Kasatkina on the reasons for her nationality change: "If I wanted to live freely and as I wished, it wasn’t possible in Russia"

Daria Kasatkina became an Australian citizen at the end of March. Until then, she had represented Russia, her country of birth.

The world No. 14, who came out as gay in 2022, gave an interview to *The Guardian* where she elaborated further on her decision to change nationality:

"It’s hard not to feel accepted in your own country. That’s one of the reasons I decided to change my nationality. If I wanted to live freely as I wished, it wasn’t possible in Russia. I had to find another place. And that’s what I did. [...]

I noticed that Australians live in peace. The war with Ukraine changed so many things. Russia’s political behavior wasn’t so terrible before that. But when it happened, it became horrible. Everything is connected."