In a video interview released on Monday, Russian tennis star, Daria Kasatkina, openly accepted that she is dating a woman. She spoke about her love life while having a conversation with Russian blogger Vitya Kravchenko. The French Open semifinalist’s remarks were made at a time when the Russian parliament is debating increasing the country’s already restrictive laws against discussing LGBTQ partnerships in public.
She posted a picture of herself and her girlfriend, Natalia Zabiiako, an Olympic silver medalist in figure skating captioned with the heart emoji. Openly embracing the love, she even called Zabiiako “my cutie pie” in a Twitter post.
“There is no point, it would always be going round in your head until you say something. Obviously, each person decides how to open up and how much,” Kasatkina said in the interview.
Daria Kasatkina talks about dating Natalia Zabiiako
She further said, she believes that “living in the closet” would not be sustainable long-term. “Living in peace with yourself is the only thing that matters, f–k everyone else.
I believe it is important that influential people from sports, or any other sphere really speak about it. It is important for young people who have a hard time with society and need support,” she continued.
Any mention of LGBTQ relationships that are believed to promote “non-traditional sexual relations” with children is prohibited under Russian law. This has hampered support for or protest of LGBTQ issues in communal settings. Russian legislators are attempting to strengthen this law by outlawing the “promotion” of LGBTQ partnerships in a positive or neutral light and putting a ban on the screening of LBGTQ-themed films.