 "Daria Kasatkina had reached the fourth round of the Australian Open earlier this year, defeating Yulia Putintseva in the third round. Reuters")
Daria Kasatkina is all set for a fresh start in her life, with the Russian-born tennis player set to represent Australia going forward after switching allegiances. The 27-year-old has been playing as a neutral athlete since Russian and Belarusian players were banned from competing under their own flags following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Those days, however, are over for Kasatkina with the Australian government accepting her application for permanent residency.
In an Instagram post Friday, Kasatkina said she was pleased to have gained permanent residency in Australia. Tennis Australia later confirmed that she was now an Australian citizen and would represent Australia.
“I am delighted to let you all know that my application for permanent residency has been accepted by the Australian government," Kasatkina said. “Australia is a place I love, is incredibly welcoming and a place where I feel totally at home.
“I love being in Melbourne and look forward to making my home there. As part of this, I am proud to announce that I will be representing my new homeland Australia, in my professional tennis career from this point onwards.”
Who is Daria Kasatkina? And why did she choose to sever her ties with Russia?
Kasatkina was born in Tolyatti, a city located on the banks of the river Volga and located roughly 1,000 kilometres from capital Moscow, close to the Kazakhstan border. Both of her parents were nationally-ranked athletes before taking up different professions – her mother was into athletics while her father played ice hockey.
She was introduced to tennis at the age of six by her brother Alexsandr, who also happens to be her fitness trainer. to exhibit potential in tennis after entering the ITF Junior Circuit at the age of 14, winning her first title in just her second event.
She would later win the Roland-Garros girls singles title in 2014 and peaked as high as No 3 in the junior rankings. Her professional career, however, was already underway at that point, with Kasatkina having made her maiden appearance as a wildcard qualifying entrant at the Kremlin Cup the year before.
The following year, she would make her WTA main draw debut at the same event the following year, this time suffering a first-round defeat against American Alison Riske.
Kasatkina was a French Open semifinalist in 2022 and a Wimbledon quarter-finalist in 2018 and is currently ranked 12th. The eight-time WTA singles champion’s best career ranking was eighth. She has won a total of $13.15 million in prize money so far in her career.
Kasatkina said in 2023 that she had fled Russia because she did not feel safe “as a gay person who opposes the war.” Three years ago, Kasatkina went public with her relationship with Russian Olympic figure skater Natalia Zabiiako and in the last two years has been living in Spain and Dubai.
During that time, she has also been a vocal critic of Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Tennis Australia said Saturday it had been informed that Australia had granted Kasatkina permanent residency.
“Tennis Australia warmly welcomes Daria to the Australian tennis family,” it said in a statement. “Effective immediately, Daria will compete as an Australian and we wish her all the best for her upcoming tournaments.”
With AP inputs