Russian player Daria Kasatkina, 12th in the world, comes out

“Yes I have a girlfriend.” Daria Kasatkina, Russian tennis player, announced to be in a relationship with a woman in an interview published Monday, July 18 on YouTube.

“It’s difficult and there’s no point in staying in the closet for a long time”she said in a video (content in Russian)in which she is interviewed at her training ground in Spain by Russian journalist Vitya Kravtchenko. “Living in peace with yourself is the only thing that matters, and the others, fuck you!” concludes the 12th player in the world.

Daria Kasatkina regrets that this topic is “prohibited” in Russia. When the journalist asks him “When will it be possible for a homosexual couple to hold hands in Russia?”the player’s response is clear: “Never (…) judging by the current situation.”

Homosexuality is not illegal in Russia, but the law prohibits it since 2013 “information about non-traditional sexual relations with minors”. Russian LGBT people are often the subject of hostility, violence and sometimes even murder.

Daria Kasatkina’s statements come as Russian MPs on Monday proposed a new bill that should ban the dissemination of information “on non-traditional sex” to all types of audiences.

In the wake of the publication of the video, she posted a photo on her Instagram account, on which she is accompanied by Natalia Zabiiako, a Russian-Estonian skater, and captioned with a simple heart.