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.
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