It was a warmer day than expected at Wimbledon on Thursday and Friday, and that led to multiple delays as Aryna Sabalenka and Amanda Anisimova squared off during the first match of the day. Those delays continued throughout the event, as play was also briefly halted Friday.
During their first set Thursday, Sabalenka and Anisimova had to stop play twice after two different fans experienced medical episodes in the stands related to the heat.
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The first incident occurred in the fifth game of the first set. With the action all tied up 40-40, play briefly stopped as a fan received attention in the stands. Sabalenka stepped up in the moment, bringing water to the fan.
Sabalenka rallied after the stoppage, scoring two straight points to win the game.
A few games later, there was another stoppage due to the heat. Sabalenka again took action, bringing water over to the stands to help the second fan who was struggling with the heat.
Temperatures reached 84 degrees at Wimbledon, with many fans sitting directly in the sun.
The brief pauses in action distracted from what was an excellent first set. Both Sabalenka and Anisimova traded games early before Anisimova broke through to pick up an early 6-4 win.
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Sabalenka fought back in the second set, taking it 6-4 to take the game to a final set. After a fantastic, back-and-forth match, it was Anisimova who prevailed. She took down the No. 1 women’s player 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to advance to her first Wimbledon final.
Following the two early stoppages, Anisimova and Sabalenka were able to play a match free of pauses the rest of the way.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the last medical stoppage of the day. The other semifinal match — between Iga Swiatek and Belinda Bencic — also experienced a brief pause early in the first set. With Swiatek up 3-0, officials attended to another fan in the stands who was struggling with the heat.
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The delay did not slow Swiatek down. She turned in a fantastic performance during a 6-2, 6-0 win over Bencic. With the win, Swiatek will take on Amisimova in both players’ first-ever Wimbledon final.
Other than those three fan stoppages, there were no additional match delays during the women’s singles due to the weather Thursday.
Heat issues popped up again Friday, as one fan was removed from the stands as Taylor Fritz and Carlos Alcaraz squared off Friday. The delay was quick, and both players were able to return to play shortly after the stoppage.