Facing Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open final was intimidating enough. Yet Amanda Anisimova stepped onto Arthur Ashe Stadium with the swagger of a 6–3 head-to-head lead and the belief that she could conquer the world No. 1 in their tenth battle. But in a cruel twist, it wasn’t just Sabalenka’s racket that troubled her on the day. It was the stadium itself, an unexpected enemy that left the American shaken in defeat.

During the post-match press conference, a reporter pointed out that Anisimova looked unhappy with something during the game. Intrigued by that, she asked the US Open finalist about the things that bothered her during her fight against Sabalenka. And it turned out that it was the roof of the Arthur Ashe Stadium that was closed due to rain and thunderstorms.

Amanda Anisimova revealed, “Well, I haven’t played on the court during the day with the roof closed. And it was literally like white. And I couldn’t see the ball when I was serving. Like, the whole match, I think starting from the warm-up, I was like, ‘This is really going to be a problem for me.’ And I didn’t know what to do.”  

It came as a huge shock to the American. After all, there was no way she could adjust to the lighting and the white roof right before the tournament. On top of that, she knew that if she didn’t hold her serve against the Belarusian, staying in the match was going to be impossible. She complained several times to chair umpire Mirjana Veljovic, but nothing could be done, and the numbers began to stack up against her.

The American saw her serve broken five times in total—three in the first set, two in the second. Moreover, she could only manage to win ten points on her second serve (a meagre 36%). “It was extremely frustrating for me. I mean, I was not expecting that at all, and that made my serving today very, very difficult.” As the game ended, Aryna Sabalenka noticed Amanda Anisimova’s unsettled face. And she had to say a few words to ease her up.

Aryna Sabalenka’s heartfelt words for Amanda Anisimova at the US Open

During the post-match interview, right before the officials handed her the $5M cheque, Sabalenka provided a few words of encouragement for Anisimova. Without wasting much time, she congratulated the American for becoming back-to-back finalist in Grand Slams. And then came the advice that cheered Amanda Anisimova, even though it was for a moment.

Sabalenka said, “I know how much it hurts losing in the finals. But trust me, the moment you’re gonna win your first one, and you’re going to win. You play incredible tennis. Well, congrats to you and your team on things you’ve been able to achieve after your comeback. And girl, you’re gonna enjoy it even more after these tough losses in the finals.”

Nevertheless, Amanda Anisimova learned an important thing about the Arthur Ashe Stadium. And promised to make use of this experience in the future. But speaking of the stadium, it’s also set to host the men’s final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. To make sure you don’t miss a moment from that match, make sure to keep an eye on EssentiallySports’ live blog of the US Open.