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When announcing her switch of nationality from Russia to Austria last month, Anastasia Potapova opted to simply copy and paste the statement Daria Kasatkina had used earlier in 2025 when she changed her representation from Russia to Australia. The amusing move quickly went viral, and after her first-round match at the Australian Open, Potapova confirmed journalists’ observations, brushing off the copy-and-paste “scandal” with a casual: “Why not?”
Anastasia Potapova claims her first Grand Slam win representing Austria. pic.twitter.com/mvvY2hq6Nh
— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) January 18, 2026
Speaking to the press after storming back from 6-3 5-1 down against Suzan Lamens to win her Grand Slam debut representing Austria on Day 1 of the Australian Open, Potapova explained why she saw nothing wrong with not writing her own statement and instead using Kasatkina’s.
“I don’t find anything wrong with that because you cannot say it in a better way. And why not? It was perfect words. I loved it. We loved it with my team, with everyone,” the world No. 55 explained.
“So, we gave it a shot. I don’t think that it’s something terrible happened. I think the media just blew it up just because they didn’t like me with the fact of it happening. I mean, who cares about posts, right?”
It’s not a problem that she copied the statement, but it would have been so easy to write something herself, straight from the heart. It’s so funny that she and her team decided it was better to take Kasatkina’s statement and tweak a few words instead.
During the press conference, Potapova also spoke about her new clothing sponsorship with Wilson.
“I really loved every piece that they have,” Potapova exclaimed. “It’s kind of a rare thing now to see something what I really like to wear on court.” (source: Tennis.com)
