By: Grace Wang
Since February 24th, 2022, Russian-born tennis player Daria Kasatkina has been one of the most vocal critics of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Coming out as gay in July 2022 while publicly condemning Putin’s actions, Kasatkina has not returned home for over two and a half years. Over the past three years, Kasatkina and fellow Russian and Belarusian players have competed under a neutral flag, facing refusal of post-match handshakes from Ukrainian opponents. However, she will no longer be playing under a neutral flag. On March 29th, 2025, Kasatkina announced that she will be representing Australia as a professional tennis player, automatically becoming the highest-ranked Australian women’s tennis player in a surprise Instagram post.  Explaining her decision to pursue Australian citizenship, Kasatkina stated: “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.” The switch in nationality was met with positive reactions by Russian expats, Daria Saville and Arina Rodionova, as well as Australian social media accounts. Now that Kasatkina has officially played as an Australian at the Charleston Open last week, it remains to be seen whether Ukrainian players will acknowledge her with post-match handshakes.Â
