Daria Kasatkina, a Russian-born tennis player, has officially become an Australian citizen after her application for permanent residency was accepted by the Australian government.

In an Instagram post, Kasatkina expressed her excitement about her new status, stating that Australia feels like home and she looks forward to representing the country in her professional career.

Tennis Australia confirmed her citizenship and welcomed her as part of the Australian tennis family, wishing her success in upcoming tournaments.

With her new citizenship, Kasatkina will become the top-ranked Australian player, surpassing current No. 1 Kimberly Birrell, who is ranked No. 68.

Currently ranked No. 12 in the world, Kasatkina has previously achieved a career-high ranking of eighth and has won eight WTA singles titles.

Kasatkina fled Russia in 2023, citing safety concerns as a gay person opposed to the war, and has been living in Spain and Dubai since then, where she has been a vocal critic of the conflict.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, she has been competing as a neutral athlete due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players from representing their countries.

Her previous achievements include reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open and being a former quarter-finalist at Wimbledon.

At 27 years old, Kasatkina's best performance in a Grand Slam was reaching the semi-finals at the French Open in 2022.

Prior to her citizenship announcement, Kasatkina was ranked as the second-best Russian player in the WTA rankings, following 17-year-old Mirra Andrejewa.

The announcement of her citizenship was welcomed by fellow Russian expatriates Arina Rodionova and Daria Saville, as well as Tennis Australia, which praised her on social media.

Kasatkina aims to settle in Melbourne, the host city of the Australian Open, where she reached the Round of 16 this year.