Potapova shuts down 2026 season after Beijing retirement
World No. 25 Anastasia Potapova has ended her 2026 season, she announced on social media. The decision comes a few days after Potapova retired in her opening match in Beijing against Sinja Kraus with a right shoulder injury.
"My season has to come to an end," Potapova wrote. "Unfortunately, lately my body has been giving me more and more signs that it's time to stop. For me, that's the clearest sign that I need to take a break, give my body the times it needs to recover and come back stronger.
"See you in 2027!"
In 2026, Potapova had one of her best seasons on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, improving her ranking from No. 97 ahead of Linz to a season-high and current No. 25. Her clay season was among the best of any player on tour, advancing the final in Linz, the semifinals in Madrid as a lucky loser, and the fourth rounds at Rome and Roland Garros. The highlight of her season was a 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-4 win over then-defending champion Coco Gauff at the French Open third round.
Still, it wasn't a fully healthy season for the Austrian. At the beginning of the year in Australia, she was playing with a broken finger on her non-dominant hand. After Roland Garros, she retired in her second-round match at s'Hertogenbosch vs. Zeynep Sonmez with an illness.
The next tournament in Berlin, she retired after losing the first set to Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round with a neck injury.
Then, at the US Open last month, amidst a three-set battle with Mirra Andreeva, Potapova fell while chasing an Andreeva forehand, injuring her left-knee and requiring a medical timeout. At the time, Potapova was serving to stay in the match down 5-3, and though she did return to play with significant taping, she was clearly hampered and Andreeva closed out the match as Potapova left in tears.
After Beijing, she was only scheduled to play Wuhan, but will now shift her focus to getting fully healthy for 2027. Last season, she did not play any events after Beijing either.
