Second alternate Alexandrova had sat on the sidelines all week but her patience proved worthwhile on Wednesday when Keys – unable to advance – withdrew just hours before her match with Rybakina.
The 30-year-old, who has enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2025, received the nod after fellow Russian and first option Mirra Andreeva, who is also competing in the doubles, declared she was not fit to play.
Alexandrova started impressively but squandered three break points before returning a forehand wide to hand the first break and a 5-4 lead to Rybakina.
The big-hitting Rybakina, sporting tape on her serving shoulder, served out the first set to love before breaking early in the second courtesy of a backhand error off her opponent’s racquet.
As Alexandrova’s serve faltered, Rybakina stepped up a gear and she doubled her advantage with a brutal forehand winner on break point, only to immediately lose one of her breaks when serving for the match.
Her struggle to get over the finish line continued, forced to save two break points in her next service game, before eventually sealing victory on her second match point as Alexandrova sent a backhand long.
“Each win gives you confidence,” said Rybakina, 26. “Hopefully I can continue.”
In the doubles, 2022 champions Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens confirmed their semi-final berth with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Italian pair Paolini and Sara Errani.
They join Hsieh Su-Wei and Jelena Ostapenko in advancing from the Martina Navratilova Group.
BRAVE Amanda Holden takes to the Britain’s Got Talent red carpet wearing the top that almost saw her flash the show’s audience at auditions.
But an onlooker said the 54-year-old “was being much more careful this time round.”
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Amanda Holden takes to the Britain’s Got Talent red carpet wearing the top that almost saw her flash the show’s audience at auditionsCredit: Getty
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BGT judges Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and KSI pose for a selfieCredit: X
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From left: Ant McPartlin, Alesha, Amanda, Simon, KSI and Declan DonnellyCredit: Getty
Show judge Amanda — in a lop-sided strapless top — nearly exposed herself by lifting her left arm to wave at the crowd as she strutted on stage at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool on Saturday.
After adjusting her clothes to preserve her modesty she sat down.
Then, gesturing to her boob, she admitted: “This keeps slipping out every time I raise my arms.”
Yesterday The Sun revealed a small production team were quickly put on “nipple watch” to ensure there were no surprise appearances during filming of the ITV talent contest.
Our observer reported: “She waved with her left hand, where her top had more coverage than on the right-hand side, and kept her other hand firmly in her pocket most of the time.
“Amanda didn’t want any wardrobe malfunctions again. She was probably already feeling the chill in blustery Blackpool.”
Also dressed for sunnier climes was head judge Simon Cowell in shades, and fellow panellist Alesha Dixon wearing sunglasses and a crop-top.
Only hosts Ant and Dec and new judge KSI — taking over from Bruno Tonioli — looked ready for Lancashire weather.
Auditions for the 19th series of BGT, due to air next year, continue in the seaside town until the end of this week.
The Watch List with Rod McPhee
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Amanda nearly exposed herself by lifting her left arm to wave at the crowdCredit: Getty
Amanda Holden has stepped up on Britain’s Got Talent after Simon Cowell’s illness forced him to miss the Birmingham auditions, with Stacey Solomon drafted in as a temporary replacement on the panel
Amanda Holden’s major role shake-up on BGT amid Simon Cowell’s health woes
Producers turned to Holden, 53, as the natural choice to lead the panel, given that she is the only judge who has remained on the show since its launch in 2007. Although Stacey Solomon was drafted in at short notice to replace Cowell during this week’s auditions at the Hippodrome, insiders stressed that Holden had earned the senior role.
A source revealed: “The producers were hugely grateful to Stacey for stepping in, particularly as it was at such short notice. What she did helped ensure the hundreds of audience members were not disappointed.
“But they also thought she shouldn’t just go straight into Simon’s seat as head judge and that Amanda had very much earned that right. And she seamlessly filled the role during the first batch of auditions on Friday, with Stacey slotting right in with fellow judges KSI and Alesha Dixon,” they told The Sun.
It is not the first time Cowell’s sudden departure has led to a reshuffle. When the music mogul left the panel last year after learning of the tragic death of former One Direction star Liam Payne, the then-newcomer Bruno Tonioli stepped in as head judge.
Tonioli has since departed from the programme altogether, replaced this year by KSI, after filming clashes with his role on Dancing with the Stars. Cowell’s absence was first confirmed on Thursday when production cancelled the initial day of auditions.
There were hopes he might recover quickly enough to return on Friday, but he remained unwell. Instead, Solomon took his seat on the panel – a full-circle moment given that Cowell himself auditioned her on The X Factor back in 2009. She finished third in that series but has since become a well-known TV presenter.
And Stacey has shared her excitement after her dream of becoming a judge on Britain’s Got Talent has come true. The Sort Your Life Out star took to Instagram on Friday to share a glimpse of the iconic set of the long-running ITV show after she was asked to step in as a guest judge last minute.
The mum-of-five, 35, took to her Instagram stories to post a picture of the iconic BGT stage with her name in lights. Instead of Simon Cowell’s name, Stacey’s name could be seen on the iconic stage. Alongside the picture, Stacey wrote: “What in the alternative universe is going on. A dream.”
Cowell’s condition has not been disclosed publicly, and it remains uncertain whether he will be fit enough to appear on the third and final day of Birmingham auditions.
Filming is scheduled to resume next week in Blackpool, with producers optimistic that Cowell will be well enough to reclaim his place at the judging desk.
Until then, Holden is firmly established as the figure leading the panel in his absence.
EXCLUSIVE: Amanda Holden has opened up on her friend Alan Carr’s upcoming stint in the Celebrity Traitors castle
Amanda Holden has given her verdict on her friend Alan Carr‘s upcoming appearance on Celebrity Traitors.
Claudia Winkleman returns to the iconic Traitors castle in Inverness next Wednesday (October 8), alongside an all-star cast who are ready to play the ultimate game of deceit and betrayal.
While production for the new series was underway back in April, Amanda Holden shared her thoughts on her close friend Alan’s appearance on the hit reality show.
“He’s in the castle in Inverness as we speak!” she exclusively revealed on the set of her new BBC gameshow The Inner Circle.
“I think he’d be a terrible traitor and I think if they had any sense, that’s exactly what they’d make him be. It would be hilarious because he is rubbish at trying to keep secrets.
“He told me last year he was doing Traitors. It was like the biggest secret, I was like, ‘Shush, Alan!'”
Amanda’s new quiz show is reminiscent of The Traitors itself, with backstabbing and deceit at its core. BBC viewers will be treated to two versions of the quiz, which has the Britain’s Got Talent judge as its host.
The daytime game will see six contestants battle it out to outsmart and outwit the other players, while on Saturday nights, fans can tune in to see celebrities team up with members of the public to play.
During the game, the players will each be randomly assigned a secret stash of cash, anything between zero and £4,000 for daytime and £5,000 for the Saturday night show.
Each player only knows their value with no obligation to tell the truth as they get thrown into a battle of wits, nerve and strategic gameplay across a series of challenging rounds.
Speaking about the exciting concept of The Inner Circle, Amanda said: “It has elements of other shows that you might recognise; The Weakest Link, Traitors and Golden Balls with Jasper Carrot – all in one!
“It’s all about general knowledge and human nature… It’s complex but it’s fun!”
Amanda concluded: “It’s going to be glamorous and nail-biting with a real jeopardy at the end that I don’t think anybody is going to be expecting while they’re dunking their biscuits in a cuppa!
“The Saturday night takes the show up another level, just before Strictly. I’m their warm-up, which is just a brilliant place to be!”
The Inner Circle premieres on BBC One at 5.35pm on Saturday 4th October, while Celebrity Traitors premieres on BBC One at 9pm on Wednesday 8th October
The 51 year old shepherdess posted a series of photos featuring some of her nine children at their home, Ravenseat Farm in the Yorkshire Dales.
In a poignant message, Amanda, who recently took a swipe at her ex-husband Clive Owen, wrote: “The ace of spades. Whatever life throws at us [dump and explosion emojis]. Come rain or shine. We deal with it.
“Strength doesn’t come from what you can do, it’s from what you reckoned you couldn’t. You can be proud and humble you know and farming is a great leveller.
“You can’t ever get too far ahead before rot sets in, the heavens open or the wheel comes off (literally or metaphorically).”, reports the Manchester Evening News.
“Farming is, after all a profession of hope. #yorkshire #grit #resilience #farm #family #shepherdess #books.”
Her 543K followers were quick to react to the post, with one fan commenting: “You’re an amazing family x” alongside a heart emoji.
Another follower wrote: “Love your posts Amanda.xx”, while another said: “love your family, since I first read your book before you were on telly xx”. Another added: “Love this take on all of what you do supporting one another on the farm x.”
Amanda and her former husband Clive Owen are parents to nine children: Raven, Reuben, Miles, Edith, Violet, Sidney, Annas, Clementine, and Nancy.
Their popular documentary series, Our Yorkshire Farm, ended in 2022 following Amanda and Clive’s split. The show first hit our screens back in 2018.
The Owen family are back on our screens with a new series, Our Farm Next Door, which documents their adventures as they renovate a historic farmhouse nestled in the stunning Yorkshire Dales.
This comes as Amanda candidly discussed her co-parenting journey with ex-partner Clive during an appearance on ITV’s Lorraine.
Lorraine Kelly, the show’s host, noted: “The fact that you have managed, even though you’re separated, the two of you – you and your husband – have managed to still work together, parent together, can’t have been easy but you’ve made it work!
“I’ve talked to you about this before Amanda, you have made it work and that’s a wonderful thing to have done.”
Amanda replied with a humorous anecdote: “He was on the phone this morning, he had fried eggs in some yellow washing up liquid!
“So he was complaining that I shouldn’t buy washing up liquid in yellow! Washing up liquid should only be green!”.
Lorraine responded with amusement: “Oh I see… because he thought it was like, okay…” before breaking into laughter. Amanda insisted: “So you see, we are up against it!
“Believe me, it’s the idea that we’re just getting on with it, there’s plenty to do, plenty of space and a heap of things always on the go. Let’s be honest, that’s reality!” with Lorraine replying: “Of course it is!”
Our Yorkshire Farm stars Amanda and Clive Owen split in 2022 but they continue working on their TV shows together
Amanda has opened up about her ex(Image: PA)
Amanda Owen said her ex Clive Owen was “still annoying” as she opened up about their separation.
The Our Yorkshire Farm stars called time on their relationship in 2022 following 22 years of marriage, yet they’ve carried on collaborating on television projects whilst co-parenting their nine children.
However, Amanda – known as the Yorkshire Shepherdess – confessed to Hello! magazine that the duo continue to get under each other’s skin, reports the Manchester Evening News.
She remarked: “What am I supposed to say, ‘We get on like a house on fire?’ Well, if we did, we wouldn’t want to separate, would we?
“He’s still the same annoying old Clive that he always was. I’ve seen him just now, and he’s still annoying – I annoy him, and he annoys me.”
Amanda split from Clive in 2022(Image: Channel 4)
The couple haven’t pursued divorce proceedings, with Amanda highlighting the complexities involved.
“How would we even divide that up?” asked the celebrity. “It’s tricky when businesses and families are so intertwined.”
Amanda and Clive rose to fame through television series Our Yorkshire Farm, which was launched in 2018 and spanned five seasons.
The pair still work together(Image: Channel 4)
The show, which documented the couple’s lives at Ravenseat Farm, proved enormously popular with audiences.
Last year the stars returned in a new series, collaborating on Channel 4 programme Our Farm Next Door.
The series chronicles Clive and Amanda as they restore a crumbling farm in the Yorkshire Dales, with the help of their five children – Raven, Reuben, Miles, Edith, Violet, Sidney, Annas, Clementine and Nancy.
Both celebrities discussed their split during the programme, with Amanda stating that whilst they’d endured an “incredibly hard” period they had “got through it”.
The star has nine children with her ex-husband
Clive admitted that it had been “a strange few years” for them, adding: “We are now in a place where although we are not actually together, we are still in business together, we still have these kids together.
“It’s a crazy situation but it isn’t – it’s the most sensible thing for everybody to do,” he said.
Our Farm Next Door is available to watch on Channel 4.
Amanda Barrie used to fear that her sexuality would cost her her role on Coronation Street and is certain she would have been sacked if bosses found out
Amanda Barrie hid her sexuality during her soap fame (Image: ITV)
Amanda Barrie used to fear that her sexuality would cost her her role on Coronation Street. The actress, who will celebrate her 90th birthday this weekend, is best-remembered by fans of the world’s longest-running TV soap as Alma Halliwell, and initially appeared in 1981 for a brief stint before appearing regularly from 1988 until 2001.
Over the years, viewers watched the supermarket worker marry fellow legend Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs), and will also recall her partnership with Gail Platt (Helen Worth) when they ran the café for a number of years and her long friendship with Gail’s mother Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls). In 2001, she left the programme for good when her character succumbed to cancer, and in 2003, Amanda came out as bisexual.
But the TV star, who married former Mirror journalist and crime novelist Hilary Bonner in 2014, is now certain that had she come clean about her sexuality any sooner, she would have been dismissed from the programme, although she appreciates now that she has no evidence to back up this claim.
The Bad Girls actress appeared on Thursday’s Good Morning Britain with Kate Garraway and Ed Balls (Image: ITV)
During an appearance on Thursday’s Good Morning Britain, she told hosts Kate Garraway and Ed Balls: “Somebody shopped me to the press. I should’ve known better but I never kept my life from anybody, all my friends know everything.
“I think people thought it was catching, you were pushed away and whispered about in corners. They would not, and I swear to God, I’ve said this but I can’t back it up, I know that I would’ve been sacked from Coronation Street.
“They would’ve got rid. You couldn’t have said ‘It would’ve been that person who did it or that…’ it would’ve been ‘Oh we don’t want anything to do with that, darling.'”
Once Amanda, who has just released her memoir I’m Still Here, had come out, she actually got a pleasant surprise with the reaction she received, having anticipated the worst.
Amanda starred on Coronation Street as Alma Halliwell, where she famously married Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs)(Image: Granada Television)
She explained: “I expected to be stoned in the street, I got a lot of hugs. What was I in such a state about? Because it was just ‘Oh, I see, oh…'” before adding: “You automatically revert to the way you’d always behave, lurking about with your head down editing your life is what you do. You change they, he, she, all that editing…”
She said: “It wouldn’t have been the bosses who caused a problem so much as some of the other cast,” she reveals. ”My close friends like Helen Worth all knew the truth. But you heard other people say certain things….Not naming names.
“Now there are so many LGBTQI characters on the show I often joke they should rename it Canal Street! [after Manchester’s gay bar district]. What happened after I left? It’s not contagious, you know!”
Amanda Knox, who became an international headline in 2007, when, as an American student spending a year in Perugia, Italy, she was (wrongly) accused of the murder and sexual assault of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, is now the subject, and executive producer, of “The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox,” an eight-part docudrama premiering Wednesday on Hulu. (Her boyfriend of one week, Raffaele Sollecito, also wrongly accused, does not seem to have garnered similar attention, which might tell you something about misogyny in the prurient press, and its audience.)
The “Twisted Tale” in the title — odd for a story of murder, rape and false imprisonment — suggests that we’re about to see something sort of delightful, like “The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack” or “The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants,” an impression underscored by a prologue in the style of “Amélie,” the whimsical French film the couple was elsewhere watching on the night of the murder; it ties the victim, the accused and her prosecutor/persecutor together in a sort of fairy tale. Like the very long end-title “any similarity” disclaimer, concluding “The series includes Amanda Knox’s perspective on events related to the murder of Meredith Kercher,” it allows the series to be something less than true: a tale.
People tell themselves stories to live, to haul out that Joan Didion quote once again, which unavoidably requires making up stories about other people. These events involved a lot of people, only one of whom is an executive producer of this series, based on her memoir, “Waiting To Be Heard.” (Knox co-wrote the finale, as well.) One assumes that some of those other people might see this project as exploitation, or object to how they’ve been represented, though any dissenting voices will be drowned by a publicity machine that will market this as a true story, disclaimer aside. In light of the series, Knox has been recently profiled in the New York Times, alongside star Grace Van Patten, and in the Hollywood Reporter, alongside fellow executive producer and scandal survivor Monica Lewinsky, who encouraged her to make the series.
These are qualities — faults? — “Twisted Tale” shares with every docudrama ever, a problematic genre much beloved by filmmakers and actors; still, as frequently as such projects arise, especially in the age of true crime, we wouldn’t still be talking about “Citizen Kane” today if it simply had been “Citizen Hearst.” We should at least keep in mind as responsible viewers and citizens that what we’re seeing here, however factual in its crucial points, scrupulous in its details, and engaging in its philosophy, and however faithfully the actors embody their real-life models, it’s unavoidably an impression of the truth, built out with imagined scenes and conversations and made to play upon your feelings. It isn’t journalism. And to be clear, when I speak of these characters below, I’m referring only to how they’re portrayed in the series, not to the people whose names they share.
Francesco Acquaroli as Giuliano Mignini and Roberta Mattei as Monica Napoleoni, the investigators on the case, in “The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox.”
(Andrea Miconi / Disney)
Created by K.J. Steinberg (“This Is Us”), the series is well-acted, well-written, impressively mounted, tonally contradictory, chronologically disjointed, overlong, stressful, exhausting, interesting both for its subject and stagecraft, and briefly inspirational, as Amanda (Van Patten) — arrested, jailed, convicted, acquitted, re-convicted and definitely re-acquitted — becomes a voice in the innocence movement (“My freedom mattered and I was going to make the most of it as long as I had it”) and returns to Italy, a wife and mother, for something like closure.
Echoing the 2016 Netflix documentary “Amanda Knox,” which tells the story (up to that point) in a streamlined but thought-provoking 90 minutes, there has been some care to represent different points of view, with episodes dedicated to Raffaele and prosecutor cum investigator Giuliano Mignini (Francesco Acquaroli), also introduced “Amélie”-style. (As to Kercher, we hear only that “she likes to sunbathe and dance and read mystery novels” — though anything more would be presumptuous.) Raffaele, the superhero-loving son of a troubled mother, made himself into a “protector.” Mignini, who lost a brother to “lawlessness,” sees his work as heaven-sent — though he was also inspired by Gino Cervi as Georges Simenon’s detective hero in the 1960s TV series “Le inchieste del commissario Maigret.” (He adopts that character’s pipe and hat.) “I made a vow to God,” he says, narrating, “no matter the disapproval or dissent, deviant, ritual murders would not go unpunished on my watch.”
On the basis of Amanda being a loud American, and a self-described weirdo, whose response to news of the murder struck some as insufficiently emotional; from bits and pieces of supposed physical evidence, later discounted; and from Mignini’s own notions — including his feeling regarding the body, that “only a woman would cover a woman with a blanket” — the police quickly assemble an elaborate, completely imagined theory based on a sex game gone wrong. (That Knox was in possession of a vibrator and some condoms and brought men to the apartment she shared with Kercher and two Italian girls seemingly branded her, in 2007, as a pervert.)
Subjected to an extremely long interrogation without adequate representation in a language she imperfectly understands, and in which she has trouble making herself understood — detective superintendent Monica Napoleoni (Roberta Mattei) is the angry Javert — Knox signs a false confession that also implicates her sometimes boss, Patrick Lumumba (Souleymane Seye Ndiaye). She quickly recants, to little avail. (Knox has not been acquitted of slandering Lumumba.) That the actual killer is arrested, and convicted, merely causes the police to rewrite their story a little, while still focusing on Amanda and Raffaele. The press runs leaks and accusations from the authorities; and a fascinated public eats it up, spitting out opinions onto social media.
Director Michael Uppendahl employs a variety of styles to get the story told. Some scenes are so natural as to seem improvised; others employ heavy tactics — an assaultive sound design, flash cuts — to evoke the pressure Amanda is under, from both the self-satisfied authorities and a hectoring press. (Paparazzi is an Italian word, after all.) Stirring music underlies her final statement to the court; a letter sent by Amanda to Mignini is lit from within, like the deadly glass of milk in Hitchcock’s “Notorious.” While not inappropriate to a story in which fictions swamp facts, these zigs and zags can pull you out of the story rather than drawing you deeper in.
As Amanda, Van Patten (of the Van Patten acting/directing dynasty — Dick, Joyce, Tim, Vincent, with Grace’s sister Anna playing Amanda’s younger sister) is quite remarkable, switching between English and an ever-improving Italian. Acquaroli, quietly astonishing, brings humanity and the merest touch of weary humor to his stubborn policeman. Sharon Horgan plays Amanda’s intense, demanding mother, with John Hoogenakker as her more subdued father. In a scene pulled straight from the “Amanda Knox” documentary, a reporter asks him when there’ll be a film: “The longer you wait the less her story is going to be worth.” “We do not think of our daughter as a hot property,” he replies.
Our Yorkshire Farm’s Amanda Owen was faced with extreme weather
Channel 4 broadcast a repeat episode of Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids on Saturday evening.
The episode, which originally aired earlier this year from the second series, showed the farm facing harsh weather conditions as it became blanketed in snow, with the family struggling to safeguard their expectant sheep spread across the hillsides.
Clive expressed his worries about the snow, saying: “January and February were funny months, and anything can happen. That Beast from the East was quite nasty, the kids were little and we had no electric for a week.”
He continued: “You know, everybody gets a little bit of snow, but it can be absolutely unbelievable here, and you’ve got to be careful, otherwise it’ll have you out of business.”
Amanda shared her thoughts on the bitter snow conditions: “When that snow hits, it can be exhausting. It can be exhausting mentally and physically. Day one, day two, yeah, it is fun, day four, five, six, seven, and beyond, it is a real test.”, reports Gloucestershire Live.
Further into the programme, Amanda made a frank confession about farming, particularly during severe weather conditions.
Channel 4 aired a repeated episode of Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids on Saturday night(Image: Channel 4)
Whilst caring for the horses, she revealed: “On a day like today, when you see that light shine through the window and you know that it’s icy and snowy out there, you don’t pull the duvet over your head; you’re like, ‘Let me at it’.”
She pondered: “Because that’s what you have to do. And I always think to myself, ‘the day that you don’t want to do that, you’ve got to quit’.”
Initially hitting our screens in 2018, Our Yorkshire Farm showcased the extraordinary way of life of Clive and Amanda Owen with their nine youngsters at their remote sheep farm in Yorkshire.
Amanda and Clive are mum and dad to nine children: Raven, Reuben, Miles, Edith, Violet, Sidney, Annas, Clementine, and Nancy. The beloved documentary programme concluded in 2022 after Amanda and Clive’s split.
The episode, which aired earlier this year from the second season, saw the farm face extreme weather as it was covered in snow(Image: Channel 4)
Continuing to enchant viewers, the Owens have made a comeback with the following instalment of their journey in Our Farm Next Door, following the family’s escapades as they restore a period farmhouse situated in the picturesque Yorkshire Dales countryside.
The 1800s dwelling sits in Swaledale close to Ravenseat Farm and bears the name Anty John in honour of a previous occupant called Anthony John Clarkson.
In the final instalment of series two, Amanda gathered the entire brood to unveil the most recent progress in their continuing restoration project following 20 months of grafting, highlighting “how far we’ve got and how far we’ve got to go”.
Our Farm Next Door is available to watch on All 4.
LONDON — Iga Swiatek won her first Wimbledon championship with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Amanda Anisimova on Saturday in the first women’s final at the tournament in 114 years in which one player failed to claim a single game.
Swiatek’s victory on a sunny, breezy afternoon at Centre Court took just 57 minutes and gave Swiatek her sixth Grand Slam title overall. She is now 6-0 in major title matches.
The 24-year-old from Poland finished with a 55-24 edge in total points and accumulated that despite needing to produce merely 10 winners. Anisimova was shaky from the start and made 28 unforced errors.
Swiatek already owned four trophies from the French Open’s red clay and one from the U.S. Open’s hard courts, but this is the first title of her professional career at any grass-court tournament. And it ended a long-for-her drought: Swiatek last won a trophy anywhere more than a year ago, at Roland-Garros in June 2024.
Catherine, the Princess of Wales, was sitting in the Royal Box on Saturday and took part in the on-court ceremony afterward.
Swiatek is the eighth consecutive first-time women’s champion at Wimbledon, but her triumph stands out from the others because it came in a stunningly dominant performance against Anisimova, a 23-year-old American who was participating in her first final at a major.
Anisimova eliminated No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals but never looked like she was the same player Saturday. When it was over, while Swiatek climbed into the stands to celebrate with her team, Anisimova sat on the sideline in tears.
All the way back in 1911, Dorothea Lambert Chambers was a 6-0, 6-0 winner against Dora Boothby.
Swiatek never had been past the quarterfinals of the All England Club and her only other final on the slick surface came when she was the runner-up at a tuneup event in Germany right before Wimbledon began.
Swiatek spent most of 2022, 2023 and 2024 at No. 1 in the WTA rankings but was seeded No. 8 at Wimbledon after going more than a year without claiming a title anywhere. She served a one-month doping ban last year after failing an out-of-competition drug test; an investigation determined she was inadvertently exposed to a contaminated medical product used for trouble sleeping and jet lag.
Anisimova, who was born in New Jersey and grew up in Florida, was a semifinalist at age 17 at the 2019 French Open.
She took time away from the tour a little more than two years ago because of burnout. A year ago, she tried to qualify for Wimbledon, because her ranking of 189th was too low to get into the field automatically, but lost in the preliminary event.
Anisimova will break into the top 10 in the rankings for the first time next week.
Swiatek, a former world No.1, did not drop a game in the women’s singles final to claim her sixth Grand Slam title.
Iga Swiatek demolished Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in the most one-sided women’s Wimbledon final for 114 years to seal her sixth Grand Slam.
The Polish eighth seed, who has now won all six major finals in which she has competed, was in charge from the first point and wrapped up victory in just 57 minutes on Saturday.
It is the first time a woman has won a final at Wimbledon without dropping a game since 1911.
And Swiatek, 24, is just the second player in the Open era to win a major title without losing a game in the final after Steffi Graf beat Natalia Zvereva at the 1988 French Open.
Swiatek, who reached the final of the grass-court tournament at Bad Homburg two weeks ago, has looked increasingly strong while the top seeds tumbled at the All England Club.
She lost just one set in her run to the final.
But US 13th-seed Anisimova was expected to prove a stern test after ousting world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals.
Swiatek in action during the women’s singles final against Amanda Anisimova [Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters]
Anisimova made a nervous start in hot conditions on Centre Court.
She was broken in the first game, soon slipping 2-0 behind, and the signs looked ominous.
She appeared to have found her feet in her next service game, but the tenacious Swiatek refused to give ground and recovered to move 3-0 ahead when Anisimova double-faulted.
At 4-0 down, Anisimova was facing a first-set wipe-out, but she was powerless to halt the rampant Swiatek, who sealed the first set 6-0 in just 25 minutes.
The American won just six points on her serve in the first set and committed 14 unforced errors.
An increasingly desperate Anisimova could not stem the tide in the second set, double-faulting again in the third game to give her opponent game point and then netting a backhand.
The crowd got behind her, but to no avail as Swiatek kept up her level, serving out to win and celebrating before consoling her devastated opponent.
The distraught Anisimova left the court briefly before returning for the trophy presentation.
Swiatek is Wimbledon’s eighth consecutive first-time women’s champion since Serena Williams won her seventh and final title at the All England Club in 2016.
Poland’s Iga Swiatek, right, with Amanda Anisimova of the US after winning the women’s singles final at Wimbledon [Toby Melville/Reuters]
If Swiatek had not already proved she should be ranked among the greats of the game, she has certainly done so now.
Mastering a surface considered her weakest – even though she won the Wimbledon junior title in 2018 – has added further credence to her case.
Swiatek has become the youngest woman since 23-time champion Serena Williams in 2002 to win Grand Slam titles on all three surfaces.
A sixth major takes her clear of Maria Sharapova and Martina Hingis, with only a total of 10 women now having won more in the Open era.
Swiatek became known as the ‘Queen of Clay’ after winning four French Open titles in five years, while her two-year reign as the world number one – ended by Aryna Sabalenka last year – was underpinned by consistent success on the hard courts.
Grass was the surface she had not cracked.
Before this triumph, Swiatek had made the second week at the All England Club only once, when she reached the quarter-finals in 2023.
Losing in this year’s Roland Garros semi-finals – early by her previous standards – meant she had longer to prepare on the surface, helping her quickly readjust improve her confidence and game.
Anisimova’s struggles meant she was not fully tested. Nevertheless, the weight and depth of Swiatek’s ball provided constant pressure which her opponent could not deal with.
Unlike the scoring debate from their second fight in November, it was difficult to disagree with this verdict as Taylor was much more economical on the night.
Puerto Rico’s Serrano enjoyed some success in rounds six and eight, but the challenger was unable to sustain the pressure with some vintage moments from 39-year-old Taylor helping her turn the tide and produce a strong finish to put a seal on victory.
“I want to thank Amanda Serrano, what an amazing fighter,” said Taylor.
“I thought I did enough [to win]. I boxed smart and well, she wasn’t catching much tonight but it is always a close contest.
“I have a huge amount of respect for Amanda. What a warrior.”
Serrano, 36, acknowledged that her change of approach this time may not have paid off as there was no immediate protest at the outcome.
“I tried something different, it was all about working smarter not harder,” she said.
“I tried to keep my distance and not fight with her because apparently it didn’t work the first two fights. We tried to stay with the long punches and one twos, and it just wasn’t enough.”
Both players are understandably going to be nervous coming into the match – it’s the Wimbledon final! The outcome will likely come down to who manages the occasion better.
Anisimova was pretty nervous in her quarter-final win against Anastasia Pavyluchenkova, to the point where she kept dropping to the floor on her haunches in the last couple of games – even when it wasn’t match point.
It was an illustration of the feeling of desperation she was facing as she edged closer to victory.
We saw similar reactions a few times early on in the semi-final against Aryna Sabalenka too but she managed to settle more as the match went on.
Swiatek, having won majors and having been the world number one for such a long time, has the edge in terms of experience – that absolutely counts for a lot.
But Anisimova has nothing to lose. Of course she is desperate to win the Wimbledon final, but at the start of the fortnight she would never have thought she would actually be here in the championship match.
She can close her eyes in the final and have a swing – which fits best into what she does. This circumstances allows her to be more dangerous.
So she can go out there and play freely, whereas I think Swiatek might feel extra pressure.
Swiatek has never won the singles title here, she’s the higher ranked and many people will expect her to lift the trophy.
I think being the underdog favours Anisimova and it fits in well with her aggressive game style.
The world number 12 reaches maiden Grand Slam final with a tough three-set win over top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka.
An inspired Amanda Anisimova has torn up the script and soared into her maiden Wimbledon final by outclassing world number one Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 with a display of fierce determination and fearless shot-making.
Anisimova’s victory on Thursday extended her win-loss record over her equally big-hitting rival to 6-3 and kept alive American hopes of a third women’s Grand Slam champion this year after Madison Keys won the Australian Open and Coco Gauff the French Open.
“This doesn’t feel real right now, honestly,” a beaming Anisimova said in an on-court interview.
“Aryna is such a tough competitor, and I was absolutely dying out there. Yeah, I don’t know how I pulled it off. I mean, she’s such an incredible competitor, and she’s an inspiration to me and I’m sure so many other people.
“We’ve had so many tough battles. To come out on top today and be in the final of Wimbledon is so incredibly special. The atmosphere was incredible. I know she’s the number one, but a lot of people were cheering for me. Huge thanks to everyone.”
On a Centre Court where the temperature climbed to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), Sabalenka twice rushed to the aid of ill fans by supplying bottles of cold water and an ice pack before she cracked under pressure from her opponent in the 10th game.
The 23-year-old Anisimova, playing in her first major semifinal since her 2019 French Open run as a gifted teenager, made her opponent sweat for every point and wrapped up the opening set when Sabalenka produced a double fault.
With her back against the wall, Sabalenka roared back like a tiger, the animal that has become her totem, and broke for a 4-3 lead en route to levelling up the match at one set apiece after some sloppy errors from 13th-seeded Anisimova.
Having matched each other’s decibel levels in a cacophony of grunting, the duo swapped breaks at the start of the decider, but Anisimova pounced again when Sabalenka sent a shot long and went on to book the final with either Iga Swiatek or Belinda Bencic.
Anisimova plays a forehand in the semifinal against Sabalenka [Shi Tang/Getty Images]
Anisimova, who took a mental health break in 2023, expressed disbelief in making the final of a Grand Slam for the first time at Wimbledon.
“It’s been a year turnaround since coming back and to be in this spot, … I mean, it’s not easy, and so many people dream of competing on this incredible court,” Anisimova added.
“It’s been such a privilege to compete here, and to be in the final is just indescribable.”
Watching Thursday’s second semifinal, which will determine her next opponent, was very much on Anisimova’s mind despite her nearly three-hour battle in testing conditions.
“It’s going to be an incredible match, and whoever comes out on top, it’s going to be a battle in the final,” she said.
Sabalenka, who was beaten in the title match of the Australian Open and French Open, was left to lick her wounds after missing the chance to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2014-2015 to reach four straight major finals.
Anisimova, right, and Sabalenka embrace at the end of their semifinal match at Wimbledon [Peter van den Berg/ISI Photos via Getty Images]
LONDON — A little more than two years ago, Amanda Anisimova took a break from tennis because of burnout. A year ago, working her way back into the game, the American lost when she had to go through qualifying for Wimbledon because her ranking of 189th was too low to get into the main bracket automatically.
Look at Anisimova now: She’s a Grand Slam finalist for the first time after upsetting No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in a compelling contest at a steamy Centre Court on Thursday.
In Saturday’s final, Anisimova will face Iga Swiatek, who is a five-time major champion but advanced to her first title match at the All England Club with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Belinda Bencic.
Swiatek was dominant throughout, never letting Bencic get into their semifinal and wrapping things up in 71 minutes with serves at up to 119 mph and twice as many winners, 26, as unforced errors, 13.
So it turns out she can do just fine on grass courts, thank you very much.
“Tennis keeps surprising me. I thought I lived through everything, even though I’m young. I thought I experienced everything on the court. But I didn’t experience playing well on grass,” Swiatek said. “That’s the first time.”
She’s 5-0 in major finals — 4-0 on the French Open’s clay, 1-0 on the U.S. Open’s hard courts — but only once had been as far as the quarterfinals at Wimbledon until now. It’s been more than a year since Swiatek won a title anywhere, part of why the 24-year-old from Poland relinquished the top ranking to Sabalenka in October and is seeded No. 8 this fortnight.
Saturday’s winner will be the eighth consecutive first-time Wimbledon women’s champion.
The 13th-seeded Anisimova, who was born in New Jersey and grew up in Florida, was playing in her second major semifinal after losing at that stage at the 2019 French Open at age 17.
“This doesn’t feel real right now,” Anisimova said after ending the 2-hour, 36-minute contest with a forehand winner on her fourth match point. “I was absolutely dying out there. I don’t know how I pulled it out.”
In May 2023, Anisimova took time off, saying she had been “struggling with my mental health” for nearly a year.
Now 23, she is playing as well as ever, her crisp groundstrokes, particularly on the backhand side, as strong and smooth as anyone’s. She is guaranteed to break into the top 10 of the WTA rankings for the first time next week, no matter what happens in the title match.
“If you told me I would be in the final of Wimbledon, I would not believe you,” Anisimova said with a laugh. “At least not this soon, because it’s been a year turnaround since coming back and to be in this spot, it’s not easy. … To be in the final is just indescribable, honestly.”
For Sabalenka, who is 0-3 in semifinals at the All England Club, this defeat prevented her from becoming the first woman to reach four consecutive Grand Slam finals since Serena Williams won four major trophies in a row a decade ago.
Sabalenka missed Wimbledon last year because of an injured shoulder, then won the U.S. Open in September for her third Slam title.
She was the runner-up to Madison Keys at the Australian Open, and to Coco Gauff at the French Open, where Sabalenka’s post-match comments drew criticism and led her to apologize privately and publicly to Gauff. Sabalenka and Gauff smoothed things over before the start of play at the All England Club, dancing together and posting videos on social media.
On Thursday, Sabalenka began her news conference with as simple a statement as can be, “She was the better player,” then laughed.
“Losing sucks, you know?” she added in response to the first question from a reporter. “You always feel like … you don’t want to exist anymore.”
Anisimova improved to 6-3 against Sabalenka, a 27-year-old from Belarus, and two of the hardest hitters in the game traded booming shots and loud shouts.
They smacked big serves: Sabalenka reached 120 mph, Anisimova 112 mph. They ended points quickly with first-strike aggressiveness. And Anisimova saved 11 of the 14 break points she faced.
The average exchange was over after just three shots. By the end, 167 of the 214 total points lasted fewer than five strokes, and just seven contained nine or more.
Probably a good thing, too, given the heat.
The temperature hit 88 degrees in the first set, which was delayed twice because spectators in the lower level — with no shade — felt unwell.
During the news conference, MVP CEO Nakisa Bidarian announced there was a $250,000 performance bonus on offer for the best performance or fight of the night.
Bidarian also predicted the Serrano-Taylor bout would be the most watched combat sports event of the year so far, with Netflix streaming their second boxing event after broadcasting Jake Paul v Mike Tyson in November.
Taylor’s undisputed light-welterweight crown will be on the line once again, but this fight will have a 136lb weight limit at the behest of Serrano and her team.
The Irishwoman was also nonplussed about being announced on stage first – traditionally reserved for the challenger – branding the hoopla and pre-fight rituals as “nonsense”.
Having previously shared 20 rounds of all-out battle it’s not exactly a shock that some needle has built, with Serrano far from impressed by the scorecards from their second meeting in Texas last year.
Serrano, 36, fought most of that contest battling a massive cut above her eye.
She said adjustments are required, insisting she will box clever, and in relaying that information couldn’t resist another dig.
“I’m going to use my head, but not the way it was used on me,” Serrano said.
“We’re going to be smarter. We’re going to be smarter, work smarter. I work hard in every training camp so I didn’t work harder for this camp, but I did work a lot smarter for this fight.
“And I believe that we can come out victorious. We will come out victorious.”
Maria went an early break up in the first set, drawing errors out of Anisimova, before a thumping backhand winner from the American put it back on terms.
However, Maria kept Anisimova on the move, visibly frustrating her, and a netted forehand gave Maria the break back, before she served out the set with ease.
The numbers told the story, with Anisimova committing 10 unforced errors to Maria’s three in the opener, and the momentum stayed with the German as she broke at the first chance in the second set.
A mammoth fourth game saw seven deuces and Maria saving two break points for 3-1, before a brilliant scamper to a drop shot in the next allowed her to go a double break up.
Anisimova, who won the WTA 1000 title in Qatar earlier this year, went for broke, pummelling her shots to rescue a break and keep in touch.
But Maria, backed by the packed crowd, kept her nerve to serve out to 30 and secure her place in Queen’s history.
Maria is due to compete at the Nottingham Open, which begins on Monday, but said she will celebrate with her family first.
“This doesn’t happen every week so we have to celebrate with something,” she added.
“I think the kids will probably want some crepes with Nutella!”
Amanda Holden is gracing our screens for Britain’s Got Talent and her new Netflix show. But away from TV fame, she has shared her beauty secrets and life at her ‘dream home’
17:00, 24 May 2025Updated 17:03, 24 May 2025
Amanda Holden swears by one certain beauty treatment (Image: Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Amanda Holden is back on our screens for Britain’s Got Talent as the final of the show fast approaches. But away from her hectic work life, including her new Netflix series, Cheat: Unfinished Business, which was released earlier this year, the TV presenter enjoys a slower pace back in her Surrey mansion.
The 54-year-old has been happily married to her music producer husband Chris Hughes for almost two decades, after they met in the United States. Together, they share two daughters, Lexi, 19, and 13-year-old Hollie.
Over the years, the Heart presenter has retained her bombshell status by keeping fit and up to date with the latest beauty treatments. She even revealed her favourite trick for staying youthful.
As she graces our screens, we’ve taken a glimpse into her lavish life – from her best beauty hacks to eye-watering net worth and family home life.
Amanda pictured in full glam at Britain’s Got Talent semi-final photocall (Image: PA)
Secret to ‘ever-evolving’ marriage
Amanda and Chris first met in the United States in 2003, and got married five years later at St Margaret’s Church in Somerset, followed by a reception at Babington House.
Despite being together for over two decades, she recently revealed why their relationship still feels so fresh. The mum of two explained how happy she is to be in a “lovely, secure relationship”.
She told Hello: “We have ups and downs like everyone else. But when I was looking at the pain and suffering that some of the people we were working with were going through, I felt so grateful that I had somebody in my life with no complications.”
The Britain’s Got Talent judge added: “My husband and I always have this joke where we go: ‘God, our relationship still feels so fresh. Twenty-two years does feel like a long time, but it still feels new to me. I think that’s because it’s ever-evolving.”
Facial she swears by
Amanda shared details of her ‘incredible’ facial (Image: Getty Images)
The TV star has revealed the £700 beauty treatment she swears has reversed her age. It involves sitting down for an hour to get micro-needling, and it’s not for the faint-hearted.
The process includes 24 coated pins which need to be penetrated into the subdermal tissue and coagulate the fat to remodel the face. She boasted about the “incredible” treatment on Instagram and said: “I’ve had collagen wave facials to smooth out my skin ever since @nilamholmes made it available at @dermaspa_mk. It has always given me an incredible lift.
“The other week before filming started on the @bgt live shows, Nilam suggested I try a new natural treatment called Morpheus8! The results have been absolutely amazing. I’ve noticed a real plumpness to my skin and it’s much tighter!”
Huge net worth
Paul C Brunson and Amanda Holden host the Netflix show, Cheat Unfinished Business(Image: Tom Dymond/Netflix)
The glam radio presenter is not only back on Britain’s Got Talent, but is also co-presenting a new dating show with Married at First Sight star, Paul Bronson. Together, they invite estranged couples to have a second chance at love on Netflix.
With her multi-layered career continuing to grow, Amanda now has an impressive net worth of around £3.6 million. While her husband appears to have a net worth of £4.5 million.
She previously spoke about how Chris offers her stability and said: “He’s rubbish at romance, but he’s there for the solid things, such as keeping my car clean and making sure I relax. He’s a proper bloke who looks after me. I’m a strong, opinionated woman, but he helps steer the Mandy ship.”
‘Dream home’
The TV star has shared a glimpse inside her home(Image: mirror.co.uk)
Amanda and Chris reside in the charming village of Cobham in their lavish Surrey mansion, which is thought to be worth around £7 million. Describing her home, she previously told Mail Online: “This is my dream home. My entire life I have wanted the dream home, and you know you do the stepping up and now I’ve finally got it.”
Amanda also shared with The Mirror: “I am house proud, but I’ve got two kids, two dogs and a cat, so it’s a family house. Everything is washable and wipeable. It’s so open plan my littlest can cycle her bike around.
“I don’t have carpets on the ground floor and this is disgusting but I was doing an interview a while ago and my puppy pooed on the floor during the chat. But you don’t worry if you have wooden floors. Two words: wipe clean.”
