Updated 06.43 | Published 00.53
Russian Anastasia Potapova becomes Austrian.
Now the 24-year-old receives criticism from the icon Yevgenij Kafelnikov.
– Should I cry? Was she a great athlete? says Kafelnikov, who is vice president of the Russian Tennis Federation.
Here are the sports highlights of the weekend 5-7 December
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Anastasia Potapova is ranked number 51 in the world and has won three ATP titles. At the highest, she has been ranked 21st.
This season, due to Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, she has competed under a neutral flag. Today, however, she announced that she has received Austrian citizenship.
“I am happy to inform you all that my application for citizenship has been approved by the Austrian government. Austria is a place I love, an incredibly welcoming country where I feel completely at home. I love being in Vienna and look forward to making it my second home. As part of this, I am proud to announce that starting in 2026, I will represent my new home country of Austria in my professional tennis career“, she writes on Instagram.
“So, goodbye and thank you”
A news that did not go down particularly well with the former great player Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
– I don’t like to comment on this news. What has she won for Russia during her life? You can’t tell me that, and I can’t tell you either. So, goodbye and thank you for this time, he said according to Russian Sport-Express.
Kafelnikov won two grand slam titles during his career. Now he is vice president of the Russian Tennis Federation.
