Aryna Sabalenka Says It ‘Pissed’ Her Off That American Amanda Anisimova Celebrated Early in Upset Wimbledon Win

Tennis star Aryna Sabalenka is taking a difficult Wimbledon loss in stride while responding to a few particularly tough moments during a match against American winner Amanda Anisimova.

Overall, she accepted the defeat and said Anisimova, 23, “was a better player” that day — but recalled a frustrating instance during a set.

“I was just trying to chase the ball, and yeah, she was already celebrating it, and I was like, ‘I mean, that’s a bit early.’ But then she kind of pissed me off saying, ‘That’s what she [Sabalenka] does all the time,’ ” Sabalenka, 27, told reporters.

Still, she tried to channel the moment as fuel going forward.

“It actually helped me to keep fighting, and I’m like, okay, now I’m going to show you the tennis, you know? So I came back because I got really angry in that moment. So probably in the third set, I should’ve remembered,” she said, laughing off the moment.

Sabalenka lost the semifinal match to Anisimova in three sets, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

In response to a reporter’s question, the Belarusian pro, ranked No. 1 in the world, addressed another tense moment when the ball hit the net and dropped over.

“For sure she didn’t hear me, but I was just like, ‘You don’t want to say sorry?’ But she just wanted, I guess badly, to win this match and it’s on her,” Sabalenka said. “If she doesn’t feel like saying sorry, like she barely got that point and she didn’t feel like saying sorry for that tricky situation, that’s on her.”

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The two women embraced each other after their competition on Thursday, July 10. Following the loss, Sabalenka tried to focus her remarks on self-reflection and moving forward.

“Still a lot of things to be proud of, and this experience shows that next year I’m only hungrier and angrier and it’s only these tough defeats help me to come back much stronger, so I have huge hopes for the next year,” she said with a smile.