This was revenge for the world number one, as just over a month prior to the US Open<\/a> final, Anisimova beat Sabalenka at Wimbledon<\/a>.<\/p>\n When speaking about this brewing rivalry, former top 10 player CoCo Vandeweghe<\/a> has explained what Sabalenka<\/a> is doing wrong against Anisimova<\/a>.<\/p>\n Anisimova has enjoyed a breakout season in 2025<\/a>, and is currently at a career-high ranking of world number four after reaching back-to-back Grand Slam finals.<\/p>\n It now feels likely that Sabalenka will have to play Anisimova more and more in the latter stages of the biggest tournaments in tennis.<\/p>\n According to Vandeweghe, who spoke on the Inside-In podcast about this rivalry, Sabalenka will need to stop making the mistake of going for winners too early in rallies.<\/p>\n \u201cHer backhand is so good,\u201d Vandeweghe said about Anisimova. \u201cThere is so much nuance to it that is like the technique and big shoulder turn she gets, which is disguised so well.<\/p>\n \u201cI think for her, her backhand, she hits it in very different ways so she can get that ball deep, which is super important for her game, but with the same look she can angle it short. It\u2019s not like a short spinny one, it is getting driven through the baseline, so it gives you way less time to catch up.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is a very similar hitter to a [Elena] Rybakina or a Sabalenka. And you see how much it disrupts Sabalenka when she gets into that backhand to backhand really with Aryna. Aryna pulls the trigger too early and starts to panic out of it, which is her strength against Amanda\u2019s strength and you\u2019re thinking why am I losing this battle, I am number one in the world and the best at it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s scary when it happens to you for the first time as a big hitting player where it\u2019s like \u2018oh no, there\u2019s someone who can do this a bit better and a bit quicker than me. How are we going to disrupt them?\u201d<\/p>\n Aryna Sabalenka vs Amanda Anisimova Head-to-Head<\/p>\n Sabalenka and Anisimova\u2019s rivalry goes way back to 2019<\/a>, when they played each other for the very first time at the Australian Open.<\/p>\n Anisimova has been a problem for Sabalenka since then, and she actually won their first four meetings.<\/p>\n Their head-to-head is still a bit more even now, but Anisimova still leads Sabalenka 6-4 after playing her at the last three Grand Slam tournaments.<\/p>\n YearTournamentResult2019Australian Open (R32)Anisimova beat Sabalenka, 6-3 6-22019Roland Garros (R64)Anisimova beat Sabalenka, 6-4 6-22022Charleston Open (R16)Anisimova beat Sabalenka, 3-6 6-4 6-32022Madrid Open (R64)Anisimova beat Sabalenka, 6-2 3-6 6-42022Italian Open (QF)Sabalenka beat Anisimova, 4-6 6-3 6-22024Australian Open (R16)Sabalenka beat Anisimova, 6-3 6-22024Canadian Open (QF)Anisimova beat Sabalenka, 6-4 6-22025Roland Garros (R16)Sabalenka beat Anisimova, 7-5 6-32025Wimbledon (SF)Anisimova beat Sabalenka, 6-4 4-6 6-42025US Open (F)Sabalenka beat Anisimova, 6-3 7-6(3)<\/p>\n![\"Aryna](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2234045575-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Elsa\/Getty ImagesCoCo Vandeweghe pinpoints the mistake that Aryna Sabalenka makes when she plays Amanda Anisimova<\/p>\n