Daria Kasatkina is receiving a very warm welcome to Australia by one of the country’s tennis legends as Sam Stosur declared the 27-year-old “one of the most liked players” in the game.
Last weekend, Russian-born Kasatkina announced through her social media that she was switching her nationality. When explaining the reasons behind that move, the world No. 12 admitted that her stance against the Russian government but also being gay basically made it impossible for her to continue as a Russian player.
Stosur, who won Grand Slam titles across all competitions and was once ranked as high as No. 4 in singles, is thrilled by the new addition to Tennis Australia.
“Daria Kasatkina is definitely one of the most liked players on tour, she’s always been very friendly, I always had great dealings with her myself when I was still playing and so forth. I think she’s a great person, asset, player, however you want to put it, to now come here and really set a new benchmark for our players to strive to,” the 2011 US Open singles champion said on the Australian Open TV.
Stosur highlights Kasatkina still has steps to clear to play the BJK Cup
By changing her nationality, the world No. 12 automatically became the highest-ranked Australian female tennis player. With that being said, there is no doubt that the Australian Billie Jean King Cup team would absolutely love to have her in the competition.
“Time passed, things need to be done for her to be a citizen, get her passport, and eventually be able to play on the BJK Cup team,” Stosur noted.
Already this week in Charleston, Kasatkina made her debut under the Australian flag. In her first-ever match as an Australian player, the 27-year-old demolished Lauren Davis 6-1 6-1 before losing to Sofia Kenin in the round-of-16.
Tennis World USA