The entry of Anastasia Potapova, 28th player in the world, on the court on Sunday for her round of 16 against the American Jessica Pegula did not go unnoticed. For her second round at the Indian Wells Masters (United States), the 21-year-old player landed with a jersey from Spartak Moscow football club, one of the most popular teams in Russia.
A gesture judged by observers as a provocation when, a few days earlier, the Daily Mail newspaper announced that the Wimbledon tournament would authorize the return of Russian players, banned from the Grand Slam since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. , in February 2022.
This Wednesday, March 15, three days after Potapova’s gesture, the Polish Iga Swiatek, world number one, was questioned at a press conference after her victory in the quarter-finals. “I was surprised because I thought she understood that she should not, even if she is a fan of the team, show her point of view in such moments, explains Swiatek. I spoke to the WTA and learned that these situations will probably be less frequent, because they will explain to the players that it is now forbidden to promote Russian teams, which reassured me a little. On the other hand, I think the message should have been sent much earlier. »
Anastasia Potapova justified herself by explaining that she was a big fan of Spartak Moscow. But Iga Swiatek, who has supported Ukraine since the start of the conflict, notably wearing a flag on her cap, and other players cannot help but question this explanation.
In addition, another event disrupted the 2023 edition of the Indian Wells tournament. Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko withdrew a few hours before her match against Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka due to a “panic attack”. “The reason for my withdrawal is a panic attack,” said the Ukrainian to the Big Tennis site. A few days ago I had a conversation with WTA CEO Steve Simon and I was absolutely shocked by what I heard. He told me that he himself was against the war, but that if Russian or Belarusian players supported it, it was their own opinion, and that the opinion of others should not bother me”.
Still on this theme, Iga Swiatek gave her support to Lesia Tsurenko at a press conference: “I completely understand why she withdrew, because I have great respect for Ukrainian girls. If bombs fell on my country or my house was destroyed, I don’t know if I would be able to resist them and continue to compete. More generally, Iga Swiatek called on the WTA to support above all the Ukrainian players, the most affected since the start of the conflict. For her part, Caroline Garcia was eliminated in the round of 16.