Kasatkina gay

By George Ramsay and Jill Martin, CNN

(CNN) — Russian-born tennis player Daria Kasatkina said that she “didn’t have much choice” about the decision to challenge for Australia due to her sexuality.

Kasatkina is preparing to play under a new flag for the first moment at the Charleston Open after announcing last week that her application for permanent residency in Australia had been accepted.

In recent years, she has been living in Spain and Dubai while competing as a neutral athlete amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

“With everything going on in my previous nation, I didn’t own much choice,” Kasatkina said about choosing to switch nationality, per Reuters. “For me, being openly gay, if I want to be myself, I acquire to make this step, and I did it.”

Kasatkina, currently ranked 12th in the world, came out as homosexual in July and is in a relationship with figure skater Natalia Zabiiako.

Though same-sex relationships were decriminalized in Russia in , the tides have recently shifted. In , the country passed a “gay propaganda” law, which has been used to target the LGBTQ comm

Russian-born tennis player Daria Kasatkina is switching allegiances to Australia after her application for permanent residency was accepted.

The year-old Kasatkina was a French Open semifinalist in and is currently ranked 12th in the world. The eight-time WTA singles champion’s best career ranking was eighth.

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

In an Instagram announce on Friday, Kasatkina said she was pleased to have gained permanent residency in Australia, which was later confirmed by Tennis Australia.

“I am delighted to let you all realize that my application for permanent residency has been accepted by the Australian government,” Kasatkina said. “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 house there. As part of this, I am arrogant to announce that I will be representing my new homeland Austral

Kasatkina 'given guarantees' on safety of gay players in Saudi

Human Rights Watch told the BBC in December that Saudi courts had convicted people for promoting homosexuality online and added "LGBT people in Saudi Arabia have to practise extreme self-censorship to endure their daily lives".

In response, Arij Almutabagani - the president of the Saudi Tennis Federation - said gay players would not need to act any differently to the way they carry out in places like Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where WTA tournaments are already staged.

"People can act the way they want to - there is nothing that says you can or you cannot behave. You just possess to understand that every land has its rules and traditions," she said.

"It's the same thing that has happened in Dubai. How do they act in Dubai? We are the alike , we are all neighbours. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE - how would the players respond there?"

WTA chief executive Steve Simon has said representatives of the LGBTQ+ community were included on fact-finding trips to Saudi Arabia, before the de

Openly gay Russian tennis celebrity Daria Kasatkina admits she had “no choice” but to leave Russia for Australia

Russia-born tennis star Daria Kasatkina, who came out in , has spoken about her decision to switch nationalities and commence professionally representing Australia, admitting she had “no choice” but to leave Russia because she is openly gay.

Speaking about her judgment, Kasatkina, who is in a relationship with Russian-Estonian figure skater Natalia Zabiiako, said: “I’m really gleeful to start this fresh chapter of my experience representing Australia on the big stage.”

Kasatkina’s decision to leave Russia didn’t arrive as much of a surprise. As well as being openly gay, she has publicly condemned the country’s actions in the war against Ukraine.

In , she revealed she had not returned to her birth nation since before the war began more than a year earlier.

But the year-old has now explained that it was her sexuality that was the driving force behind her decision to switch nationalities. She continued: “With everything going on in my previous country, I didn’t have much choice.

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