'I couldn't have a free life in Russia. I had to find another place'

Daria Kasatkina has become an Australian citizen after a crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights in the country of her birth

- Tumaini Carayol

Over the past three years Daria Kasatkina has slowly come to terms with a painful truth: the country she grew up in, and represented with great success in the most prominent women's sport, steadfastly rejects her existence.

Four months after Kasatkina came out as gay in 2022, the Russian government enacted a slew of laws cracking down on homosexuality. Last year, Russia began to convict people charged with displaying pro-LGBTQ+ imagery.

Travelling the world for her profession, competing under a neutral flag in the grim shadow of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the 27-year-old ruminated over whether it was time to depart.

Even so, it came as a surprise last month when Kasatkina made her move, announcing that she had gained permanent residency in Australia and would be representing her new country.

Speaking before the Madrid Open Kasatkina explains that, as a gay woman, her determination to live freely was key in her decision.

"It is tough," she says of not being accepted by her former country. "Honestly, it was one of my main reasons why I had to make this step and change my nationality because if I wanted to live a free, open life as I wanted, unfortunately I couldn't do it in Russia. I had to find another place. And I did."