The world No.12 switched to Australia after a secret meeting with Craig Tiley. In her homeland, some call her a ‘traitor’

Daria Kasatkina’s shock switch of allegiances to Australia gained momentum in a secret catch-up with Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley at this year’s Australian Open.

There were informal discussions between Russian-born Kasatkina and TA several years ago about her potentially becoming an Australian, but it became a reality in a meeting in Melbourne in January with Tiley and others in his organisation.

Tennis star Daria Kasatkina has switched allegiances from Russia to Australia.Credit: Getty Images

The world No.12, the only openly gay women’s singles player in the top 100, revealed this week that she approached Tennis Australia about the switch a few months ago.

Kasatkina played as an Australian for the first time in Charleston, South Carolina this week, and plans to establish a base in Melbourne. She lost her round-of-16 match, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7), to American Sofia Kenin on Friday.

Close friend and fellow naturalised Australian Daria Saville, who lives in Melbourne, has already recommended places that Kasatkina could live. Kasatkina is also friends with the Rodionova sisters, Arina and Anastasia, who, like Saville, changed nationalities from Russia to play tennis for Australia.

“‘Dash’ [Saville] is talking non-stop [[since I announced my decision],” Kasatkina said.

“On the phone, she called me, then she keeps sending me some stuff, like the apartments and the houses around her location. She’s so excited; I’m scared. She is super happy for me.”

The federal government has approved Kasatkina’s application for permanent residency in Australia, and she will now go through the citizenship process.

TA provided Kasatkina with a letter supporting her application “for people who have an internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement in an eligible area”, which includes sport.

A spokesperson told this masthead the Department of Home Affairs could not comment on individual cases.

Daria Saville isn’t short of advice for fellow Russian-Australian Daria Kasatkina.Credit: Getty Images

“While the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 provides a number of ministerial discretions that may be applied to assist a person to meet the general residence requirement in specific circumstances,” the spokesperson said, “there is no general power to waive or vary the eligibility requirements for Australian citizenship.”

Kasatkina has not returned to Russia for almost three years since announcing she was gay, and in a relationship with Olympic silver medal-winning figure skater Natalia Zabiiako, in an interview in July 2022. Kasatkina also condemned her birth country’s invasion of Ukraine at the time.

Some Russians have branded Kasatkina a “traitor” for her decision to become an Australian.

Novaya Gazeta Europe reported comments from several athletes and politicians who were critical of Kasatkina, including Olympic speed skating champion Svetlana Zhurova, who is also a State Duma political member.

Zhurova said Kasatkina was “Russian by birth, but raised with Western values,” according to an English translation in the independent Meduza publication.

“Kasatkina has special reasons for changing her citizenship. Everyone knows what they are; they just don’t say them out loud,” Zhurova said. “People are already calling her a traitor and slapping labels on her. That’s why she’s afraid to come back to Russia – because of her non-traditional values.”

Russia’s Supreme Court outlawed the “international LGBT movement” as an “extremist” organisation in November 2023. Kasatkina said she had little choice but to switch nationalities, given “everything that’s going on in my previous country”.

“For me, being openly gay, if I want to be myself, I had to make this step,” she said.

Adopted Australian tennis players this century

Melisa Ercan (Turkey)

Jarmila Gajdosova (Slovakia)

Maya Joint (United States)

Sacha Jones (New Zealand)

Daria Kasatkina (Russia)

Duje Markovina (Croatia)

Anastasia Rodionova (Russia)

Arina Rodionova (Russia)

Daria Saville (Russia)

Ajla Tomljanovic (Croatia)

“Australia is the place where I feel that I can be myself, and I am really happy to have this privilege to be part of this beautiful country.”

Kasatkina has been living in Dubai and often trains in Barcelona, but the United Arab Emirates also criminalises same-sex sexual activity.

There is a process underway for Kasatkina to potentially receive a special exemption to represent her adopted country in the Billie Jean King Cup. However, it is unclear if she will be successful or how long it will take even if she is.

The International Tennis Federation changed the rules from January 1, 2015 to stop players from representing more than one country in the BJK Cup or Davis Cup, but players and/or federations can request an exemption.

Daria Kasatkina and Natalia Zabiiako.Credit: Instagram/@kasatkina

Kasatkina was a key member of the Russian Tennis Federation’s BJK Cup title victory in 2021, when the country was banned from international sport for doping violations.

Any decision on Kasatkina’s eligibility for Australia will not be made in time for her to play in next week’s Billie Jean King Cup qualifier in Brisbane against Kazakhstan and Colombia.

Part of the exemption request, a source familiar with the situation told this masthead on the condition of anonymity, is based on Kasatkina effectively being “stateless”, a person not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law. This masthead contacted the ITF for comment.

Ajla Tomljanovic, who switched allegiances from Croatia to Australia, successfully appealed the rule change on the basis she applied for an Australian passport before it was implemented.

However, five years passed between her gaining residency in 2014 and the ITF letting her represent Australia in the BJK Cup. She became a citizen in 2018.

Tomljanovic was among the Australians to warmly welcome Kasatkina.

“She’s an amazing person, an amazing player, and I just want her to be able to play for us – in the BJK Cup and Olympics,” Tomljanovic said. “She is an incredible addition ... she fits everything Aussie, so I’m excited for her.”

Kasatkina is likely to complete a training block at Melbourne Park at some stage this year, the same source told this masthead.

She shares the same agent, 72 Sports Group’s John Morris, as Australia’s top-ranked player, Alex de Minaur. Morris also used to represent Nick Kyrgios.

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