Anastasia Potapova’s run at the Madrid Open as a lucky loser came to an end after a semifinal loss to Ukrainian star Marta Kostyuk. The match featured a highly dramatic courtside intervention from her boyfriend, Dutch tennis player Tallon Griekspoor. As Potapova’s mental game began to unravel, Griekspoor bluntly tried to restore her confidence. However, the viral pep talk ultimately was not enough to keep the former world No. 21’s tournament dream alive.
Griekspoor’s Coaching Fails to Save Potapova in Loss to Kostyuk
Before her dramatic and emotionally taxing semifinal exit against Kostyuk, Potapova put together a historic run in Spain by becoming the first lucky loser ever to reach a WTA 1000 semifinal.
After a frustrating three-set loss to Austrian qualifier Sinja Kraus (2-6, 7-6, 3-6), she received a second chance in the main draw due to late withdrawals. She capitalized on the opportunity by cruising past China’s Zhang Shuai in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1, in the round of 64.
In the round of 32, she pulled off a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 comeback victory over former Grand Slam champion Jeļena Ostapenko. The following day, she secured the biggest win of her tournament, winning a first-set tiebreak to knock out Elena Rybakina 7-6 (8), 6-4, which was followed by a win over former world No. 1 Karolína Plíšková, 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3.
Against Kostyuk, Potapova was struggling with exhaustion. The Ukrainian quickly took control of the match, winning the first set 6-2. To her credit, Potapova fought back well, finding her rhythm to take the second set 6-1. However, in the final set, that momentum swung back in Kostyuk’s favor.
Recognizing that she was completely losing her mental battle, Griekspoor intervened. As Potapova continued to complain to the coach, “Do you see the scoreboard?” the world No. 33 interrupted: “Stop f**king talking, Anna.”
“You need to believe in yourself,” Griekspoor urged.
When Potapova defensively claimed she believed in herself, Griekspoor bluntly rejected the notion but topped it off with encouragement: “Baby, you are the better player, but you have to believe it. Let’s go. We need your best energy. Let’s go, come on.”
Unfortunately, the intervention was ineffective. Kostyuk maintained her focus to secure the 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 victory and eliminate Potapova.
This is not the first time we have seen Griekspoor’s blunt coaching. In Potapova’s match against Plíšková, Griekspoor was present in the players’ box. In an interview, Potapova shared how his live coaching helped.
“To be honest, I was a little bit gone mentally in the third set. I didn’t believe in myself at the moment. This is the first time I’m going to say it, but big respect to my boyfriend who came just on time. He saved me just in time. He kept telling me, ‘You can do this. We’re all together here. Just keep going.’ In the third set, it was most of his job to win this. I just played, and mentally he just kept me there,” the 25-year-old said.
They have been dating since November 2025. After a busy season, the WTA world No. 56 and Griekspoor revealed their relationship during a joint vacation in the Maldives. The Russian-born player shared a series of her vacation photos, and fans spotted Griekspoor in one of them.
Griekspoor was eliminated in the round of 16 in Madrid by Jan Zieliński and Luke Johnson (in doubles). Following their respective campaigns at the Madrid Open, both Potapova and Griekspoor are heading to the Rome Masters, which will take place at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy, from May 5-17.
