Amanda Anisimova kept apologizing to the spectators at Centre Court - for her performance in a 6-0, 6-0 loss to Iga Swiatek in the Wimbledon final and for the emotions that made it hard to deliver a speech afterward.
Through it all, Anisimova, a 23-year-old American in her first major title match , made sure to thank her mother for making a rare trip to watch her daughter play in person.
"My mom is the most selfless person I know, and she's done everything to get me to this point in my life," said Anisimova, whose father died in 2019 when she was 17.
Then, turning to address her mother, Anisimova continued as her eyes welled with tears: "So thank you for being here and breaking the superstition of flying in."
And then in a tongue-in-cheek reference to her 57-minute defeat, Anisimova said with a laugh, "It's definitely not why I lost today."