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 took the attention away from her win and began a controversy off the court.
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After losing the match, as Anisimova walked off 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 in 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.
Amanda Anisimova Faces Yet Another Round 3 Exit
Amanda Anisimova’s 2025 form was a spectacle to witness. She made it to the Wimbledon final and later, all the way to the finals of the US Open. She also won the Qatar TotalEnergies Open in Doha and the China Open later in Beijing.
At the beginning of the year, she was in her best spot. In January 2026, the player actually found her best form, climbing to her career-high ranking of No. 3. She even managed to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
However, soon after, things started going south for the American supernova.
At the French Open, she lost in Round 3 to Diane Parry, who was ranked 92nd at the time. This is obviously a brutal loss to a player many may not have expected her to lose to.
The theme continued with Wimbledon, where she faced another round three exit. This time, she lost against fellow American Madison Keys.
Finally, at the Cincinnati Open in August 2026, she reached all the way to the quarterfinals. However, she would end up losing to Jessica Pegula who dominated the match to reach the tournament’s final.
Now, at the 2026 US Open, Amanda Anisimova has faced yet another round-three exit.
“Yeah, there were tons and tons of breakpoints, a lot of chances and opportunities,” Anisimova admitted in the post-match press conference as reported by the New York Post.
“I felt like in those moments she played quite well, or the conditions just got to me, or I missed the ball. So there were definitely a lot of chances in the match; but she did a good job of staying tough in those moments. Yeah, it’s something for me to look back on, and next time hopefully I can do it better.”
Amanda Anisimova was quite disappointed during the match when she realized she was losing points. However, the player has been a resilient icon of the sport. She acknowledged Potapova’s spirit and performance after her loss and held her head up high in the end.