Anastasia Potapova just pulled off an upset at the US Open after defeating No. 10 seed Amanda Anisimova in straight sets. However, a small and seemingly disjointed gesture became the beginning of an on-court controversy.
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After losing the match, as Anisimova walked out of the court, some fans believe that they captured Potapova mocking a ‘goodbye’ gesture towards her opponent. It’s true that her performance was clinical but such a gesture presents an unsportsmanlike image of the Russian player.
The video of this incident spread like wildfire on the internet. In the clip, Potapova can be seen looking into Anisimova’s general direction as she makes a ‘goodbye’ gesture while mouthing the words.
The way that the camera was positioned, it’s difficult to tell whether she was actually mocking her opponent or not. For many, Amanda Anisimova was the projected winner of the matchup.
She was also the 2025 US Open runner-up. Meanwhile, Anastasia Potapova has never made it to the fourth round of the tournament before. In fact, this is her only third time making it to the round of 16 at any Grand Slam.
Therefore, Anisimova’s defeat comes as a surprise. For fans, the mocking allegations are quite serious. It’s not common to see such behaviour explicitly on the court and when it does come to light, the backlash is generally harsh.
The match was already a tough one for Amanda Anisimova. She couldn’t get the lead in the first set and ended up breaking into tears during the second after losing the first point on her serve.
Now, she’s out of the competition after a valiant effort against a dominant Potapova.
This is a developing story…