Daria Kasatkina seemingly wasn't too impressed with Anastasia Potapova fully copying her Australian switch statement to announce her move to Austria.
In early December, Potapova – who was born in Saratov and represented Russia between 2014 and 2025 – announced that she was taking the Austrian passport. While the move itself was interesting, the thing that also drew a lot of attention was the fact that her nationality switch message fully resembled the one used by Kasatkina in April to announce a move to Australia.
Here is how it looked.
W co gra Anastasia Potapova? 🤔
📸 Daria Kasatkina | X & Anastasia Potapova | IG | #czasnatenis https://t.co/QO73GK1pQ1 pic.twitter.com/tCkXAelgrC
— Z kortu – informacje tenisowe (@z_kortu) December 5, 2025
At the ongoing Australian Open, Potapova made a triumphant start after beating Suzan Lamens 3-6 7-5 6-2. When asked by the media about copying Kasatkina's message, the new Austrian player confirmed she indeed did that. However, she sounded unfazed by it, describing the 28-year-old's switch message as "perfect."
Ironically, Kasatkina, 28, and 24-year-old Potapova met in what was their very first match of the 2026 season in Brisbane. Following a tight three-set battle, the younger Russian-born player won 7-5 4-6 6-4.
Asked about the world No. 55 deciding to copy-and-paste her message, Kasatkina described it as "awkward" and admitted that she thought about addressing it with the new Austrian player before their Brisbane match, but ultimately decided against doing so.
Kasatkina: You could have come up with your own statement, it was a very special occasion
"We played each other in the first round in Brisbane and it would be awkward to start discussing it before the match and then it was already too late and I kind of let go of this situation. But of course at that very moment, | was, like, 'You could have come up with your own statement, right?'" the 2022 French Open semifinalist said on Anna Chakvetadze's First&Red YouTube channel.
"It's a very special occasion, you are not just withdrawing from a tournament, in which case we all post nearly identical statements. This is different. It's an important story, it's a serious step. I approached it differently because it was really important to me. But if she's fine with this, if a statement like this is just ticking the box for her… Well, okay, I guess? I mean, if she liked my statement that much, okay then…"
Kasatkina, in interview with @achakv87 for @Firstandred https://t.co/U65a1lC1G3 pic.twitter.com/lTr1mV6J6A
— Oleg S. (@AnnaK_4ever) January 19, 2026
It will be interesting to see if Potapova has anything to say about Kasatkina's reaction.
