Happy news for both Kasatkina and Australia! looking forward to reading your Charleston comments, Ben. Hopefully another small nail in the coffin of anti-LGBTQ in Russia.
Hana Mandlíková also comes to mind, and, while unexpected, as an Australian, so very happy to read Dasha has been successful in her application, and chosen to make her home here.
Also keen to understand more of how this came together - look forward to reading.
I'm so happy for Kasatkina! Separately and yet very much related: With Mirra Andreeva now ranked in the top 10 and on her way to possibly challenging Sabalenka for No. 1 in a few years (maybe much sooner), it is going to become extremely awkward for the WTA to ignore her Russian ties. You can argue that Andreeva is "just a teen" who shouldn't be expected to comment on politics, or you can argue that she is old enough to know better than to like pro-Kremlin, anti-Ukraine social media posts (google "Mirra Andreeva Putin" for her dumb decisions). Either way, she will be a problematic figure for the WTA. Her Putin support is extra annoying given that she has lived and trained in France for years.
Happy news for both Kasatkina and Australia! looking forward to reading your Charleston comments, Ben. Hopefully another small nail in the coffin of anti-LGBTQ in Russia.
Hana Mandlíková also comes to mind, and, while unexpected, as an Australian, so very happy to read Dasha has been successful in her application, and chosen to make her home here.
Also keen to understand more of how this came together - look forward to reading.
This is terrific news for everyone involved; looking forward to reading more from Charleston.
I think Australia and Melbourne particularly has a strong gay/lesbian community. Happy for her.
I'm so happy for Kasatkina! Separately and yet very much related: With Mirra Andreeva now ranked in the top 10 and on her way to possibly challenging Sabalenka for No. 1 in a few years (maybe much sooner), it is going to become extremely awkward for the WTA to ignore her Russian ties. You can argue that Andreeva is "just a teen" who shouldn't be expected to comment on politics, or you can argue that she is old enough to know better than to like pro-Kremlin, anti-Ukraine social media posts (google "Mirra Andreeva Putin" for her dumb decisions). Either way, she will be a problematic figure for the WTA. Her Putin support is extra annoying given that she has lived and trained in France for years.