After much effort to change nationality, 2026 brought three consecutive defeats, leaving Kasatkina feeling somewhat bitter.

As widely recognized, since 2022, Russia and Ukraine have been at war, a conflict that continues to this day. Also in 2022, Wimbledon formally banned players from Russia and Belarus. Following this, ATP and WTA issued a joint statement removing ranking points from Wimbledon. Consequently, Serbian star Djokovic and Kazakh player Rybakina became the only Grand Slam champions who did not receive any ranking points.

From that point onward, Russian players faced certain restrictions on the tour. Some chose to stay loyal, while others decided to change nationality. Recently, a Russian player successfully switched her nationality. However, her tennis results after the change have been disappointing. So, who is this Russian player? Which country did she switch to? And how has her performance been since then? Today, this article will take you through the story.

This Russian player is Kasatkina, who once reached the semifinals of the French Open and has won titles on clay, hard, and grass courts. In March 2025, Kasatkina announced her application for permanent residency in Australia. It was not until mid-January 2026 that she officially became an Australian citizen. The process took over half a year, with many hardships rarely known to the public.

In early January, Kasatkina faced Austrian player Potapova in the first round of the WTA500 Brisbane tournament. Coincidentally, Potapova was also formerly a Russian player who switched to Austria at the end of last year. The match was fiercely contested, only decided in the final set. Potapova secured her first win of the 2026 season, while Kasatkina was unfortunately eliminated. At that time, perhaps even Kasatkina did not realize this was just the beginning of her poor 2026 season results.

In mid-January, Kasatkina opened her 2026 season with a straight-sets victory over Greek player Sakkari, who had also reached a Grand Slam semifinal, at the WTA500 Adelaide event. However, the good times were short-lived. In the second round against Romanian player Cristian, she was completely shut out, suffering a heavy defeat and forced to leave the tournament early.

At the Australian Open first round, Kasatkina faced Czech qualifier Bartonkova. After a tough three-set battle, despite delivering a bagel set to her opponent in the second set, Kasatkina lost in the deciding set, resulting in her exit and marking her second consecutive loss.

This week at the WTA500 Abu Dhabi tournament, Kasatkina met Swiss qualifier Walter in the first round. Once again, she was defeated in the final set, failing to advance further. Thus, in the 2026 season, Kasatkina has only recorded one win and suffered a streak of three straight defeats.

Such results have caused Kasatkina’s world ranking to steadily decline. Whether she can return to form remains to be seen. Let’s wait and watch! That’s today’s tennis story, with more to come tomorrow.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Yixin Jushi)