Anastasia Potapova drew flak from fans after her “rude” gesture against Amanda Anisimova, whose campaign ended in the third round at the US Open. In April, Potapova was on the verge of crashing out of the Top 100, but she has turned the tide while riding the wave of her consistency.
The 10th seed chased shadows from the outset as Potapova broke her serve with ease in the third game of the first set. The World No. 25 inflicted another break to close out the opening set with a 6-2 win. Anisimova attempted to restore parity with a resilient comeback, but Potapova held firm to see out the game with a 6-2, 7-5 victory.
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Fans were stunned to see the home favourite suffer yet another premature exit at a Grand Slam event this year. However, after an hour and 39 minutes, the discussion soon shifted from the result to Potapova’s gesture, allegedly towards Amanda Anisimova. While last year’s runner-up in New York broke down in tears as she left the Louis Armstrong Stadium, the camera panned to Potapova, who waved goodbye.
Speculation was running wild on social media as fans tried to interpret the person at whom Potapova’s gesture was aimed. A section of users felt the 25-year-old was mockingly waving goodbye to Anisimova. Fans were furious about Potapova’s “disgusting” behavior, which was a “total lack of respect.”
“In better quality to see how disgusting was her behavior,” a user wrote on X.
“All of that to lose in the next round,” a user stated.
“Wow. New low every day,” a user remarked.
“This is evil,” a user added.
“Honestly never liked her behavior,” another user added.
Amanda Anisimova confirms she will continue to work with her coach
In the aftermath of her third round exit, Amanda Anisimova’s partnership with Hendrik Vleeshouwers came under scrutiny. She reunited with the Dutchman in July, after parting ways with him following a slow start at the beginning of this year.
Fans felt Anisimova’s game was going downhill since her reunion with Vleeshouwers. The World No. 10 American ruled out the possibility of a split and assured that she will continue her collaboration with him despite the backlash.
“Oh, yeah, of course, I’m gonna continue working with him, and today’s match doesn’t change our partnership,” she said (via New York Times).
Following her recent exit, Amanda Anisimova will fall out of the Top 10 while Potapova will continue her journey and face 2026 French Open champion Mirra Andreeva in the Round of 16.
Edited by Pritha Ghosh
