Anastasia Potapova Gives Blunt Reaction After Copy-Pasting Daria Kasatkina’s Nationality Switch Statement: “Who Cares”
Anastasia Potapova defeated Daria Kasatkina in the opening round of this year's Brisbane International.
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L: Anastasia Potapova, R: Daria Kasatkina (Image via Instagram, Anastasia Potapova, X/WTA)
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Anastasia Potapova survived a scare in the first round of the Australian Open, which she played on Sunday (January 18). Against Suzan Lamens, Potapova came from a set down to secure a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 win.
Following the match, renowned journalist Ben Rothenberg asked Potapova about her nationality switch. Last December, Potapova, a Russian-born player, changed her nationality to Austria.
Austria is a place I love, is incredibly welcoming and a place where I feel totally at home. I love being in Wien and look forward to making my second home there. As part of this, I am proud to announce that starting from 2026, I will be representing my new homeland, Austria, in my professional tennis career from this point onwards.
Anastasia Potapova wrote on Instagram
Now her post was a carbon copy of what Daria Kasatkina wrote while announcing that she had moved to Australia after becoming its citizen. Potapova, when asked during the press conference about the similarity between her and Kasatkina’s statements, gave a blunt reaction, saying nobody really cares about the post, and that she and Kasatkina are good friends.
I don’t find anything wrong with that because you cannot say it in a better way. And why not? It was perfect words. I loved it. We loved it with my team, with everyone. So, gave it a shot. I don’t think that it’s something terrible happened. I think the media just blew it up just because they didn’t like me with the fact of it happening. I mean, who cares about posts, right? We talk a lot. We’re actually good friends.
Anastasia Potapova said
Kasatkina returned to the tour at the Brisbane International following her mental health break. The 28-year-old finished her 2025 season early after her defeat to Sonay Kartal in the second round of the China Open following a string of poor performances.
It was Potapova who eliminated the former World No.8 in Brisbane. Kasatkina’s poor run of form continued at the Adelaide International, as after knocking out Maria Sakkari, she fell to Jaqueline Cristian.
In Melbourne, the one-time Grand Slam semifinalist will begin her campaign on January 20 against Nikola Bartunkova. She will be hoping to make the quarterfinals of the Melbourne Major for the first time.
Anastasia Potapova will meet Emma Raducanu next
Emma Raducanu is through to the second round of the Australian Open. On January 18, she registered a 6-4, 6-1 win over Mananchaya Sawangkaew to schedule the second-round clash with Anastasia Potapova, whom she will be meeting for the first time in her career.
Yeah, she’s been very high-ranked, and I remember watching Anastasia all through juniors. She was the number one tennis Europe, number one ITF. I was the year below her. So, she was always the player to kind of watch and beat through juniors, and she’s been very high-ranked as well in the pros. She got through a really tough match today, so that must give her a lot of confidence.
Emma Raducanu said at the press conference
Both players have yet to reach the fourth round at Melbourne Park. While Potapova made the third round in 2021, Raducanu lost in the same round last year.
The 24-year-old produced her best Grand Slam performance when she reached the fourth round of the 2024 French Open. Raducanu, on the other hand, is the 2021 US Open champion, but since that win, she has yet to reach another tour-level final. Potapova, a former World No.21, is a three-time singles titlist, lifting them at the 2022 Istanbul Cup, 2023 Linz Open, and the 2025 Transylvania Open.
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