'It sounded like a match on Tinder': Daria Kasatkina jokes with Amanda Anisimova about her mixed doubles pairing with Holger Rune

Amanda Anisimova, the talented American star, shared a funny moment about her mixed doubles partnership at the US Open with Denmark's Holger Rune in a recent vlog by Daria Kasatkina. The American had a short run in the mixed doubles, but she gave much more to talk about regarding her singles participation.

Anisimova truly delivered as one of the local favorites, making it all the way to the final of the singles draw, defeating Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals and Naomi Osaka in the semifinals along the way. The American fell in straight sets in the final to Aryna Sabalenka.

Anisimova arrived at Flushing Meadows with some doubts following her loss in the Wimbledon final against Swiatek. After achieving her best Grand Slam campaign, she ended up losing 6-0, 6-0 in a final to forget. This time, she was able to get revenge on Swiatek on her way to her second major final, but she ended up falling to Sabalenka—whom she had eliminated in the Wimbledon semifinals.

In the week leading up to the tournament, Anisimova was preparing for a unique challenge: the US Open mixed doubles with Holger Rune. The 24-year-old unexpectedly teamed up with the Dane, losing in their debut to the all-American pair of Taylor Townsend and Ben Shelton.

In mixed doubles, Anisimova and Rune showed a fun and spontaneous chemistry, entertaining fans with rallies and moments of camaraderie. Although many people's focus was on her singles run, this doubles experience allowed her to explore a different style, combining her powerful baseline game with Rune's tactical versatility. As she mentioned, the experience was “fun” and playing with him was “nice.”

Amanda Anisimova's hilarious interview with Daria Kasatkina

In the most recent episode of " What the Vlog"—former World No. 8 Daria Kasatkina's YouTube channel—the Russian asked Anisimova about her mixed doubles participation after a training session. The video, recently published by the Russian star, was filmed in the days leading up to the tournament.

“But how come you're playing actually with Holger? It's a bit random,” Kasatkina asked. Anisimova laughed: “Oh, I don't know. I feel like it would be fun.”

The pairing, which caught the attention of fans from the start, was not a decision made by the players themselves, but rather by their agents. “No, but did you ask him or he asked you?” Kasatkina asked. “We just got like matched up by our agents,” Anisimova explained.

“It sounded like it was a match on Tinder,” Kasatkina joked.

“We just, we just matched up,” Anisimova added with a playful tone. “I think that's more personal. I mean, if you match on Tinder, you actually are the ones matching. This was like, do you want to play? And I was like, yeah. Nice, and when do you play? It'll be fun. He's a nice guy.”

Before the tournament, the American had a brief practice with Rune. Kasatkina commented: “I saw you, actually you practised with him, no? You tried, how was it?” Anisimova replied: “I did. I tried to practise this morning, but…”—letting her smile and enthusiasm speak for her. Kasatkina added: “Yeah, I see you're so pumped. So pumped and looking forward to it,” capturing Anisimova's energy and excitement for this mixed doubles experience.

Anisimova prepares for Asian Swing after back-to-back major finals

After finishing the tournament, Anisimova once again leaves with a loss in a Grand Slam final, though she can take the positive side from it all after reaching her second consecutive Grand Slam final. The American will rise to a career-high World No. 4 on Monday and is preparing for the next challenges with renewed confidence.

Anisimova is now 4th in the WTA Race to the Finals and seems to have an almost guaranteed spot in the tournament that gathers the top 8 players of the season. In the coming weeks, she will need to confirm her place with challenges in the Asian Swing, where she will face the WTA 500 Seoul Open and then the WTA 1000 Beijing Open.