NEW YORK — American Amanda Anisimova will attempt to win her first Grand Slam championship after beating Naomi Osaka 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-3, in the US Open semifinals at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday night.
Anisimova, a 24-year-old originally from New Jersey, will face top-ranked and No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Jessica Pegula in three sets to earn her spot in the final, on Saturday, Sept. 6. She beat Sabalenka in this year’s Wimbledon semifinals before suffering a 6-0, 6-0 thrashing in the finals by Iga Swiatek, whom she had exacted revenge on in the quarterfinals.
The two-hour, 56-minute marathon finally ended at 12:54 a.m. ET, when Amisimova, the No. 8 seed, converted her third match point opportunity with a forehand winner down the baseline.
Playing with the roof closed because of expected inclement weather, Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, took control early, had leads of 2-0 and 4-2, and was broken in the 10th game by Anisimova, who shook off early nerves and 17 unforced errors, to save her service game in the next game.
When Anisimova served for the first set, she was broken, sending it to a tiebreak. But Anisimova had five unforced errors and a double fault in the tiebreak, losing the tiebreak 7-4.
The two took turns breaking each other’s serve to start the second set, then Anisimova started a three-game run before settling into another tiebreak, with Anisimova taking a 5-1 lead and closing it out when Osaka’s forehand hit the net for an unforced error.
Anisimova, who will move to a career-high No. 5 in the rankings, then raced out to a 4-1 lead in the third set and cruised from there, winning despite 45 total unforced errors, also withstanding 15 Osaka aces.
Osaka, who had lost only one set in the tournament before Thursday, also lost a match in the quarterfinals or beyond at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, suffering defeat for the first time in 14 such contests.
Osaka takes first set in tiebreak
Osaka, the two-time US Open champion, blew leads of 2-0 and 4-2, and was broken in the 10th game by Anisimova, who shook off early nerves and 17 unforced errors, to save her service game in the next game. Anisimova also served for the set but was broken, sending it to a tiebreak. But Anisimova had five unforced errors and a double fault in the tiebreak, losing the tiebreak 7-4.
How to watch Naomi Osaka vs. Amanda Anisimova
No. 23 seed Naomi Osaka will face off against No. 8 seed Amanda Anisimova in the U.S. Open women’s semifinal match on Thursday.
Date: Thursday, Sept. 4
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Watch the 2025 US Open on Fubo (free trial)
How to watch 2025 US Open: Dates, TV, streaming
Dates: Sunday, Aug. 24-Sunday, Sept. 7
Location: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (New York)
TV channels: ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes (Spanish language)
Streaming: Fubo (free trial)