The Kazakhstan Tennis Federation (KTF) has strongly denied Russian Tennis Federation (RTF)President Shamil Tarpischev's claims that Elena Rybakina resides in Moscow and only uses the country she officially represents for her sporting career.
So far this offseason, three Russian-born players have switched their allegiance to a different country - Anastasia Potapova (Austria), Kamilla Rakhimova (Uzbekistan) and Polina Kudermetova (Uzbekistan). Earlier this year, Daria Kasatkina started to play under the Australian flag, while Maria Timofeeva switched to Uzbekistan.
When addressing the recent nationality changes, RTF President Tarpischev claimed that some players were leaving because they wanted to have a better chance at making the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, while some left because they were offered certain financial opportunities. Tarpischev also mentioned the Rybakina case and said: "She lives in Moscow and has Russian citizenship. Her sports citizenship is Kazakhstan. It was done for her sports career.
The 26-year-old, who was born in Moscow, represented Russia at the start of her career before taking a Kazakh passport in 2018.
KTF: The information that Rybakina lives in Moscow isn't true, and she also holds a Kazakh passport
"The widespread information, accompanied by a comment from Russian Tennis Federation President Shamil Tarpischev, regarding Elena Rybakina's citizenship, is untrue. Rybakina does not reside in Moscow. She is a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan, holds a Kazakh passport, and is registered in the capital, Astana," the KTF said, via sports.kz.
"Elena has repeatedly stated this. Claims of her holding Russian citizenship or some kind of athletic citizenship are not factualthe concept of 'athletic citizenship' does not exist in Kazakhstan. Elena has officially represented Kazakhstan at all international tournaments since 2018 and is a member of the national team."
Since becoming a Kazakh player, Rybakina has become the most successful Kazakh tennis player ever after becoming the first from her country to win a Grand Slam and enter the top-10.
