Russian WTA Tour star did not ‘approve’ of sister’s shock citizenship change
Russian WTA Tour star Veronika Kudermetova has revealed that she did not “approve” of her sister Polina’s change of sporting nationality.
It was revealed last month that Polina, the younger of the two sisters, was changing her sporting nationality to Uzbekistan, with the 22-year-old now representing the nation on the WTA and ITF Tours.
The world No 167 is one of three women to switch from representing Russia to Uzbekistan in recent months, following in the footsteps of Maria Timofeeva and Kamilla Rakhimova.
And she is part of a wider, growing trend among Russian players to have changed their sporting nationality since the nation’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with Daria Kasatkina and Anastasia Potapova among the other stars to switch citizenship.
The older of the two sisters, Veronika has been one of the most successful Russian players of recent years, reaching a career-high of world No 9 and winning two WTA titles during her singles career.
She is also the reigning Wimbledon and WTA Finals champion in women’s doubles, reaching a high of second in the world in that format.
Veronika was also part of Russia’s successful run to the Billie Jean King Cup title in 2021, though the nation has been barred from competing in the event since then, with Russian players only able to compete in the sport as neutral athletes.
The 28-year-old has so far shown no intention of following in her younger sister’s footsteps and, in a new interview with Tatar Inform, revealed that she disagreed with Polina’s decision.
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She said (translated from Russian): “Frankly, it’s a bit of a sore subject for me.
“I don’t approve of her choice; she didn’t consult with anyone; it’s her personal choice. I believe her motivation for changing her athletic citizenship is both financial and a desire to qualify for the Olympics.
“After all, as a Russian athlete, it was difficult for her to achieve high rankings. But as part of Uzbekistan, she’ll be third or even second in the rankings.”
With points from her surprise run to the Brisbane International final in 2025 now off her ranking, Polina dropped 63 places to world No 167 in the WTA Rankings on Monday.
However, she is still the third-highest-ranked Uzbek player in the WTA Rankings, behind world No 91 Rakhimova and world No 138 Timofeeva.
The star is in action at the WTA 125 Canberra International this week, with her campaign starting on Tuesday.
Veronika, who is currently ranked 30th in the world, is set to start her 2026 campaign at the opening Grand Slam tournament of the year: the Australian Open.
The Russian reached the fourth round of the tournament for the first time in 2025, defeating 22nd seed Katie Boulter and 15th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia before a loss to 28th seed Elina Svitolina.
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