World No. 51 Anastasia Potapova has announced she will compete for Austria beginning in 2026, following the approval of her citizenship application. The 24-year-old tennis player revealed the news on Instagram, saying Austria has become a place where she feels «totally at home» and expressing excitement about making Vienna her second home.
Potapova becomes the fourth Russian WTA player to change nationality this year, amid ongoing restrictions and uncertainty for Russian athletes during the Russia–Ukraine war. Daria Kasatkina now represents Australia, while Maria Timofeeva and Kamilla Rakhimova have both switched to Uzbekistan.
A former world No. 21, Potapova has won three WTA singles titles, Istanbul (2022), Linz (2023) and Cluj-Napoca (2025), along with three doubles titles. She will officially begin her career under the Austrian flag at the start of the 2026 season, marking a major new chapter in her professional journey.
Kursiv Uzbekistan also reports that Kylian Mbappe delivered another moment of magic on Sunday, scoring a spectacular solo goal in Real Madrid’s match against Athletic Bilbao at San Mames.
