Anastasia Potapova Switches Allegiance to Austria

Anastasia Potapova has switched allegiance from Russian to Austria after her application for citizenship was accepted. Russia has been banned from competing in team competitions since the invasion of Ukraine, prohibiting Potapova from playing in the Billie Jean Cup. Potapova,24, who represented Russia in that tournament in 2018 and 2019, will be eligible to play for Austria next year. Potapova wrote on Instagram, "I am delighted to let you all know that my application for citizenship has been accepted by the Austrian government," "As part of this I am proud to announce that starting from 2026 I will be representing my new homeland Austria in my professional tennis career from this point onwards." Potapova ranked world number 51, will become the new Austrian number one, replacing Julia Grabher, who sits 94 in the rankings.