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Daria Kasatkina gained permanent residency in Australia in March this year, and will represent the world's sixth-largest country going forward. Kasatkina was born Russian, but due to certain reasons, chose to switch her nationality. She recently discussed those reasons in a candid interview.
Speaking to The Guardian, Kasatkina stated that her sexual orientation played a pivotal role in her decision. In 2022, the former WTA No. 8 came out as a lesbian, and in Russia, openly homosexual individuals have faced persecution over the years. Her 2022 revelation also included the fact that she was in a relationship with Natalia Zabiiako, a Russian-Estonian competitive pair skater.
"It is tough. Honestly, it (being a lesbian) was one of my main reasons why I had to make this step and change my nationality because if I wanted to live a free, open life as I wanted, unfortunately I couldn’t do it in Russia. I had to find another place. And I did," she said.
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Daria Kasatkina has also been vocal in her criticism of Russia invading Ukraine in early 2022. According to the 27-year-old, this was also one of the factors she considered before she made the switch to being an Australian national.
"(Australians are) living in peace with each other. The war affected many things. Also the political way of Russia. Before, it was not that bad. But after this trigger, it’s become much worse. So it’s all connected," Kasatkina added.
Not everyone was pleased with Kasatkina abandoning Russia for Australia, and the eight-time WTA Tour-level titlist faced fierce online backlash over her decision.
Trolls and haters viciously targeted Daria Kasatkina over her nationality switch; former WTA No. 8 issued firm response
A report published by Daily Mail stated that online trolls and haters reacted with terms such as "rat" and "traitor" to Daria Kasatkina switching her nationality from Russian to Australian. However, there were plenty of voices of support for the current WTA No. 14 as well. Kasatkina penned a gratitude-filled post on X (formerly Twitter), thanking those who backed her decision.
"I've been incredibly touched by all the positivity and support I've received since making my decision. It was far from an easy one but the positive responses from fans and players means the world to me, honestly thank you," Kasatkina wrote.
Daria Kasatkina is currently in Madrid for the 2025 Madrid Open. She is competing in both singles and doubles categories at the combined WTA 1000 and ATP Masters 1000 event.
In singles, the No. 14 seed started her campaign with a second-round win over Alycia Parks. She is set to face No. 21 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova next in the third round. In doubles, she has paired up with Katie Boulter, with the duo slated to play Linda Noskova and Clara Tauson in the first round.
