Iga Swiatek 'surprised' after Russia's Anastasia Potapova wears Spartak Moscow jersey to court

Indian Wells: Russia’s Anastasia Potapova took court wearing a Spartak Moscow jersey for her match against Jessica Pegula at Indian Wells. Spartak Moscow are a Russian football club based in the country’s capital. Potapova, 21, said she has supported the club since she was 13 and saw no provocation in it. Russian and Belarusian players have been allowed to compete on the men’s and women’s tennis tours, but not under their national flags. The move came after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.

Meanwhile, Russia's Anastasia Potapova took the court v Pegula wearing a Spartak Moscow T-shirt, which she immediately removed as Pegula was walking in.
(Spartak has suffered some serious repercussions because of the war). pic.twitter.com/uLDA93xwSl

— Stephanie Myles (@OpenCourt) March 13, 2023

“To be honest, I was surprised,” Poland’s Iga Swiatek said on Tuesday. “I thought the player realised that she should not, even if she is a fan of the team, show her views in this way at such times.” The Polish World No 1 has been publicly critical of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She has had a ribbon in Ukrainian colours on her outfits and raised funds for people affected by the war. Read | Ukraine’s Tsurenko says ‘panic attack’ led to Indians Wells withdrawal Swiatek, 21, said she had spoken to the WTA officials over Potapova’s actions. “I’ve talked to the WTA and in a way I found out that there should be less such situations because they will explain to other players that you can’t promote any Russian teams these days, which reassured me a bit,” she said. “On the other hand, I think these situations unfortunately happen because this announcement should have taken place much earlier. There was a lot of chaos in the locker room at the beginning of the war. “It was not clear how to approach everything, which causes such unpleasant situations. I think if there had been better leadership from the beginning, maybe we would have avoided such situations.” Read all the Latest News, Trending News,  Cricket News, Bollywood News,  India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.