten Wimbledon finalist Amanda Anisimova confessed that her interaction with the Princess of Wales got her even more emotional after leaving the court in tears once she had lost to Iga Switatek.
The American, playing in her first ever Grand Slam final, struggled to cope with the occasion and failed to win a single game as she was beaten 6-0, 6-0 by the Pole. That scoreline hadn’t been seen on Centre Court in a women’s final for more than a century.
Anisimova, clearly disappointed with her display, left the court in tears and returned shortly after, but was still managing her emotions. Kate Middleton, the Patron of the All England Club, came down from the Royal Box to present the players with their awards.
There she had a quick moment for Anisimova, who admitted that their interaction only seemed to get her emotions going again, but kept the intimate details of their conversation private.
She said: “It was such an honor to meet her. Yeah, I wasn’t sure if she was going to come out today, if she was going to be there. So it was just really nice to see her. Yeah, she definitely had a few things to say that were making me emotional again (smiling). But yeah, she was really kind. She told me to keep my head high.
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“Don’t really want to reveal everything she said to me. I also spoke to her again after the match because I passed by her. Yeah, she had all the best to say to me. I guess it was a positive of today, and I can try and focus on that and not the match.
The Princess of Wales has earned praise for her caring nature when presenting the trophies at Wimbledon in the past. Two years ago Ons Jabeur lost her second final on the bounce at SW19 but was helped by some touching words from the Royal, who offered also a hug.
Anisimova was evidently emotional and teared up during a runners-up speech, where she acknowledged her mother’s selflessness in getting her to the position she finds herself in today. That was alongside thanking her team for the past fortnight.
The 13th seed, who had beaten the World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals, admitted that fatigue had been setting in and she struggled to complete her warm-up on the practice courts on Saturday morning, which immediately had alarm bells ringing.
She said on her below par performance: “I think it was just overall fatigue. It’s been, like, a long season. Yeah, I think it’s just something I need to work on. Obviously it’s my physicality at the end of the day that I need to improve. Yeah, it’s just the way I felt. I don’t really know what exactly. It’s just a feeling I had. I knew that was kind of a red flag.”