Anastasia Potapova (33rd WTA) was eliminated from this year’s Australian Open in the second round. The 23-year-old Rojanka defeated Tamara Zidansek (174th WTA) in the first round, only to lose to her compatriot and namesake Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (23rd WTA) in the next.
Potapova is still looking for the form of 2023, when she achieved her best results and was close to the top 20 in the world ranking. This year, the Russian won the tournament in Linz, and shortly afterwards advanced to the semifinals in Stuttgart, where she defeated, among others, Coco Gauff and Caroline Garcia. Just before the final, Potapova was defeated by Aryna Sabalenka.
But in 2023, the Russian made herself known not only for her good sports side. Potapova has repeatedly stirred up controversy on the court, which was met with a reaction from Iga Świątek. The Russian opposed Ukrainian flags in Cincinnati, and in Indian Wells she appeared on the court in a Spartak Moscow jersey.
She shouldn’t show her views in this way in times like these. Even if she’s a fan of this team. I talked to the WTA about it – said Świątek.
“We play way too much”
Now, Potapova has given an interview to the Russian website sport.ru. The 23-year-old spoke about her form and goals for 2025, as well as the overloaded WTA tournament calendar, a calendar that many tennis players have already complained about.
We play way too much, even if you compare it to other sports. We play non-stop, week after week. If you stay at home five days in two months, it’s really good,” Potapova said.
– The tight schedule and logistics involved are not great. In one week you can play in Dubai, then in Europe, Asia and Australia. It’s difficult, but I have a team that builds my schedule so that I don’t die from overload – she added.
At the moment we have 20 mandatory tournaments! In the middle of the season there is no way to stay at home. There is not much time to rest, but I must emphasize that it would be a sin to complain about such a life – Potapova concluded.
Russian scandalist speaks with one voice with Iga Świątek
Iga Świątek spoke in a similar tone a few months ago. Her words from August last year went around the world. – The players realize that what’s happening is crazy. The schedule is very tight. I talked about it in Cincinnati and I heard that I shouldn’t play in so many tournaments. This is the reality, we have a lot of mandatory starts. We have to be there. We don’t have time to improve, to think. We go from one tournament to another – emphasized the Pole.
