Russian-born tennis player Daria Kasatkina ‘didn’t have much choice’ over switching allegiances to Australia
Russian-born tennis player Daria Kasatkina said that she “didn’t have much choice” about the decision to compete for Australia due to her sexuality.
Kasatkina is preparing to play under a new flag for the first time at the Charleston Open after announcing last week that her application for permanent residency in Australia had been accepted.
In recent years, she has been living in Spain and Dubai while competing as a neutral athlete amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
“With everything going on in my previous country, I didn’t have much choice,” Kasatkina said about choosing to switch nationality, per Reuters. “For me, being openly gay, if I want to be myself, I have to make this step, and I did it.”
Kasatkina, currently ranked 12th in the world, came out as gay in July 2022 and is in a relationship with figure skater Natalia Zabiiako.
Though same-sex relationships were decriminalized in Russia in 1993, the tides have recently shifted. In 2013, the country passed a “gay propaganda” law, which has been used to target the LGBTQ community, according to The Council for Global Equality.
President Vladimir Putin then signed a bill broadening the scope of the 2013 law in December 2022, making it illegal for anyone to promote same-sex relationships or suggest that non-heterosexual orientations are “normal.”
The ILGA-Europe, an organization working for LGBTQ rights in Europe, ranks Russia as the worst country in Europe for LGBTQ people, behind Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Kasatkina wrote on Instagram last week that she now plans to live in Melbourne, adding that Australia “is a place I love, is incredibly welcoming and a place where I feel totally at home.”
Ahead of her second-round match against American Lauren Davis in Charleston, South Carolina, the 27-year-old said: “Honestly, it feels different, I’m not going to lie. It’s emotional for me. I have to get used to it. But I’m really happy to start this new chapter of my life representing Australia on the big stage.”
‘Stressful’ going on court as an Aussie for first time, Kasatkina says
Kasatkina, in her first match representing Australia, defeated Davis 6-1, 6-1.
And while the scoreline might have made her win look easy, Kasatkina did not see it that way.
“Going on court today as an Aussie this time was stressful, honestly,” Kasatkina said in an interview on the Tennis Channel set. “This week in general was a bit stressful, let’s say, with all the changes and with all the feedback and stuff.
“When the tennis player steps on court, all the stress (she) is living through explodes. That’s how it works. (I’m) really happy how I handled that situation today, because it was not easy, honestly.”
Kasatkina also shared in her interview that she was watching a Tennis Channel broadcast on Tuesday, and when the Wednesday schedule flashed up on the screen – with an Australian flag next to her name – her reaction, she said, was “Oh my God!”
“It’s a really special moment for me to win the first match as an Australian player,” Kasatkina said. “I’m just really happy with that, and I couldn’t believe one day something like that would happen to me.”
This story has been updated with additional comments from Kasatkina.
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