The Uzbekistan Tennis Federation is thrilled to welcome Polina Kudermetova as they described it as "a significant boost" for Uzbek tennis and something that will help the game further develop in the country.
Since Monday, the Uzbek flag has been displayed on the 22-year-old's WTA page. That clearly indicated that the Moscow-born player decided to change her sporting nationality and start representing Uzbekistan.
Two weeks before Kudermetova took the Uzbekistan passport, Kamilla Rakhimova did the same. Earlier this year, Maria Timofeeva also switched her allegiance to Uzbekistan.
There had been a few other cases of Russian born-players changing their sporting nationality as Daria Kasatkina has been playing under the Australian flag since April, while Anastasia Potapova now represents Austria.
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Kudermetova, who has nine titles on the lower-tier and reached her first WTA main-level final in Brisbane earlier this year, is currently ranked at No. 104 in the world. That makes her the second-best-ranked Uzbek player - just after world No. 97 Rakhimova.
Uzbekistan TF: Kudermetova's move is a significant boost for our tennis
"Polina won four trophies, winning the W25 Jerusalem, W25 Istanbul, W25 Raanana, and W15 Kazan tournaments, all on hard courts. She also previously won titles in Kazan and Antalya, demonstrating versatility and consistency on both hard and clay courts. These victories confirm Kudermetova's status as the strongest representative of the new generation and make her a key boost to Uzbek tennis," the Uzbekistan Tennis Federation said in a statement.
"Kudermetova's move is a significant boost for Uzbek tennis. She is the fifth athlete to decide to compete under the Uzbek flag. Previously, Kamilla Rakhimova, Maria Timofeeva, Alexandra Barmicheva, and Laima Vladson changed their sporting citizenship. Polina's arrival marks an important step in the development of women's tennis in Uzbekistan and strengthens the national team ahead of major international competitions."
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Kudermetova made the headlines at the start of the 2025 season when she reached the Brisbane final as a qualifier, and even won a set against Aryna Sabalenka before the world No. 1 got the job done in three sets.
