By Richard Pagliaro Thursday, December 4, 2025
Photo credit: Anastasia Potapova Instagram
Anastasia Potapova Citizenship changes dramatically ahead of the 2026 season.
Potapova, 24, announced today that her application for Austrian citizenship has been approved. Potapova, who was born in Saratov, Russia, will compete as an Austrian starting next month.
“I am happy to say that my application for citizenship has been accepted by the Austrian government,” Potapova posted on Instagram today. “Austria is a place that I love, it is very welcoming and welcoming and makes me feel at home. I love being in Vienna and look forward to making it my second home.”
“As part of this, I am proud to announce that I will be representing my new home country of Austria in my professional tennis career starting in 2026.”
Former world No. 21 Potapova joins several former Russian stars who have transformed their country.
Last March, Darya Kasatkina Announced that she was changing her nationality from Russian to Australian.
“Australia is a place I love, it’s so welcoming and welcoming and makes me feel at home,” Kasatkina posted on X. “I love being in Melbourne and looking forward to making my home there.
“As part of this, I am proud to announce that from now on I will be embarking on a professional tennis career representing my new home country of Australia.”
Kasatkina, who came out as gay in 2022, said Russia’s treatment of LGBTQ people and her feeling unsafe in her home country after criticizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were factors in her decision to move to Australia.
“I will always respect and appreciate my roots, but I’m excited to start the next chapter of my career and life under the Australian flag,” Kasatkina posted on social media.
Just days after the Uzbekistan Tennis Federation announced that Russia would switch to Austria, Potapova publicly switched to Austria. Kamila Rashimova Will now represent Uzbekistan in what the federation calls a “historic event” for the country’s tennis federation.
“We are delighted to welcome Camilla to the national team,” Sado Kamilov said in comments published by UZ Daily.com. “We believe that new successes and impressive performances are just around the corner under the flag of Uzbekistan.”
born in moscow Elena Rybakina Back in June 2018, she changed her citizenship from Russia to Kazakhstan, primarily to obtain funding for her tennis career from Kazakhstan.
2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina made history by becoming the first Kazakhstan player to break into the top 10 in the world.
Rybakina was born in Moscow and changed careers six years later Yulia Putintseva Left the Russian Tennis Federation and represented Kazakhstan.
