By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, December 12, 2025
Photo credit: Hameltion/Wikimedia Commons
The exodus of Russian tennis players continues.
Polina Kudermetova is the latest Russian-born tennis player to change citizenship.
World No. 104 Polina Kudermetova, younger sister of Veronika Kudermetova, will represent Uzbekistan starting in 2026, the Uzbekistan Tennis Federation announced today.
Former world No. 54 Polina Kudermetova already appears on the WTA website with the Uzbekistan flag on her player page.
“Polina Kudermetova will [play] for Uzbekistan,” the Uzbekistan Tennis Federation announced. “Russian tennis player Polina Kudermetova has officially changed her sports citizenship and now represents Uzbekistan on the international arena. The updated flag is already displayed on ITF and WTA websites.
“Currently, Kudermetova ranks 104th in the WTA rankings, and her highest position is 54th (April 14, 2025). The female athlete has 9 ITF singles titles.”
Polina Kudermetova’s nation change comes 11 days after Anastasia Potapova made a dramatic citizenship change ahead of the 2026 season.
The 24-year-old Potapova, who was born in Saratov, Russia, will play as an Austrian starting next month.
Last March, Daria Kasatkina announced she was changing nationality from Russian to Australian.
“Australia is a place I love, is incredibly welcoming and a place where I feel totally at home,” Kasatkina posted to X. “I love being in Melbourne and look forward to making my home there.
“As part of this, I am proud to announce that I will be representing my new homeland, Australia, in my professional tennis career from this point onwards.”
Kasatkina, who came out as gay in 2022, has cited Russia’s treatment of the LGBTQ community and the fact she did not feel safe in her homeland after criticizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as factors in her decision to move to Australia.
“I will always have respect and fond appreciation for my roots, but I am thrilled to start this new chapter in my career and my life under the Australian flag,” Kasatkina posted on social media.
Potapova’s public switch to Austria comes a few days after the Uzbekistan Tennis Federation announced Russian Kamilla Rakhimova will now represent Uzbekistan in what the Federation called “a historic event” for the nation’s tennis federation. Rakhimova and Polina Kudermetova join Maria Timoffeeva in switching nations to play for Uzbekistan.
Moscow-born Elena Rybakina changed citizenship from Russia to Kazakhstan back in June, 2018 largely to receive funding for her tennis career from Kazakhstan.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina has gone on to make history as the first Kazakh to crack the world’s Top 10.
Rybakina’s switch came about six years after Moscow-born Yulia Putintseva left the Russian Tennis Federation to represent Kazakhstan.
