Daria Kasatkina says she ‘can finally breathe’ as Australian citizen after defecting from Russia

MELBOURNE, Australia — Daria Kasatkina knows how to make an entrance.

The day before the start of the Australian Open, and about 30 minutes before the start of her pretournament news conference, Kasatkina took to social media to post a picture of herself in front of the Australian flag, holding her certificate of citizenship.

“Officially an Australian,” she wrote. “Happy, grateful and free.”

Kasatkina, 27, defected from her native Russia in March in a decision she said was necessary to live a full life.

“For me, being openly gay, if I want to be myself, I have to make this step, and I did it,” she said in a news conference at the Charleston Open in April.

Kasatkina has also openly criticized President Vladimir Putin of Russia and the country’s invasion of Ukraine, describing the war as a “full-blown nightmare” in a 2022 interview with Vitya Kravchenko in Barcelona, Spain, that was posted on YouTube.

For Kasatkina, who is one of the most popular players in the proverbial locker room of the WTA Tour, this switch is about far more than paperwork or gaining additional funding and support for her career, which are often key motivators in tennis switches of nationality. In recent months, Anastasia Potapova (Austria), Kamilla Rakhimova and Polina Kudermetova (both Uzbekistan) have left Russia behind.

“I cannot even describe how much that means, because it’s not just about the passport,” Kasatkina said Saturday afternoon at Melbourne Park. “It’s about the acceptance, let’s say, because honestly, like, the whole process, the support from the people, like, from the other citizens, I mean, it’s been amazing, honestly.”

“I couldn’t imagine that, you know, coming from the completely different background to receive this amount of support basically from strangers. I felt so much love.”

She said those feelings were a key motivator during a challenging 2025 in which she ended her season early and felt the pressure of criticism from her former nation and the impact of her decision weighing on her.

“I’ve got a lot of support, but also I got a lot of critics, you know, from the other part. It’s been difficult, but this is kind of what I have been dealing for … For a couple of years,” she said.

“I mean, even if you deal with that, it’s still a bit exhausting, you know, because it’s something you cannot control, and it just keeps going and going. So when I can finally breathe and just not to think about it, and it’s just … Yeah.”

Kasatkina, who has been ranked as high as No. 8 in the world and is a former French Open semifinalist, said she was at a loss for how to pay back her new country for what it gave to her.

“I cannot wait for the moment when I can wear green and gold for the first time,” she said. “Really looking forward to this moment.”

She will get an opportunity something like that Monday, when she faces Nikola Bartůňková, yet another rising talent from Czechia with deceptive power and incredible finesse. It will be Kasatkina’s first chance to play a match at a “home Slam,” something only players from Australia, France, the U.S. and Britain get to experience.

“A really special chapter in my life,” she said. “I will try to enjoy it as much as possible.”

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