​Anastasia Potapova appeared in a Moscow “Spartak” T-shirt and caused a lot of scandals in Indian Wells. A few days after the Russian woman’s gesture, the WTA reacted officially.

Anastasia PotapovaPhoto: Maksym Konstantinov/SOPA Image / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia

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Anastasia Potapova, warned by the WTA

Answering the question about the T-shirt after the match with Jessica Pegula, Potapova answered that she has been cheering for “Spartak” since she was 13 years old and does not think that her gesture can be called provocative. Anastasia was asked to name the player of the team, but she could not.

After considering the case, the WTA issued an official warning to Anastasia Potapova.

“Regarding the T-shirt of the Russian football team worn by Potapova, the WTA has officially warned the player. This was an unacceptable and inappropriate measure. We expect not to see such a moment again in the future.” This is stated in the WTA press release.

Anastasia Potapova, criticized by Iga Svyatek

The appearance of the Russian woman was seen as a public demonstration of support for her country during its invasion of Ukraine, and the leader of the world hierarchy, Iga Svyatek, criticized the 21-year-old player.

“Honestly, I was surprised because I thought she realized that she shouldn’t, even if she’s a fan of the team, express her opinion at times like this. We did not know what the WTA would do and what the consequences of such behavior would be.

I talked to the WTA representatives and learned that there will probably be fewer such situations because they will explain to other players that no team from Russia can be promoted now, that calmed me down a bit. On the other hand, I believe that such a message should have been sent much earlier.

At the beginning of the war there was great chaos in the locker room. We didn’t know how to approach everything. It causes in such situations” – Iga Svyatekreports Newsunrolled.

In the third round in Indian Wells, Lesya Tsurenko was supposed to meet Belarusian Aryna Sabalenko, but the Ukrainian said she withdrew due to a panic attack. The 33-year-old said she was “absolutely shocked” by WTA boss Steve Simon’s responses during a discussion on how tennis is responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.