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World number 15 Kasatkina has not returned to Russia in over two and a half years and was living in Dubai when her change of nationality was announced. <\/p>\n
“With everything going on in my previous country, I didn’t have much choice [to switch allegiance],” the 28-year-old told reporters last month.<\/p>\n
“For me, being openly gay, if I want to be myself, I have to make this step, and I did it.”<\/p>\n
Kostyuk, 22, was booed off court at the 2023 French Open for not shaking hands with Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and said afterwards people should be “embarrassed” by their reaction.<\/p>\n
“Some say sport should stay out of politics, but this isn’t politics – it’s about humanity,” Kostyuk wrote on Friday.<\/p>\n
“When your country is under attack by an aggressor, silence feels like complicity.<\/p>\n
“As an athlete, I believe in fair play and respect – but those principles mean little if they don’t extend beyond the court.”<\/p>\n
Earlier in 2023 Kostyuk also refused to shake the hand of her Russian opponent, Vavara Gracheva, after winning a first WTA title in Texas.<\/p>\n
Gracheva has since become a French national.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n