Days after breaking silence on divorce, Anastasia Potapova shows up in Tallon Griekspoor's box at Indian Wells to watch him crush Alexander Zverev
Anastasia Potapova spared some time from her busy practice schedule to attend Tallon Griekspoor’s Indian Wells match against Alexander Zverev. The 23-year-old actively cheered for the underdog as he took on the World No. 2.
Potapova, currently ranked No. 34, began her campaign at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Thursday, March 6. The Russian staged a 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-5 escape against Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro to confirm her place in the second round, where she faces newly crowned Australian Open champion Madison Keys.
Ahead of Saturday’s match against the home favorite, Anastasia Potapova made an appearance in World No. 43 Tallon Griekspoor’s box, alongside his coaching team. The Dutchman, who beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3, stunned top seed Zverev on Friday, with the score reading 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4).
He required six match points to stage the monumental upset and confirm a third-round clash against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. The tension was palpable in the arena as Potapova, too, was visibly nervous after Griekspoor squandered five match points against the World No. 2.
This is not the first time that the former World No. 21 has attended Tallon Griekspoor’s matches. She made her presence felt during his win against defending champion Ugo Humbert at the Dubai Tennis Championships in February.
While Potapova is rarely spotted at her colleagues’ matches, the recently divorced player often watched her former husband Alexander Shevchenko’s matches from the sidelines.
How Anastasia Potapova overcame her divorce to reach new heights in tennis
Anastasia Potapova and Alexander Shevchenko announced their divorce at the tail end of 2024, less than a year after getting married. In January this year, the Russian broke her silence about their amicable separation. During her conversation with Bolshe’s Sofya Tartakova, she said:
"I really wish Sasha—I can say it on camera, I’m not ashamed of these words—I really wish him all the best, and he deserves all the best. I wish him all the best with his career, as well, because he’s very talented and he has to keep working and developing as a player."
Potapova revealed that the couple was unable to sort out their relationship issues, which resulted in the separation.
"I guess we had problems; some couples get over these problems, and some don’t. Unfortunately, we were one of the couples that didn’t," she said.
Although she suffered a slight slump in form amid her personal complications, the 23-year-old continued her tennis journey.
"My team, my close ones, even me, we were all shocked by how mentally strong I could be," she said.
In February this year, Potapova returned to winning ways, clinching her third career title at the WTA 250 Transylvania Open.