A clash of the comebacks: Anisimova outlasts Osaka in the U.S. Open semifinals

Amanda Anisimova defeated Naomi Osaka early Friday greeting to beforehand to nan women's U.S. Open finals connected Saturday. Both Anisimova and Osaka person been unfastened astir their intelligence wellness struggles. Sarah Stier/Getty Images hide caption

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Sarah Stier/Getty Images

Two comeback stories collided connected nan tennis tribunal Thursday nighttime erstwhile American Amanda Anisimova and Naomi Osaka of Japan — who was besides raised successful nan U.S. — played each different successful nan U.S. Open semifinals.

Anisimova defeated Osaka 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-3 successful conscionable nether 3 hours early Friday greeting to beforehand to her first U.S. Open finals. The lucifer was intimately fought pinch some players trading blistering shots for winners.

"Sometimes, I was like, 'How are we making these shots?'" Anisimova said. "But we were."

Anisimova will look defending champion and existent No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka successful nan women's last connected Saturday. Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 earlier Thursday successful what was a rematch of past year's U.S. Open final.

Anisimova and Osaka person some been moving their measurement backmost up nan rankings aft returning from intelligence wellness breaks successful caller years. Each battled her ain group of challenges — arsenic good arsenic immoderate of nan top-ranked players successful nan world — to beforehand to nan penultimate information of nan last Grand Slam tourney of nan year.

"It's precisely for illustration a movie," Jackie Johnston, a women's sports content creator, told NPR up of nan match.

Osaka, 27, is simply a four-time Grand Slam singles champion who successful 2019 became nan first Asian subordinate to beryllium classed world No. 1 successful women's singles. She took a break from nan athletics successful 2021, citing her struggles pinch worry and depression, and has been an outspoken intelligence wellness advocator ever since.

Osaka took an extended maternity time off to springiness commencement to her girl successful 2023, and returned to title astatine nan commencement of 2024 unranked. Because of really tennis tournaments are seeded, unranked players look an uphill battle, facing apical players successful early rounds.

"It is nan hardest point ever to do, to get your standing backmost up successful tennis," Johnston says. "Because each azygous tourney you're actively playing nan players that you usually would play successful nan semifinal successful nan first round, and past you're losing and past [your ranking is] staying nan same."

Osaka, who is presently classed 24th, defeated No. 11 Karolina Muchova connected Wednesday to scope nan U.S. Open semifinals for nan first clip since 2020 (she went connected to triumph nan title that year, arsenic she did successful 2018). Thursday will beryllium her 5th Grand Slam semifinal, and her first since winning nan Australian Open successful 2021. It's besides her first since becoming a mom.

"It intends truthful much, I'm really amazed I'm not crying," Osaka said connected court aft Wednesday's win. "There's been truthful overmuch difficult activity that you guys haven't seen, but I'm conscionable really grateful to my squad and I'm conscionable happy to beryllium healthy."

Naomi Osaka, left, of Japan, congratulates Amanda Anisimova of nan U.S. aft their third-round lucifer astatine nan Australian Open tennis championships successful Melbourne, Australia, successful 2022. Simon Baker/AP hide caption

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Simon Baker/AP

Anisimova, 24, has besides had a singular travel to nan semis. On Wednesday, she defeated No. 2 Iga Świątek — a stunning upset, and swift vengeance little than 2 months aft Świątek trounced her 6-0, 6-0 successful nan Wimbledon final.

"This has been specified a dream, and to travel backmost from Wimbledon, like, that is really typical to me," Anisimova said afterward. "I consciousness for illustration I worked really difficult to effort and move astir from that, and I mean, coming proved everything for me, like, I tin do it."

This will beryllium Anisimova's first U.S. Open semifinal and 3rd Grand Slam semifinal. Her first was nan 2019 French Open, erstwhile nan then-17-year-old became the youngest woman to beforehand that acold successful a awesome since 2006. But aft respective injuries and her father's abrupt death, she announced an indefinite leave from nan athletics successful 2023, citing burnout and intelligence wellness struggles.

Anisimova spent 8 months away, spending clip pinch loved ones and rediscovering creative hobbies. She returned to competitory tennis successful early 2024 and has been moving her measurement up ever since, catapulting into nan apical 20 aft winning her first WTA 1000 title astatine nan Qatar Open this February. She is presently classed 9th.

"If you were penning a movie, you would person [Anisimova] suffer to [Świątek] successful nan Wimbledon last truthful that she could travel backmost and triumph successful nan quarterfinals of nan U.S. Open, her location tournament, and past person her triumph nan full thing," Johnston says. "But if I was making a movie astir [Osaka], I would besides person her triumph nan full point present … You can't person some movies, but it would beryllium awesome to watch both."

Anisimova and Osaka person played each different doubly before, successful nan French and Australian Opens of 2022. Anisimova won some times. But those were first- and third-round matches, respectively, and Osaka has ne'er lost a Grand Slam tourney aft reaching nan semifinals.

Regardless of nan outcome, Johnston says nan truth that some players made it to nan shape is simply a win, some for their careers and for nan speech astir intelligence wellness successful sports.

Johnston notes that conscionable arsenic not everyone is capable to travel backmost from a break, not each athletes person nan aforesaid early occurrence and financial intends to measurement distant from their athletics successful nan first place, arsenic Anisimova and Osaka have. And, she says, ideally, they wouldn't person to.

"Hopefully nan guidelines origin is addressed and nan denotation is not normalized," Johnston says. "I would emotion for location to beryllium much intelligence wellness support to players while they are playing specified that they don't consciousness nan request to return a break … because players should hopefully not beryllium getting to nan constituent wherever they perpetually request to locomotion distant from a athletics wholly to consciousness bully astir it."

In an interview pinch Complex earlier this month, Osaka said prioritizing her intelligence wellness has changed really she prepares for tournaments. The broader speech astir it has besides changed immoderate aspects of tournaments themselves, for illustration nan addition of quiet rooms for players astatine nan U.S. Open starting successful 2021.

Osaka besides offered proposal to younger athletes: "You don't person to position self-care arsenic a weakness."

NPR's Ayana Archie contributed to this report.