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Daria Kasatkina says she feels fully accepted as an Australian after receiving her citizenship, but on the flipside has contemplated turning off her social media channels in an attempt to protect herself from the abuse she continues to be subjected to.
The 28-year-old said she felt “so much love” as she revealed her citizenship for the first time, less than 12 months after switching allegiances from Russia, but expressed frustration about the “idiots in the world” who have her in their sights for not only being a professional tennis player, but one who came out as gay in 2022.
Daria Kasatkina is proud to have the chance to represent Australia.Credit: Getty Images
When Kasatkina lost in the first round of the Brisbane International this month (her first match on Australian soil as an Australian) she was subjected to vile abuse on X, some of it homophobic.
This masthead chose not to publish the comments.
Amid her drastic life changes – a period she described as “still a bit exhausting” – Kasatkina said it was tough to find or adopt coping mechanisms to deal with social media abuse.
“Well, we unfortunately don’t,” Kasatkina said.
“All I can do, for example, is just close my comment section on Instagram or direct messages before I’m going on [the] court, and then just don’t worry about it.
“I have to think about it... before the match I’m thinking, ‘Oh, I have to remember to close my comment section’ because there is some idiots in the world who are betting on tennis and don’t know anything about it.
“Then they’re blaming us for losing a tennis match. OK, [turn the comments] off.
“But still, even if you do that... one or two messages will still hound you.
“At the end of the day, if you want to completely cut this off, you have to forget about social media... don’t use it.
“And why [do] I have to cut something off just because of the other people... being not happy with how I’m doing on [the] tennis court?
“So far we don’t have a strong mechanism to prevent this, but I hope, honestly, with AI [artificial intelligence] and the things like that, I think there is a way to avoid this kind of abuse on the internet, especially after you lose 7-6 in the third.”
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Kasatkina has had a turbulent couple of years. She went public about her relationship with figure skater Natalia Zabiiako four years ago, later revealing her relief about finally being able to freely speak about topics such as LGBTQ rights.
Kasatkina sensationally switched allegiances to Australia last March after her application for permanent residency was accepted by the federal government.
Tennis Australia, including boss Craig Tiley, supplied her with a letter supporting the application “for people who have an internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement in an eligible area”, which includes sport.
After playing in the Australian Open for more than a decade – first representing Russia, and more recently competing as an “independent” as per the requirements for Russian and Belarusian players amid the war in Ukraine – Kasatkina is overwhelmed about the thoughts of playing her first Melbourne Park major as an Australian.
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“[It’s] a really special chapter of my life,” the world No.48 said only moments after posting a photo on Instagram showing the final step in becoming an Australian.
“Yeah, I will try to enjoy it as much as possible.”
Kasatkina has had mixed results so far in the Australian summer, losing at the first stage at the Brisbane International before reaching the round of 16 at the Adelaide International.
But after reaching the AO fourth round last year, Kasatkina is quietly confident heading into the hurly-burly of a slam and content about where her game is at.
“Definitely in the better place than it was, like, most of the time of the last year, honestly,” she said.
“Also, but most importantly, mentally I’m much, much better.
“That’s the most important thing, because… especially at the end of last year, the last season was very, very tough. You know, I was trying to get out of this... hole, basically. It’s never easy.”
Pressed further on her citizenship, which will allow her to imminently wear the “green and gold” and represent Australia in teams competition, Kasatkina said: “Honestly, I cannot even describe how much that means because it’s not just about the passport.
“It’s about the acceptance, let’s say. Because honestly... the support from the people, from the other citizens, I mean, it’s been amazing.
“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.
“Now that I’m fully Australian, I’m just super proud and grateful. I mean, that’s a responsibility, but that’s what I was looking for.
“I’m just really grateful… I don’t know if I will be ever able to pay back the same amount what this country gave me.”
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