Daria Kasatkina, the No. 12 participant on the planet and an eight-time champion on the WTA Tour, stated Friday that she is switching her nationality from Russian to Australian.
Kasatkina, 27, stated in a press release posted to social media that she was “delighted” her software for everlasting residency had been accepted by the Australian authorities.
“Australia is a spot I like, is extremely welcoming and a spot the place I really feel completely at residence,” Kasatkina posted to X. “I like being in Melbourne and look ahead to making my residence there. As a part of this, I’m proud to announce that I will likely be representing my new homeland, Australia, in my skilled tennis profession from this level onwards.”
Born in Russia and having represented her native nation since her junior profession, which included a women’ French Open title in 2014, Kasatkina has been outspoken in regards to the invasion of Ukraine, in addition to Russia’s remedy of the LGBTQIA+ neighborhood. She has been in a relationship with Russian determine skater Natalia Zabiiako, an Olympic silver medalist, since 2021.
She publicly introduced she was homosexual in a 2022 interview, and the revelation briefly dominated the Russian information cycle, with one politician calling her for to be declared a “international agent.”
Nonetheless, as Kasatkina instructed ESPN final 12 months, sharing her reality “felt like a backpack of stones fell off my shoulders.”
Since then, Kasatkina and Zabiiako have began a preferred YouTube channel documenting their travels on the tennis tour and their life collectively. Zabiiako instructed ESPN in 2024 that they incessantly hear from these in Russia who’re impressed by their bravery.
Kasatkina’s dad and mom stay in Russia, however she has not been again since February 2022 and has lived and skilled in Dubai for the previous a number of years.
Kasatkina on Friday stated “elements of this choice haven’t been simple” and thanked her household, in addition to her coaches and others who’ve supported her all through her journey within the sport.
“I’ll at all times have respect and fond appreciation for my roots, however I’m thrilled to start out this new chapter in my profession and my life underneath the Australian flag,” Kasatkina wrote.
A 2022 French Open semifinalist who has been ranked as excessive as No. 8, Kasatkina is subsequent scheduled to play within the Charleston Open subsequent week. She received the title at that occasion — her first on the WTA degree — in 2017.