Tennis player Anastasia Potapova has described a distressing encounter with a United Airlines flight attendant during her flight from Houston to New York, stating she felt she was treated with disrespect and discrimination. Potapova shared her experience via Instagram Stories on Wednesday, calling out a flight attendant named Mary.
"I have never done anything like this before, but right now I simply cannot stay silent," Potapova wrote. "As a professional athlete, I travel extensively all over the world, but this is the first time I have ever experienced this level of disrespect, rudeness, and, to some extent, discrimination. To me, flight attendants are supposed to be there to help passengers, not create problems for them."
Potapova alleged that the flight attendant repeatedly created problems for her without apparent reason, was rude to her personally, and treated her dog poorly. She also claimed the attendant mentioned her status and threatened to remove her from the flight.
"Her name is Mary. I truly hope that your airline will look into this situation and take it seriously, because no passenger — and no animal — deserves to be treated in such a humiliating and disrespectful way, especially by a member of the cabin crew," Potapova stated.
The Russian player, currently ranked world No. 27, is en route to compete in the US Open, which is scheduled to begin on Tuesday. Potapova recently withdrew from the Monterrey Open due to a back injury, making her arrival in New York significant for her participation in the tournament.
Potapova made history in 2026 as the first lucky loser to reach a WTA 1000 semifinal at the Madrid Open. She achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 21 in June 2023.
Potapova later informed her Instagram followers that she was in communication with United Airlines regarding the incident.