Overview
- Potapova announced that Austria approved her citizenship and said she will compete for the country starting in 2026.
- The Austrian tennis federation confirmed the change and welcomed her, positioning her to rejoin the Billie Jean King Cup under Austria’s flag.
- Once the switch takes effect, she will be Austria’s No. 1 woman, replacing Julia Grabher, and she currently stands at No. 51 with a career high of No. 21.
- Her decision continues a trend of Russian-born players changing affiliation since 2022, including Daria Kasatkina (Australia), Varvara Gracheva (France), Elina Avanesyan (Armenia) and Maria Timofeeva and Kamilla Rakhimova (Uzbekistan).
- Former world No. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov criticized the move in Russian media, saying “good riddance” and questioning what she had won for Russia.