In a context where homosexuality is harshly repressed in Russia, the twelfth racket in the world and the highest ranked Russian player in the world, Daria Kasatkina, has revealed that she is in a relationship with a woman.
In an interview with YouTuber Vitia Kravtchenko conducted in Spain, she revealed the existence of her couple: “It’s difficult and there’s no point in staying in the closet for a long time. You’ll have knots in your brain until you say it. Afterwards, it’s clear that everyone must choose how they want to open up and to what extent. The most important thing is to be good with yourself. »
She also said she regretted that this subject was “banned” in Russia. “There are even more important topics that are banned, so it’s no wonder,” she remarked. The player also argued that “choosing to be gay” makes life more difficult, “especially in Russia”.
A few hours after the video was released, the player posted a photo on her Instagram account with her girlfriend, Russian-Estonian figure skater Natalia Zabiiako. The latter represented Russia at the 2018 Winter Olympics in the pairs category.
On her Twitter account, the lover of the tennis player went there with a subversive comment to accompany a photo of her in the company of her better half. “Mom, I am a criminal,” she wrote.
@DKasatkina mama I’m a criminal pic.twitter.com/cCU05hr9tv
— Natalia Zabiiako (@NataliaZabiiako) July 19, 2022
The rights of members of the LGBTQ+ community have been undermined for several years in Russia. A controversial law with homophobic content was notably adopted by the Russian parliament in 2013. It prohibits homosexual “propaganda” – often the only fact of discussing homosexuality – among minors.
Homosexuality was considered a crime in Russia until 1993 and a mental illness until 1999. Same-sex marriage has been banned there since amendments to the Constitution in 2020.
According to Agence France-Presse, Russian deputies proposed a new bill on Monday which should ban the dissemination of information “on non-traditional sexual relations” to any type of public.
With Agence France-Presse