Potapova Defends Moscow Shirt Choice Amidst Tensions
WTAFriday, 24 March 2023 at 04:30
Updated at Friday, 04 April 2025 at 16:47
Anastasia Potapova has defended her choice to wear a Spartak Moscow shirt before a match at the Indian Wells Open, which the WTA found troublesome.
There is a war going on right now, and one of the parties involved is Russia, which illegally invaded Ukraine, starting this war. In tennis, some Russian players have been under fire for their silence, even though their silence is relatively easy to understand.
Potapova is one of those players who haven’t been talking about the conflict, but she did do something that was deemed political by many, including the WTA.
In response to the war, the Russian players were forced to remove any association with their country, as they can’t compete under the Russian flag, and they can't wear anything that would tie them with the ongoing war.
That’s why Potapova came under a lot of fire when she wore a jersey of a Moscow-based football team before her match against Jessica Pegula at the Indian Wells Open. Many found the move political, as the jersey is unmistakably Russian, so likely in breach of the WTA guidelines.
The Russian, however, didn’t see anything wrong with it and defended it, as she claimed that she didn’t intend to send a political message. The optics certainly portrayed it a certain way, which is also why she received a warning from the WTA.
Speaking in Miami, however, Potapova defended her decision, saying that wearing the jersey had nothing to do with the ongoing war.
"It's very sad that people seeing things that isn't actually the truth. I'm just 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 thing. We were surprised but whatever. It's as I said, people are seeing what they only want to see."
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