Australia has a new top-ranked women’s tennis player in Daria Kasatkina. The world number 12 has switched her allegiance from Russia to Australia. She said that she felt she “didn’t have much choice” after publicly criticising the war in Ukraine and Russia’s LGBTQ+ laws.
Context
Kasatkina’s application for permanent residency in Australia was accepted last week. Before that, the tennis star had been living in Dubai playing as a neutral. In 2022, during a video interview, Kasatkina revealed that she was gay and subsequently left Russia because of its strict LGBTQ+ laws.
Her first tournament as an Australian representative will be this week’s Charleston Open in South Carolina.
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The 27-year-old has taken the mantle of Australia’s top-ranked women’s tennis player from world number 62 Kimberly Birrell.
What they said
"It's my first official day as an Australian player. 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."
