Anisimova knows what it’s like to lose tennis matches. She knows what it’s like to be humiliated on the court—on the biggest stage, with the most people watching. Wimbledon, Centre Court, a princess sitting next to Billie Jean King in the royal box, champagne in the stands and flowers everywhere adorning the grounds. It’s the stuff of dreams—and, last July, as Anisimova walked into the sunshine to greet this scene and an applauding crowd, she was riding the residual rush from her performance in the Wimbledon semifinals, having beaten Aryna Sabalenka, the No. 1 player in the world, by exhibiting the kind of brave, powerful tennis that had been expected of her for so long. Her path to the final was all the more inspiring because two years earlier she’d taken an eight-month break from the sport and then suffered a series of injuries upon her return; the previous year, she hadn’t even made it into the main draw of Wimbledon, and had lost in the third round of qualifying. But, rather than a dream, her trip to the final was a nightmare: a 6–0, 6–0 drubbing, by Iga Świątek, in less than an hour. Anisimova sobbed through the trophy presentation.journey-inline-newsletterinline-newsletter