By Scott Spits
Russian-born tennis star Daria Kasatkina is switching allegiances to Australia after her application for permanent residency was accepted by the federal government.
With the stroke of a pen, Australia will have its highest-ranked women’s player in three years – the first player hovering around the world’s top 10 since three-time major winner Ash Barty retired almost to the day in 2022 when she was the undisputed world No.1.
Daria Kasatkina, pictured playing at the Australian Open in January, will compete for Australia now that she has been granted permanent residency.Credit: Getty Images
Kasatkina has been playing on the tour as a neutral athlete after Russian and Belarusian players were banned from competing under their own flags following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Former Roland-Garros semi-finalist Kasatkina has openly opposed the war in Ukraine, previously spoken out about “taboo” issues in Russia such as LGBTQ rights and opened up about her uncertainty and anxiety over whether she’ll ever be able to return home to see family and friends.
But amid some conjecture that world No.12 Kasatkina could switch to Spain after mixing her time living between Barcelona and Dubai, an Instagram post on Saturday delivered the shock news that Kasatkina would call Down Under home.
Kasatkina expressed her joy in gaining permanent residency in Australia.
“I am delighted to let you all know that my application for permanent residency has been accepted by the Australian Government,” she wrote on Instagram.
“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.”
Kasatkina’s switch to a green and gold uniform means four of the country’s top-six ranked women’s players – Kasatkina (12), Maya Joint (80), Ajla Tomljanovic (88) and Daria Saville (105) – were born outside of Australia.
The 27-year-old’s announcement was enthusiastically welcomed by Tennis Australia.
“Daria Kasatkina has informed us that she has been granted permanent residency by the Australian government,” a TA spokesperson said.
“Tennis Australia warmly welcomes Daria, currently ranked world No.12, to the Australian tennis family.
“Effective immediately, Daria will compete as an Australian, and we wish her all the best for her upcoming tournaments.”
Two years ago Kasatkina spoke of the relief she experienced after coming out as gay and speaking out about life in Russia.
“To be honest it helped me,” she said, not long after revealing her same-sex relationship with Russian-Estonian figure skater Natalia Zabiiako.
“I remember after saying all these things I felt just much better.
“I think it was one of the best decisions of the last year and I’m happy with the outcome, happy with how the things were going after that.”
Kasatkina went public on Instagram about her relationship with Zabiiako, conducting an interview with Russian blogger Vitya Kravchenko
Kasatkina said: “So many subjects are taboo in Russia.
“This notion of someone wanting to be gay or becoming [gay] is ridiculous. I think there is nothing easier in this world than being straight.
“Seriously, if there is a choice, no one would choose being gay. Why make your life harder, especially in Russia? What’s the point?”
Kasatkina couldn’t play Wimbledon that same year because of the ruling to ban her and other Russian and Belarusian players, a controversial decision that meant the grasscourt major was stripped of its ranking points. The All-England Club changed its stance the next year, allowing such players to compete as neutrals.
Two years ago Kasatkina told this masthead she was more concerned about the predicament for players from Ukraine than her own circumstances.
“I have so many friends and people I know from Ukraine,” she said.
“It’s very tough and it’s been almost a year living in these circumstances, and of course I want this [the war] to end as soon as possible, but unfortunately, it’s not depending on us.
“They’re my friends and I want to show them love and support as well. It’s tough.
“For them it’s more difficult than me for example.”
Kasatkina won the Billie Jean King Cup (then the Federation Cup) representing the Russia Tennis Federation in 2020 and 2021.