Rafael Nadal Sends Personal Message to Amanda Anisimova Amid Historic Wimbledon Loss
Amanda Anisimova found herself making history at Wimbledon 2025 following her Ladies' Singles Final match against number eight seed, Iga Swiatek — but not for the reason she had hoped.
Advertisement
Anisimova, 23, was unable to win a single game against Swiatek during Saturday's finals on Centre Court, resulting in a historic 6-0 6-0 loss against the Pol. The championship match lasted only 57 minutes. It was the first time since 1911 that the Wimbledon ladies' champion was decided by that score.
It was the young American's first Grand Slam appearance, and despite the rare "double bagel" score, a phrase used to describe a 6-0 set in tennis because the "0" resembles the shape of a bagel, Anisimova handled the loss with poise and grace.
Amanda Anisimova reaches for a forehand at The Championships Wimbledon 2025.© Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Sport, after all, is as much about the process as it is about the outcome, and there are positives to take away even in the face of historic defeat. Former world No. 1 tennis superstar, Rafael Nadal, knows this better than most, and sent Anisimova a personal message via X.
Advertisement
"Be proud, @AnisimovaAmanda! Grand Slam finalist! 👏🏻👏🏻"
While Nadal, 39, has racked up 92 ATP singles titles, including 22 Grand Slams, he has also had his share of losses, some more painful to remember than others. The Spaniard is beloved not only for his mastery on the court, but for his positive attitude and strong mental fortitude in both good times and bad.
During a 2012 interview with HuffPost UK Blogger Victoria Coren, Nadal was asked about the skill and level of character it takes to deal with the ups and downs of winning and losing.
"It's something I think I've shown in my career — you have to accept both losing and winning well," Nadal responded. "I've stayed calm when I'm winning and I've stayed calm when I've lost. Tennis is a sport where we have a lot of tournaments every week, so you can't celebrate a lot when you have big victories, and you cannot get too down when you're losing as in a few days you'll be in the next tournament and you'll have to be ready with that."
Advertisement
Anisimova has much to be proud of from her Wimbledon run. Not only did she make it to the finals, but she beat world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals to get there.
Finishing runner-up at a Grand Slam is no small feat, and like Nadal's wise reminder, the next tournament is right around the corner — another moment to meet.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
12 minutes ago
- New York Times
Tara Moore, British tennis player given four-year doping ban, says system is ‘broken'
Tara Moore, the British tennis player given a four-year ban for a doping violation, says 'the anti-doping system is broken.' Moore's ban was confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last Tuesday. After returning a positive test for the anabolic steroids boldenone and nandrolone following a tournament in April 2022, an independent panel ruled that Moore bore no fault or negligence in December 2023, only for the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) to appeal that decision to CAS. Advertisement CAS ruled in the ITIA's favor, at the same time dismissing a counter-appeal from Moore, who was previously Britain's No. 1-ranked doubles player. The 32-year-old's four-year ban is minus the time she served while provisionally suspended, which began following her adverse test result from the tournament in Colombia. She will be able to return to tennis at the start of the 2028 season. 'The last three-and-a-half years have broken me into so many pieces,' Moore said in a statement on social media Sunday. 'As my family and friends have scrambled to pick up the broken shards of me, they've glued me back together in the form of a different person. 'I don't need a panel to tell me I'm innocent. I know the integrity I bring and I know I am innocent. I believe everyone over the past couple of years can see how subjective this process is. 'I have been the underdog. I have had my life as I knew it ripped away from me because the organisations and people in power failed to do what was right. They may have taken my fight away on the court, yet my fight is not over, not for me or others like me. 'The anti-doping system is broken. I am proof of this. We need to fix it. Not for me as it's too late, but for future players who find themselves in this unfortunate situation. I have so much more to say when the time is right.' Moore had argued that the presence of boldenone and nandrolone in her sample had been caused by the consumption of beef and/or pork while in Colombia. 'After reviewing the scientific and legal evidence, the majority of the CAS Panel considered that the player did not succeed in proving that the concentration of nandrolone in her sample was consistent with the ingestion of contaminated meat,' the court said in Tuesday's media release. 'The Panel concluded that Ms. Moore failed to establish that the ADRV (anti-doping rule violation) was not intentional. The appeal by the ITIA is therefore upheld, and the decision rendered by the independent tribunal is set aside. The cross-appeal filed by Ms. Moore was declared inadmissible.' Advertisement Doping has been a highly contentious issue for the sport in recent months following the positive tests and subsequent bans served by men's world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and four-time French Open women's champion Iga Świątek. Both players went on to win their respective singles titles at Wimbledon last weekend.
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Draper targets US Open return after arm injury
British number one Jack Draper has withdrawn from the forthcoming Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open with an arm injury. But the 23-year-old is targeting a return at the US Open, which begins on 24 August. Draper, who reached the US Open semi-finals in 2024, said on social media: "After Wimbledon I picked up an injury in my left arm, nothing serious. "I have to make sure it recovers fully for the rest of the season." The Canadian Open gets under way on 26 July, while the Cincinnati Open starts on 4 August. Draper was knocked out of Wimbledon in the second round after being defeated in four sets by Croatia's Marin Cilic. He is not the only big name to withdraw from the Canadian Open, with Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner and 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic also confirming they will not play and citing recovery as the reason. Live scores, results and order of play Get tennis news sent straight to your phone
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘More must be done in football' – Lucy Bronze on preventing racial abuse
England defender Lucy Bronze calls for greater action in 'football and society' to end racial abuse, following a statement from teammate Jess Carter. Bronze has shown support for her England teammate after Carter released a statement on social media, speaking up about the racial abuse she has received online throughout Women's Euro 2025. Carter has said that she hopes her speaking out will help others who receive racial abuse 'deal with it', as the FA and UK Police work to locate the individuals responsible. 'A lot of players have known that this has always been an issue in football,' Bronze said. 'But for Jess especially to come out, we all know her as a person and she's so strong and so tenacious so she almost doesn't want to put out anything she's going through on someone else. 'To hear her talking about it yesterday, we're all just so disappointed in so-called fans writing out these messages. For Jess herself, she probably wouldn't put it out to the world but it's obviously difficult for her to go through. 'All the players, the FA and the staff are here to support her. We had meetings last night about it and we're all in full support of Jess and for any players going through racial abuse in this tournament. 'We know it's not just Jess as well. It's just disappointing we still have to sit here in this day and age, and to see Jess go through that herself.' England have released a statement announcing that they will stop taking the knee prior to kick-off to show that more needs to be done to stop racial abuse in football. 'The decision was driven by the group and certain individuals more than others,' Bronze added. 'Is the message as strong as it used to be? It's about putting another statement out there to say it is something that's still a problem. 'More needs to be done in football, more needs to be done in society. What that is right now, I don't exactly know. It's something we want to work towards and this is a small step to try to make change. 'I would like to say I'm very confident in our security team and they are whole-heartedly intent on finding the people involved in this. We are working with the police. 'We have very good security who are trying to find the people and hold people to accountable. It's one of the ways we can stop this.'
