Tennis star Amanda Anisimova has revealed the “emotional” words of comfort she received from the Princess of Wales after her crushing defeat in the Wimbledon women’s singles final.
Anisimova broke down in tears after the match and briefly left the court before returning for a TV interview and the trophy presentations.
Kate, who is patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, handed the Wimbledon trophy to Polish player Iga Swiatek, who beat Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in a match that lasted just 57 minutes.
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The princess then consoled Anisimova as she collected her runner-up prize in her first Grand Slam final.
Speaking after the match, the 23-year-old American player said Kate told her to “keep my head high”.
Anisimova said: “I wasn’t sure if she was going to come out today, if she was going to be there, so it’s just really nice to see her.
“She definitely had a few things to say that were making me emotional again.
“She was really kind and she told me to keep my head high.”
Kate also spoke to ball boys and girls as she came on to Centre Court for the presentation.
Prior to the final, the princess waved to crowds as she arrived at the championships in SW19.
Kate shook hands with children, including 12-year-old Sophie Kneen, who performed the coin toss at the ladies’ final.
She also met Bob Flint, Wimbledon’s longest serving honorary steward, and Ziying Wang, the champion of the ladies singles wheelchair final.
It is unknown if the princess will be back at Wimbledon on Sunday when Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner go head-to-head for the men’s singles final.
Her arrival came shortly after British duo Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool made Wimbledon history by winning the men’s doubles title for the first time in 89 years.
The pair became the first all-British pair to win the title since Pat Hughes and Raymond Tuckey in 1936.
Last year, Kate presented the Wimbledon men’s final trophy to Alcaraz, in what was her second public engagement since she announced her cancer diagnosis.
She watched the match between the current world number two and Novak Djokovic from the royal box with her daughter, Princess Charlotte.
However, she missed the chance to present Barbora Krejcikova with the trophy after she defeated Jasmine Paolini at last year’s women’s singles final.
Already this year, the Princess of Wales’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, have been seen in the royal box, with the Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duchess of Gloucester also in attendance.
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Earlier this week, Queen Camilla sat in Centre Court to watch Novak Djokovic in the tournament’s quarter-finals.
Famous faces in the royal box at this year’s Wimbledon have included Leonardo DiCaprio, Dame Anna Wintour, Sir Mo Farah and Ellie Goulding.
