Daria Kasatkina says she wasn’t left with much choice other than changing her nationality after publicly criticizing the Russian government and coming out as gay.
Shortly after making her maiden Grand Slam semifinal at the 2022 French Open, the tennis star shared during a conversation with a Russian vlogger that she was gay. During that same convo, she spoke out against Russia’s actions in Ukraine and called for peace. She faced a backlash in her home country for her comments and some even called her “a traitor.”
All of that led to Kasatkina obtaining Australian citizenship – she announced the news over this past weekend.
“With everything going on in my previous country, I didn’t have much choice [to switch allegiance]. For me, being openly gay, if I want to be myself, I have to make this step, and I did it. I have to get used to it a little bit, because for a couple of years I didn’t hear anything. But it’s something nice to get used to,” the 27-year-old explained in Charleston.
Kasatkina ’emotional’ ahead of her first tournament as an Australian player
The former world No. 8 didn’t have to wait for too long to play her first tournament as an Australian player since she is taking part at this week’s WTA 500 tournament in Charleston. And she admitted to feeling…
