WTA warns Potapova over Russian soccer shirt
The Women's Tennis Association issued a formal warning to for wearing a T-shirt of Russian soccer team Spartak Moscow before her match against at Indian Wells this week.
The Russian player's actions were viewed as a public show of support for her country during its invasion of Ukraine, and the 21-year-old was criticized by world No. 1 .
Potapova, when asked about the shirt after the match, said she had supported Spartak since she was 13 and saw no provocation in it.
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"Regarding the Russian soccer team shirt, the WTA has formally warned the player that this was not acceptable nor an appropriate action," the WTA said in a statement. "We do not expect to see any reoccurrence of this in the future."
Ukraine's withdrew from her third-round match with Belarusian at Indian Wells due to what she said was a panic attack.
Tsurenko said the attack was triggered by a chat she had with WTA CEO Steve Simon about tennis' response to Russia's invasion, for which Belarus has been a key staging ground.
Russian and Belarusian players can compete on the WTA as individual athletes without national affiliation.
