World No. 12 Daria Kasatkina reveals she’s dating a woman and blasts Russia’s stance on homosexuality

Russia’s highest ranked female tennis player Daria Kasatkina has revealed that she is dating a woman in a new video published yesterday.

The French Open semi-finalist’s comments come as the Russian Parliament discusses tightening strict restrictions on public discussions of LGBTQ relations.

In a YouTube interview with Russian blogger Vitya Kravchenko, 25-year-old Kasatkina answered ‘yes’ when asked if she has a girlfriend.

Shortly after the interview was published, Kasatkina posted a photo on Instagram of herself hugging Olympic silver medalist Natalia Zabiiako, 27, accompanied by a heart emoji. and called Zabiiako ‘my cutie pie’ in a Twitter post.

Estonian-born Zabiiako, who won an Olympic medal with Russia in 2018, posted the same photo on Instagram, also with a heart.

Daria Kasatkina (left), 25, posted a photo on Instagram of herself embracing Olympic silver medalist figure skater Natalia Zabiiako (right), 27, with a heart emoji

Natalia Zabiiako (right), 27, had previously pinned another image on her Instagram page ten weeks ago to celebrate the birthday of Daria Kastkina (left), 25, before the tennis star went public yesterday.

Daria Kasatkina (left) gave a Youtube interview with Russian blogger Vitya Kravchenko (right) and answered ‘yes’ when asked if she has a girlfriend

Russian tennis star Daria Kasatkina, 25, is ranked 12th in the world and lives and trains in Spain, where the interview was filmed.

Estonian Natalia Zabiiako, 27, who won an Olympic medal with Russia in 2018, posted the same photo with Kasatina on Instagram, also with a heart

Zabiiako previously pinned another image on her Instagram page ten weeks ago to celebrate Kastkina’s birthday, before the tennis star went public yesterday.

Kasatkina became emotional at the end of yesterday’s interview with Kravchenko, when he asked her if she was afraid to return to her homeland.

He asked: ‘Aren’t you afraid of simply not being able to go back to Russia?’

“Yes, I thought about that,” she said, before crying on his shoulder.

Since 2013, Russian law has banned any discussion of LGBTQ relationships deemed to constitute ‘encouragement of non-traditional sexual relations’ against minors.

Russian delegates yesterday proposed a new law that completely prohibits the ‘promotion’ of LGBTQ relations in a positive or neutral way and showing LBGTQ content in cinemas.

Kasatkina told Kravchenko’s YouTube channel: “There are a lot of subjects more important than being banned, so it’s no surprise.

‘Living in a cupboard as they say is pointless. Until you choose to come out. Of course it’s up to you how to do it and how much to say.

“Being at peace with yourself is the only thing that matters,” she added.

Earlier this month, Russian football player Nadya Karpova also publicly spoke about her gender.

‘My respect. I’m happy for her, but other people, especially girls, need to know that too,’ Kasatkina said.

‘It’s important that young people struggle with society and need support.

Kasatkina became emotional at the end of the interview when Kravchenko asked if she was afraid of returning to her homeland.

Kasatkina shared a photo on her Instagram with Estonian-born Olympic figure skater Natalia Zabiiako (left), who currently represents Canada in international figure skating competitions

‘I believe it’s important that influencers from sport and any other sector talk about it. It’s really helpful,’ she added.

Kasatkina is ranked 12th in the world and lives and trains in Spain, where the interview was filmed. In the interview, she also called for an end to hostilities in Ukraine.

“For the war to end,” Kasatkina said when asked what she wanted most in life and described the conflict as a ‘complete nightmare.’

Russian authorities insist that the conflict is not called a ‘war’ but a ‘special military operation’ and that criticism of the war or the Russian military can be punished with fines or prison.

Kasatkina, who appears in the video, cried when asked if she feared she wouldn’t be able to return to Russia following her comments in the interview.

Moscow officially eliminated homosexuality in 1993.