Amanda Anisimova’s Australian Open has come to an end, thwarted by compatriot Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals.
It marked an impressive run from the two-time Grand Slam finalist, but she simply could not conjure up enough consistent firepower to trouble the tactical intelligence of her opponent.
For Jessica Pegula, this marks another huge opportunity, as she will now face Elena Rybakina for a spot in the Australian Open final.
However, for Amanda Anisimova, it’s back to the drawing board.
She has since spoken to the press, seeking to analyse what her next move is to continue her upward trajectory.
Amanda Anisimova reacts after losing to Jessica Pegula
Asked what exactly went wrong, whether it be a rough wake-up or a poor warm-up, Anisimova looked to bypass the excuses.
She instead claimed: “No, I had a great warmup, and I was feeling good. I was feeling calm for the majority of the day.
Where will Coco Gauff be ranked at the end of 2026?
“Then I was just, like, missing by a little bit every time in the first set. Just, like, super small margins. Sometimes that’s just the way it is in tennis. It’s really not going your way, or you’re missing by a little bit.
“So, yeah, I just need to figure out what goes wrong in those moments and how can I kind of clear myself and get myself back in the game and just play with bigger targets. Yeah, I just need to learn from this match and figure out what I did wrong.”
The American was then quizzed about whether losses like this hurt more given her recent rise up the rankings, to which she replied: “Yeah, I would say as a tennis player, you can be very irrational, and obviously I’m very grateful for the life that I have, the career I have, but like, you kind of lose your mind after matches like this.
“I think that after a day like today, I’m going to completely lose all sense of rationality for, like, 48 hours, and that’s just kind of what goes into working so hard for something, and then you have, like, matches and days like this. It’s different from any other career, I would say.
“So, yeah, that’s what makes tennis very tough, but also, you know, we have a great life, and I’m grateful for what I do, but it’s definitely very hard to process and go through, but yeah.”
Jessica Pegula’s late-career surge
Whilst Pegula has always been a top-level player, it feels like only in the last few years has she really established herself as a consistent threat for Grand Slam titles.
After all, it feels like only yesterday that she boasted the same quarter-final struggles that currently plague the likes of Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev.
Who has impressed you the most?
Now, she is into a third major semi-final of her career, and has a great opportunity against Elena Rybakina to reach another final.
Pegula also beat Madison Keys in the fourth round, with this win over Anisimova marking a second-straight fellow American she has defeated.
At 31 years old, she is playing better than ever.
