Daria Kasatkina to represent Australia internationally
April 4, 2025
Daria Kasatkina (YouTube)
According to George Ramsay and Jill Martin of CNN Sports on Wednesday, 2022 French Open semifinalist Daria Kasatkina is changing her nationality. Kasatkina is no longer representing her native Russia, and will now compete internationally for Australia.
Kasatkina’s permanent residency application has been approved by the Australian government. She has publicly stated her plans on living in Melbourne.
The reason for the switch is because Kasatkina does not feel safe living in Russia. That is because she is a lesbian and has a relationship with Russian figure skater Natalia Zabiiako, who won a silver medal in the team event at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. Under Russian law according to Ramsay and Martin, “it is illegal for anyone to promote same sex relationships.” Kasatkina and Zabiiako made their relationship public in 2022, and have since lived in Spain and Dubai according to Samuel Gill of tennisuptodate.com.
Kasatkina has also publicly discussed her opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and discussed her disapproval of Russian rules about lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders according to Gill. Now that Kasatkina is Australian, she is Australia’s top female tennis player and is ranked 12th in the world. The next ranked Australian is Kim Birrell of Gold Coast, who is ranked 62nd. Like Kasatkina, Birrell is a native of Europe, as she is from Dusseldorf.
On Wednesday, Kasatkina won her first match as an Australian. She beat American Lauren Davis 6-1, 6-1 in the second round of Charleston. Kasatkina will next play 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin of the United States in round three.
Fill In The Form Below To Receive Our Tennis News Straight To Your Email For FREE!
April 23, 2026
Mets losing streak now at 12 games
The New York Mets are the worst team in baseball and their losing streak is now at 12 games On Tuesday, the Mets lost their 12th straight game after being beat 5-3 by the Minnesota Twins New Read MoreApril 23, 2026
PGA Tour not returning to Hawaii in 2027
The PGA Tour will not be returning to Hawaii at all in 2027 according to The Garden Island on Monday The decision means that there will be an estimated $150 million loss in visitor industry revenue Read MoreApril 22, 2026
Understanding PayID’s Role in Australia’s Digital Payments Landscape
Australia’s transition toward faster, more secure digital payments has accelerated in recent years One of the key technologies supporting this shift is PayID — a real-time payment identifier that Read More
Tell Us What You Think Below