Anastasia Potapova unbothered despite ‘close friend’ Marta Kostyuk severing all ties
Anastasia Potapova undeterred by ex-friend Marta Kostyuk's alienation.
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Anastasia Potapova recently opened up about other players’ treatment and how she fends off any type of hatred while on tour. She gave an exclusive interview to the Championat.com, a Russian sports media company. Though the Russian world no. 24 was questioned about various things, the main theme was Russian players’ treatment by other players on the tournament.
Potapova has been surrounded by a lot of media attention of late. She received a lot of criticism from fellow players, especially Iga Swiatek, for wearing Spartak Moscow’s (a Russian football club) jersey to the court. At the behest of players, WTA handed a warning to Anastasia not to show her support towards the Russian Federation in any manner. She might be levied a fine or not awarded points if she the incident.
In another controversial incident, Ukraine’s tennis sensation Marta Kostyuk refused to shake hands with Anastasia at Miami Open. Anastasia Potapova defeated Kostyuk post which Marta didn’t come to the nets to shake her hands as is the norm. At the interview Anastasia was asked if she was close to Marta earlier, and she said “Yes. Indeed, we were quite close friends, but unfortunately, the person decided to change his mind – and not only about me”. Anastasia also added, “It’s not for me to judge her, it’s her choice. And I respect her“.
Anastasia is gearing up for the clay season. She had a great run at the hard court season. Though she lost in the second round at the Australian Open, she won the Upper Austria Ladies Linz WTA title. In the Miami Open, she reached the quarter-final where she lost against Jessica Pegula in a midnight thriller. Her ranking climbed from world no. 48 in 2022 to world no. 24 by April 2023.
Anastasia Potapova unruffled with the negative vibes in contrast to Aryna Sabalenka
Image credit: Championat.com
A few weeks back, Aryna Sabalenka had complained of negative vibes from players in the locker room. When Anastasia Potapova was asked whether she was impacted by such vibes? She replied, “I don’t care….I come to the tournament, and my goal is to beat my opponent. It doesn’t matter where she’s from or what’s going on.”
She also mentioned that she did not get hate by all players or even all Ukrainian players. She added that “But it is not with all girls from Ukraine. We still greet some of them, communicate, sit in the locker room, watch social networks together, show something to each other, make fun.”
Anastasia said that she tries to keep herself focused, and her mind is always on tennis and winning. She added that “Maybe with some (players) there are (negative vibes). But, again, I do not pay attention to this, because there is no point in it.” Whereas Belarusian player Sabalenka has said that she has a very tough time dealing with hatred in locker rooms. These are just two different perspectives on how Russians and Belarusians are handling intense emotions. Emotions are a little volatile right now at the WTA camp, but things surely will improve as the year progresses.
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Deeksha Nigam
(173 Articles Published)