Former coach of Serena Williams,
Rennae Stubbs, has highlighted the primary reason behind
Amanda Anisimova’s dismal performance in the
Wimbledon final. The 23-year-old had a day to forget in the final of the third Grand
Slam of the year as she suffered a thumping defeat to Poland’s
Iga Swiatek in
straight sets with a score of 6-0, 6-0.
Anisimova became the first player in more than 100 years
to suffer a defeat in the final of Wimbledon without winning a single game. The
result came as a surprise for many as Anisimova, who was playing in her first-ever Grand Slam final, came into the match full of confidence after beating the
world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinal with a score of 6-4, 4-6,
6-4. After the match, Anisimova was clearly devastated by her performance and broke down in tears during the presentation.
Former coach of Serena, Stubbs, spoke at length about exactly
what went wrong with Anisimova in the match in her podcast. Stubbs was of the opinion that the occasion made Anisimova freeze on the court, and she ended up doing hardly anything right.
"Even in the final, she [Iga Swiatek] didn't waver
at all. She just kept doing the right thing," said Stubbs on her The
Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast. "And look, it's clear that Amanda Anisimova
was completely frozen in the final. She was probably spent from winning the
semifinal, came out in that match and just depleted, and then also incredibly
nervous. You could tell that her movement was off, she wasn't the same mover. It
was like Iga would go and hit a ball and she would just like start moving to
one side. There was no sense of balance on the court. And I just thought, 'Oh,
she's just she's just frozen. And it happens. It
happens and she was exhausted. She will learn from this and it'll make her a
better player."