Russia’s highest-ranked female tennis player has come out as gay, as the parliament of the notoriously anti-LGBTQ country discusses expanding restrictions on discussions of LGBTQ topics.
In a video interview released Monday, Daria Kasatkina confirmed that she is in a relationship with another woman. Her girlfriend, 27-year-old Natalia Zabiiako, is a fellow top-tier athlete; a figure skater who won a silver medal for Russia at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in 2018.
Kasatkina, currently ranked No. 12 in the world, spoke frankly about her sexuality in an interview with Russian blogger Vitya Kravchenko. After the interview was posted on YouTube, she shared a photo of the couple on Twitter, writing “My cutie pie,” and tagging Zabiiako.
