Anastasia Potapova retaliates following Iga Swiatek’s offensive remark for wearing Spartak Moscow jersey

Anastasia Potapova condemns complaints made by Iga Swiatek after she spotted the Russian player wearing Spartak Moscow jersey on the court in the Indian Wells Open.

Anastasia Potapova retaliates following Iga Swiatek’s offensive remark for wearing Spartak Moscow jersey

Iga Swiatek and Anastasia Potapova

Anastasia Potapova has finally decided to turn offensive on the criticisms she faced at the hands of Iga Swiatek and the media. The current World No.1 had condemned the Russian tennis professional for wearing a Spartak Moscow football team jersey on the courts during Indian Wells Open.

The Russian was attacked from all sides with WTA finally stepping in to contain the damage and issued strict warnings to the player. She is not allowed to sport any items or articles which may give an indication of her being in any way a supporter of the Russian Federation.

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Iga Swiatek had reserved her disappointments with Anastasia Potapova on this issue.

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“I talked to the WTA, and in a sense I was told that there will probably be fewer situations like this because they will explain to the players that you can’t advertise any Russian team right now. It calmed me down a bit,” the current World No.1 had said.

Anastasia Potapova, however, does not think Iga Swiatek is right in her way to condemn her. She also reiterated that she does not pay heed to her complaints.

“Every person has the right to choose: so to go to the match in a Spartak T-shirt was my personal choice. She condemned me, but I don’t care about her complaints, neither hot nor cold. If she wants to blame me for something, then I wish her good luck. I don’t pay any attention to it,” Potapova said.

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Anastasia Potapova defends her decision to wear controversial shirt

Anastasia Potapova (Image Credit: ESPN)
Anastasia Potapova (Image Credit: ESPN)

The Ukraine-Russia war has led many relationships to collapse in the tennis world. The recent dip in relations between the Ukrainian and Russian players is evident of this growing abyss between the players on the tour. Ukrainian players such as Marta Kostyuk have decided to not shake hands with Russian and Belarusian players.

On the other hand, the controversy surrounding Anastasia Potapova and her gesture of wearing Spartak Moscow shirt on the court against Jessica Pegula during the Indian Wells Open drew much flak from tennis fans. However, the Russian player has always maintained a stable stance and faced criticisms head-on.

“There was not any political intention in this shirt. It’s very sad that people seeing things that isn’t actually the truth. I’m just a super fan of Spartak since I was 10 years old. My dad built part of the stadium for this team, so it’s our family thin,” she had said during the Miami Open.

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