NEW YORK — The bright lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium proved too much for Amanda Anisimova, who fell to a locked-in Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6 (3) in Saturday’s US Open final.
The match was played under the closed roof due to rain and thunderstorms, creating an unexpected wrinkle for Anisimova as she faced the world No. 1 in her second Grand Slam final.
The American stopped play several times to complain to chair umpire Mirjana Veljovic that the stadium lights were literally too bright, but was told nothing could be done.
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“I haven’t played on the court during the day with the roof closed, and it was literally white,” Anisimova said in her post-match press conference. “I couldn’t see the ball when I was serving, like, the whole match.
“I think starting from the warmup, I was, like, this is really going to be a problem for me. I didn’t know what to do.”
