Anastasia Potapova

Anastasia Sergeyevna Potapova[a] (born 30 March 2001) is a Russian professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 21 by the WTA, achieved on 19 June 2023, and a doubles ranking of 40, reached on 5 December 2022. Potapova is a former junior world No. 1, as well as the 2016 Wimbledon girls' singles champion.

Anastasia Potapova
Анастасия Потапова
Potapova at the 2023 Birmingham Classic
Full nameAnastasia Sergeyevna Potapova
Country (sports) Russia
ResidenceKhimki, Russia
Born (2001-03-30) 30 March 2001 (age 23)
Saratov, Russia
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
CoachIgor Andreev
Prize money$3,221,020
Singles
Career record196–138 (58.7%)
Career titles2
Highest rankingNo. 21 (19 June 2023)
Current rankingNo. 33 (4 March 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (2021)
French Open3R (2023)
Wimbledon3R (2023)
US Open2R (2022)
Doubles
Career record83–65 (56.1%)
Career titles3
Highest rankingNo. 40 (5 December 2022)
Current rankingNo. 116 (4 March 2024)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenQF (2022)
French Open2R (2021, 2022)
Wimbledon1R (2019, 2021)
US Open2R (2022, 2023)
Team competitions
Fed Cup3–1 (75.0%)
Last updated on: 14 March 2024.

Career

Juniors

Potapova at the 2015 US Open junior event

On the junior tour, Potapova has a career-high junior ranking of 1, achieved in July 2016. Potapova has had large success on the junior tour including a semifinal at the 2016 French Open, quarterfinals at the 2016 Australian Open and the 2015 Wimbledon Championships and doubles finals at the 2015 US Open and the 2016 French Open. Potapova won the 2016 Wimbledon Championships girls' title, defeating Dayana Yastremska in the final. Two of the seven match points in the final set were overturned by challenges.[1][2] This title made her the number-one junior in the world.[citation needed]

Potapova's other junior highlights include semifinal appearances at the Trofeo Bonfiglio and the Orange Bowl championships, both Grade-A events. Her biggest junior title, excluding Wimbledon, is the Nike Junior International in Roehampton, a Grade-1 event, where she defeated other highly rated junior players such as Claire Liu, Jaimee Fourlis, Sofia Kenin, Olga Danilović and Olesya Pervushina en route to winning the title.

2017: Early rise

Potopava at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships

Starting her first full year on the tour, Potapova started 2017 unranked as she had only played two professional events entering the year. She defeated rival Amanda Anisimova in the final at an $25k event held in Curitiba.[3] This triumph saw her defeat Teliana Pereira for her first top-200 win, and pushed her into the top-500 of the rankings for the first time in her career.[citation needed]

She then made her WTA Tour debut, after having received a wild card to compete in the qualifying rounds of the Premier Mandatory event in Miami, defeating Maria Sakkari for her first top-100 win before falling to Jana Čepelová in straight sets. A series of good runs on clay saw her reaching two ITF semifinals in succession, most particularly at the Empire Slovak Open where she was just an inch away from reaching the final, losing 5–7 in the final set against Verónica Cepede Royg, who went on to reach the second week at the French Open.[citation needed]

Potapova was handed another wild card, this time into the qualifying draw of Wimbledon. She pounced on her chances, steering through all her matches in straight sets to make her Grand Slam main-draw debut defeating Elizaveta Kulichkova in the last round. However, an untimely fall during her first-round match saw her being forced to retire against Tatjana Maria, ending her impressive run.[4]

It was a bleak stretch of results which followed for Potapova, who reached just one ITF Circuit quarterfinal through the remainder of the year. She ended the year ranked 242, with a 20–14 win–loss record and eight top-200 wins.[citation needed]

2018: First WTA singles final & doubles title

Potapova started 2018 with a final appearance at the Sharm El Sheikh $15k event, but was upset by world No. 769, Yuliya Hatouka. She then played in her second WTA Tour main-draw match at the St. Petersburg Trophy where she finally earned her first main-draw win against Tatjana Maria, in straight sets.[5] This set up a blockbuster second-round match between newly crowned Australian Open champion and world No. 1, Wozniacki, and Potapova, a clash between experience and youth. However, Potapova was only able to claim one game against Wozniacki, falling 0–6, 1–6 to end her run.[6]

Potapova made her Fed Cup debut for Russia, but lost to the higher-ranked Viktória Kužmová and was unable to lead her country to the victory on that weekend. Another ITF final awaited Potapova, this time coming at the O1 Properties Ladies Cup held in Russia. She ousted the 64th-ranked Monica Niculescu but was unable to close out her run as she was defeated by second seed Vera Lapko.

Reaching her first professional clay-court final in Rome, she lost to Dayana Yastremska there having just won one game in the process.[7]

Potapova was given the chance to participate in yet another WTA event, and entered the Moscow River Cup with the help of a wild card. She defeated two top-100 players and came out of nowhere to make her maiden WTA final,[8] but faltered at the last hurdle as she fell to fellow 17-year-old Olga Danilović in a historic clash between the new generation.[9] She led by a break in the deciding set, but failed to close out the win but still managed to make her top-150 debut with this amazing run. At the same tournament, she won her maiden WTA Tour title in doubles with Vera Zvonareva.

Potapova lost in the final round of qualifying at the US Open to Julia Glushko but rebounded to qualify for her third WTA Tour main-draw appearance at the Tashkent Open. She defeated Stefanie Vögele and exacted revenge for her Moscow loss against Olga Danilović in the second round.[10] She then trounced Kateryna Kozlova in the semifinals [11] to set up an all-Russian final with Margarita Gasparyan, where she was defeated with a one-sided scoreline.[12]

Her season ended with a tough, but encouraging loss to eventual semifinalist and eighth seed Anett Kontaveit in the opening round of the Kremlin Cup despite leading by a break in the final set.[13] Nonetheless, she ended the year inside the top 100 for the first time in her career with a dominating 6–2 win–loss record against top-100 players.[14]

2019: First major event match win

Potapova received entry to the main draw of the Australian Open and played her first match against Pauline Parmentier, defeating her in straight sets.[15] This was Potapova's first match win in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament. In the second round, she was defeated by 17th seed Madison Keys.[16]

She then backed it up with a strong semifinal finish at the Hungarian Ladies Open, beating Sorana Cîrstea in a final-set tiebreak.[17] At the same tournament, she also reached the doubles semifinal alongside Anna Blinkova, but lost to compatriots Ekaterina Alexandrova/Vera Zvonareva in three sets.

After losses in the first qualifying round at the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open, Potapova returned to help book Russian team's spot in the World Group 2 with a vital comeback win over Martina Trevisan.[18] She also partnered Vlada Koval to win the dead doubles rubber.[19]

The Russian earned her first top-20 win over Anastasija Sevastova at the Prague Open[20] and went on to stun world No. 5, Angelique Kerber, in the first round of the French Open.[21]

Potapova won her second career WTA Tour doubles title at the Ladies Open Lausanne with Yana Sizikova and proceeded to reach the semifinals of the Baltic Open where she lost to Sevastova in straight sets.[22]

She lost in the first round of the US Open to Coco Gauff in three sets,[23] before making the second round at the Korea Open where she injured her ankle against Magda Linette.[24]

Potapova ended her season with a first-round loss at the Kremlin Cup to good friend Anna Kalinskaya.[25]

2020: Achieving consistency, major surgery

Potapova serving at the 2020 Australian Open

Potapova started the new season at the Brisbane International where she lost in the final round of qualifying to Yulia Putintseva. Competing at the first edition of the Adelaide International, she was defeated in the final round of qualifying by Arina Rodionova.[26] At the Australian Open, she was defeated in the first round by eighth seed and seven-time champion, Serena Williams.[27]

Coming through qualifying at the St. Petersburg Trophy, Potapova reached the quarterfinals where she lost to second seed, defending champion, and eventual champion Kiki Bertens.[28] At the Abierto Mexicano, she was defeated in the quarterfinals by qualifier and eventual finalist, Leylah Fernandez.[29] In Monterrey, she made it to the quarterfinals by wins over qualifier Giulia Gatto-Monticone and Tamara Zidanšek. Despite having two match points in the third set, she ended up losing to second seed Johanna Konta.[30]

Potapova didn't play any more tournaments for the rest of the year due to undergoing ankle surgery for her injury sustained at the Korea Open a year earlier.[31] She ended her season ranked 100.

2021: Major third round, first WTA 1000 quarterfinal

Beginning her 2021 season at the first edition of the Abu Dhabi Open, Potapova lost in the first round to ninth seed Maria Sakkari.[32] At the first edition of the Gippsland Trophy, she was defeated in the second round by top seed Simona Halep.[33]

At the Australian Open, she beat 24th seed Alison Riske in the first round.[34] She lost in the third round to tenth seed Serena Williams despite holding multiple set points.[35] After the Australian Open, she competed at the first edition of the Phillip Island Trophy where she was defeated in the first round by 16th seed Rebecca Peterson.[36] However, in doubles, she and Anna Blinkova reached the final where they lost to Ankita Raina/Kamilla Rakhimova.[37]In Doha, Potapova lost in the second round of qualifying to Jessica Pegula.

At the Dubai Championships, she beat 11th seed Madison Keys[38] and sixth seed and 2019 champion, Belinda Bencic to reach the quarterfinals of a WTA1000 tournament for the first time in her career.[39] She ended up losing to eventual finalist Barbora Krejčíková.[40] At the Miami Open, she was defeated in the first round by Ajla Tomljanović.[41]

Potapova's first clay-court tournament of the season was at the Charleston Open. She lost in the first round to Anastasija Sevastova. At the İstanbul Cup, she upset sixth seed and compatriot, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in a three-set first-round battle.[42] She was defeated in the second round by eventual champion Sorana Cîrstea.[43] In Madrid, she lost in the final round of qualifying to Kristina Mladenovic. At the Italian Open, she was defeated in the final round of qualifying by Bernarda Pera. At the French Open, she lost her first-round match to Leylah Fernandez.[44]

The Russian saved match points against Nina Stojanović in the first round of the Birmingham Classic[45] and reached her second WTA quarterfinal of the year with a comfortable win over Mladenovic.[46] However, she lost to eventual champion Ons Jabeur in straight sets.[47] Potapova was then defeated in the first round of Wimbledon by Donna Vekić.[48]

Potapova qualified for the main draw at the Canadian Open with another win over Mladenovic and stunned Shelby Rogers in the first round.[49] However, she was forced to retire in the second round due to injury.[50] She crashed out of the US Open in the first round against 23rd seed Jessica Pegula in straight sets.

At the Ostrava Open, Potapova qualified for the main draw and beat former top-5 player Caroline Garcia, in the first round.[51] She then lost to second seed Petra Kvitová, in three sets.[52] She made her third quarterfinal of the year at the Astana Open, and defeated Mladenovic for the third time this year.[53]

Her season ended with first-round losses at the Kremlin Cup against Simona Halep[54] and the Transylvania Open against Tomljanović once again.[55]

2022: WTA Tour titles & top 50 debut in singles and doubles

Potapova at the 2022 French Open

Potapova started her season brightly at the Melbourne Summer Set 1 when she reached the quarterfinals but lost to compatriot Veronika Kudermetova, in three sets. She was also defeated in the first round of the Australian Open, by 30th seed Camila Giorgi.[56] However, she made her first major quarterfinal in doubles, alongside Rebecca Peterson, although they lost to eventual finalists Beatriz Haddad Maia/Anna Danilina despite leading by a set and a break.[57]

She suffered first-round exits at the St. Petersburg Trophy, Monterrey Open and the Indian Wells Open, and failure to defend her points from Dubai in 2021 meant that she fell out of the top 100. Nonetheless, she made the doubles semifinals in St. Petersburg with Vera Zvonareva.[58]

Ranked No. 122 at the İstanbul Cup, she won her first WTA Tour title as a qualifier defeating third seed and world No. 29, Veronika Kudermetova.[59] As a result, she returned to the top 80 in the rankings, at world No. 78 on 25 April 2022.

In June, she was kept from playing at Wimbledon due to the Russian players ban resulting from the Russian invasion in Ukraine.

In July, Potapova made it to the semifinals of the Lausanne Open where she lost in straight sets to Olga Danilović. Nevertheless, this result guaranteed her a new career high ranking of No. 63. She also made the semifinals of the Hamburg European Open, losing in straight sets to world No. 2, Anett Kontaveit.

Following her showing in the Prague Open final where she lost to Marie Bouzková, she reached the top 50 at world No. 48, on 1 August 2022.[60] At the same tournament, she won her third doubles title with Yana Sizikova defeating compatriots Angelina Gabueva and Anastasia Zakharova. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 52 in doubles also on 1 August 2022.

2023: WTA warning, second title & WTA 1000 quarterfinal & top 25

In March 2023, the WTA issued a formal warning to Potapova for wearing a T-shirt of Russian soccer team Spartak Moscow before a match in Indian Wells. Her actions were viewed as a public show of support for her country during its invasion of Ukraine. Potapova said she had supported Spartak since she was 13 and saw no provocation in wearing the shirt. The WTA said what she did was "not acceptable nor an appropriate action".[61]

In Indian Wells, she lost in the third round to third seed Jessica Pegula. Seeded 27th at Miami, she reached the quarterfinals defeating sixth seed Coco Gauff and 23rd seed Zheng Qinwen en route. As a result, her ranking rose into the top 25 at world No. 21, on 3 April 2023.

Performance timelines

Key
W F SFQF#RRRQ#P#DNQAZ#POGSBNMSNTIPNH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Billie Jean King Cup, United Cup, Hopman Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.[62]

Singles

Current through the 2024 Australian Open.

Tournament20172018201920202021202220232024SRW–LWin %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian OpenAA2R1R3R1R2R1R0 / 64–640%
French OpenAA2RA1RQ23R0 / 33–350%
Wimbledon1RA2RNH1RA[b]3R0 / 43–443%
US OpenAQ31RA1R2R1R0 / 41–420%
Win–loss0–10–03–40–12–41–25–40 / 1611–1641%
Year-end championships
WTA Elite TrophyDNQNHAlt0 / 00–0 – 
National representation
Billie Jean King Cup[c]AWG2PO2A[d]DQ[b]0 / 01–150%
WTA 1000
Qatar Open[e]AAAAAAA0 / 00–0 – 
Dubai[e]AAAAQFAA0 / 13–175%
Indian Wells OpenAAQ1NHA1R3R0 / 21–233%
Miami OpenQ2AQ1NH1RQ2QF0 / 23–260%
Madrid OpenAAQ2NHQ21R3R0 / 21–233%
Italian OpenAAQ1AQ2A3R0 / 11–150%
Canadian OpenAA1RNH2RA1R0 / 31–325%
Cincinnati OpenAAQ1AA1R2R0 / 21–233%
Guadalajara OpenNH1R1R0 / 20–20%
China OpenAAQ2NH1R0 / 10–10%
Wuhan OpenAAANH0 / 00–0 – 
Win–loss0–00–00–10–04–30–47–80 / 1611–1641%
Career statistics
20172018201920202021202220232024SRW–LWin %
Tournaments141641819205Career total: 87
Titles00000110Career total: 2
Finals02000210Career total: 5
Hard win–loss0–05–46–106–410–1313–1416–137-51 / 6363–6350%
Clay win–loss0–04–17–50–01–311–37–41 / 1730–1665%
Grass win–loss0–10–01–10–02–20–15–20 / 78–753%
Overall win–loss0–19–514–166–413–1824–1828–197-52 / 87101–8654%
Win %0%64%47%60%42%57%60%58%Career total: 54%
Year-end ranking23794931006943$2,994,949

Doubles

Current through the 2024 Australian Open.

Tournament20172018201920202021202220232024SRW–LWin %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian OpenAAAAAQF2R1R0 / 34–357%
French OpenAAAA2R2R1R0 / 32–340%
WimbledonAA1RNH1RAA0 / 20–20%
US OpenAA1RAA2R1R0 / 31–325%
Win–loss0–00–00–20–01–25–31–30–10 / 117–1139%
WTA 1000
Dubai / Qatar Open[e]AAAA2RAA0 / 11–150%
Madrid OpenAAANH2RA1R0 / 20–20%
Canadian OpenAA1RNHAA1R0 / 20–20%
Guadalajara OpenNH2R2R[f]0 / 22–167%
Career statistics
Tournaments149312136Career total: 48
Titles0110010Career total: 3
Finals0110110Career total: 4
Overall win–loss1–17–312–82–312–1217–112–53 / 4853–4355%
Year-end ranking2531201071318641

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 5 (2 titles, 3 runner-ups)

Legend
Grand Slam
WTA 1000
WTA 500
WTA 250 (2–3)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–2)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (1–1)
Carpet (0–0)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss0–1Jul 2018Moscow River Cup, RussiaInternational[g]Clay Olga Danilović5–7, 7–6(7–1), 4–6
Loss0–2Sep 2018Tashkent Open, UzbekistanInternationalHard Margarita Gasparyan2–6, 1–6
Win1–2Apr 2022İstanbul Cup, TurkeyWTA 250Clay Veronika Kudermetova6–3, 6–1
Loss1–3Jul 2022Prague Open, Czech RepublicWTA 250Hard Marie Bouzková0–6, 3–6
Win2–3Feb 2023Linz Open, AustriaWTA 250Hard (i) Petra Martić6–3, 6–1

Doubles: 4 (3 titles, 1 runner-up)

Legend
Grand Slam
WTA 1000
WTA 500
WTA 250 (3–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–1)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (2–0)
Carpet (0–0)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1–0Jul 2018Moscow River Cup,
Russia
InternationalClay Vera Zvonareva Alexandra Panova
Galina Voskoboeva
6–0, 6–3
Win2–0Jul 2019Ladies Open Lausanne,
Switzerland
InternationalClay Yana Sizikova Monique Adamczak
Han Xinyun
6–2, 6–4
Loss2–1Feb 2021Phillip Island Trophy,
Australia
WTA 250Hard Anna Blinkova Ankita Raina
Kamilla Rakhimova
6–2, 4–6, [7–10]
Win3–1Jul 2022Prague Open,
Czech Republic
WTA 250Hard Yana Sizikova Angelina Gabueva
Anastasia Zakharova
6–3, 6–4

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 4 (1 title, 3 runner–ups)

Legend
$100,000 tournaments (0–1)
$60,000 tournaments (0–1)
$25,000 tournaments (1–0)
$15,000 tournaments (0–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–2)
Clay (0–1)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0Mar 2017ITF Curitiba, Brazil25,000Hard Amanda Anisimova6–7(7), 7–5, 6–2
Loss1–1Jan 2018ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt15,000Hard Yuliya Hatouka4–6, 6–4, 5–7
Loss1–2May 2018Khimki Ladies Cup, Russia100,000Hard (i) Vera Lapko1–6, 3–6
Loss1–3Jul 2018Internazionale di Roma, Italy60,000+HClay Dayana Yastremska1–6, 0–6

Doubles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner–ups)

Legend
$80,000 tournaments (1–0)
$60,000 tournaments (0–1)
$25,000 tournaments (1–0)
$15,000 tournaments (0–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–2)
Clay (1–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1–0May 2017Khimki Ladies Cup,
Russia
25,000Hard (i) Olesya Pervushina Ekaterina Kazionova
Daria Kruzhkova
6–0, 6–1
Win2–0Jul 2017ITF Prague Open,
Czech Republic
80,000Clay Dayana Yastremska Mihaela Buzărnescu
Alena Fomina-Klotz
6–2, 6–2
Loss2–1Jan 2018ITF Sharm El Sheikh,
Egypt
15,000Hard Ekaterina Yashina Jade Lewis
Erin Routliffe
6–0, 5–7, [6–10]
Loss2–2Apr 2018Lale Cup Istanbul,
Turkey
60,000Hard Olga Doroshina Ayla Aksu
Harriet Dart
4–6, 6–7(3)

Junior Grand Slam tournament finals

Singles: 1 (title)

ResultYearTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Win2016WimbledonGrass Dayana Yastremska6–4, 6–3

Doubles: 3 (3 runner–ups)

ResultYearTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss2015US OpenHard Anna Kalinskaya Viktória Kužmová
Aleksandra Pospelova
5–7, 2–6
Loss2016French OpenClay Olesya Pervushina Paula Arias Manjón
Olga Danilović
6–3, 3–6, [8–10]
Loss2017French OpenClay Olesya Pervushina Bianca Andreescu
Carson Branstine
1–6, 3–6

Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup participation

Legend
World Group 2 (0–1)
World Group 2 Play-off (2–0)
Zone Group RR / PO (1–0)

Singles (1–1)

EditionRoundDateLocationAgainstSurfaceOpponentW/LResult
2018WG2Feb 2018Bratislava (SVK) SlovakiaHard (i)Viktória KužmováL6–3, 3–6, 4–6
2019WG2 POApr 2019Moscow (RUS) ItalyClay (i)Martina TrevisanW2–6, 6–3, 6–1

Doubles (2–0)

EditionRoundDateAgainstSurfacePartnerOpponentsW/LResult
2019Z1 RRFeb 2019Zielona Góra (POL) DenmarkHard (i)Margarita GasparyanKaren Barritza
Maria Jespersen
W6–2, 6–2
WG2 POApr 2019Moscow (RUS) ItalyClay (i)Vlada KovalSara Errani
Jasmine Paolini
W4–6, 6–3, [10–7]

WTA Tour career earnings

Top 10 wins

Season2019...20222023Total
Wins1146
#PlayerRankEventSurfaceRdScoreAPR
2019
1. Angelique KerberNo. 5French OpenClay1R6–4, 6–2No. 81
2022
2. Anett KontaveitNo. 2Prague Open, Czech RepublicHardQF6–1, 6–1No. 59
2023
3. Coco GauffNo. 6Miami Open, United StatesHard3R6–7(8–10), 7–5, 6–2No. 26
4. Coco GauffNo. 6Stuttgart Open, GermanyClay (i)2R6–2, 6–3No. 24
5. Caroline GarciaNo. 5Stuttgart Open, GermanyClay (i)QF4–6, 6–3, 6–3No. 24
6. Ons JabeurNo. 7San Diego Open, United StatesHard2R6–4, 7–6(7-4)No. 27

Personal life

Since the end of 2022, she began a relationship with Kazakhstani player Alexander Shevchenko. On September 24, 2023 they announced their engagement.[63] They got married on December 1, 2023.[64]

Awards

2016

Notes

References

External links

Awards
Preceded by ITF Junior World Champion
2016
Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by Junior Orange Bowl Girls' Singles Champion
Category: 14 and under

2014
Succeeded by
Preceded by Orange Bowl Girls' Doubles Champion
2016
With: Olga Danilović
Succeeded by