After her first-round match at the 2023 Eastbourne International, Daria Kasatkina talked about why she's worried about her friends in Russia.
The 26-year-old has been one of the more open Russian players when it comes to her opinion on the war and she talked about her worry for people she cares about back home in her country.
Kasatkina isn't the most popular figure in Russia due to her sexuality which is still a very taboo topic in the country. It's as taboo as much as it's looked down upon with some politicians even openly bashing Kasatkina after she publicly came out.
Russian tennis legend Evgeny Kafelnikov came to her defence praising her for her tennis achievements and the country also awarded a national award for her contributions to Russia's Billie Jean King Cup win two years ago. She's taking part in the WTA 250 Eastbourne event this week and the media asked her about her family and friends back home in Russia.
Well, yeah, of course I have friends in Russia. My family, my parents are still in Russia. Well, as you can see, the last few days it's been a big mess also there. Of course I'm worried. I'm worried for my friends, because my best friends, they actually live in Voronezh, where was one of the biggest, you know, few days ago.
Kasatkina was referencing the unpleasant situation where a mercenary battalion seemingly staged a military coup in the country before ultimately standing down. One of the cities affected was Voronezh where she has friends, so she was worried about that.
Kasattkina hasn't been shy to denounce the war being rather accepting of the Wimbledon ban last year as well. She famously said that there were plenty of things more important than tennis and has been quite receptive to her Ukranian colleagues. She once again took the opportunity to speak about it.
Yeah, we just, I mean, obviously their experience, Ukrainians, they are experiencing way worse situation, but also, I mean, I can feel the same. I'm very worried for the people I love.
Yeah, it is what it is. Unfortunately we have to live in this scenario now. This is the part of our lives. Yeah, it's been a tough year, and we don't know how long it's going to be.
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