Anastasia Potapova has always hit as if one clean strike can change everything. Now she’s tested that belief off the court. The 24-year-old has confirmed she is leaving the Russian tennis system and will represent Austria from the 2026 season, a move that reaches far beyond a line on a bio page or a different flag by her name.
This is about politics, passports, and a player who has spent years competing in limbo because of a war she didn’t start and couldn’t escape.
Potapova Leaves Russia, Chooses Austria
Potapova is the latest Russian player to switch federations and compete for another country. She has obtained Austrian citizenship and will play for Austria from the start of 2026.
The timing is striking. The announcement follows her appearance at the Northern Palmyra Trophies in St Petersburg, a high-profile exhibition regularly criticised for its links to the war in Ukraine. Despite the controversy it still attracts big names: Daniil Medvedev, Karen Khachanov, Alexander Bublik, Veronika Kudermetova and Yulia Putintseva all took part. Potapova’s partner, Tallon Griekspoor, also travelled to play.
That outing now stands as her last under the Russian umbrella. In practice, she has already spent years in sporting no-man’s-land. Russian and Belarusian players have been forced to compete under neutral status since the invasion, with tournaments in Russia suspended and both nations banned from the Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup and United Cup.
Announcement on Instagram
By switching to Austria, Potapova steps out of that limbo. She will be fully eligible for team events again, and no longer treated as a neutral ghost in draws built around national flags.
On Instagram she put it this way:
“I’m happy to share that my application for citizenship has been approved by the Austrian government. Austria is a place I love, that is incredibly welcoming and where I feel completely at home. I love being in Vienna and I’m excited to have it as my second residence. With that in mind, I’m pleased to announce that from 2026 I will represent my new home Austria in my professional tennis career.”
The tone is warm, personal, almost soft-focus. The implications are anything but.
Back on the Big Stage for a New Flag
Potapova has been honest about how much she’s missed playing for a team. She represented Russia in the Billie Jean King Cup before the ban and has repeatedly talked about how much that stage matters to her.
During her time in St Petersburg, she told Russian media:
“For me, yes. Personally I’ve always enjoyed team competitions. I’m both a team player and an individual player – I can play on my own. But team events have always been fun for me; I’ve always loved them. I hope things will change in the near future.”
Things have changed, just not in the way Moscow’s tennis establishment might have hoped.
For Austria, the upside is immediate. From 2026 Potapova will walk in as the country’s No.1. Julia Grabher currently holds that position at around No.92 in the world. Potapova, ranked 51 and a former No.21, will go straight to the top of the national pecking order.
That shifts Austria’s prospects overnight. In Billie Jean King Cup ties, they will field a proven top-50 player in singles. In mixed events and Olympic cycles, assuming eligibility rules are satisfied in time, she becomes the obvious centrepiece. What was a respectable but limited program suddenly has a genuine match-winner to lean on.
What Austria Really Gets
This is not a late-career soft landing. Potapova is 24, with her best tennis likely still ahead of her if her body cooperates. Her most recent title came earlier this year at the Transylvania Open; in 2023 she climbed to No.21 in the world and looked, at her best, like a regular second-week threat.
Austria is getting:
- A ready-made top-50 player with top-20 upside
- A woman with real WTA title pedigree
- Someone who has already said openly she feels at home in Vienna and plans to base herself there
In return, Potapova gets clarity — a flag she can actually play for, full access to team events, and a federation that will treat her as a flagship project rather than a political headache.
Resetting for 2026
Potapova has not played a WTA match since her round-of-16 defeat at the China Open to eventual finalist Linda Noskova. That absence isn’t about politics; it’s about injury. She has stepped away to recover properly and build for 2026, when the Austrian flag will appear beside her name on entry lists.
The plan is simple: return Down Under fit, match-ready and fully committed to a new chapter, not as a neutral athlete but as Austria’s new No.1, leading the line in singles and carrying a different set of colours into team competitions.
For Russia, it’s another high-profile loss at a time when the country’s tennis footprint has already been squeezed by global events. For Austria, it’s a coup. And for Anastasia Potapova, it’s the boldest shot she’s hit in years – not clipped off the baseline, but signed on the dotted line of a citizenship document.