Oksana Selekhmeteva set to follow in footsteps of Kasatkina, Potapova as Russian to change nationalities, set to represent Spain

Oksana Selekhmeteva has joined a long list of former Russian athletes who have since obtained new nationalities to represent on the big stage. Selekhmeteva is set to represent Spain after being granted Spanish citizenship.

The 23-year-old will be hoping to live up to the hype she had as a youngster on the WTA Tour, but not for Russia anymore. Since the ongoing war with Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian tennis players have been barred from playing in team events such as the Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup and United Cup.

In the hope of playing in these events, many tennis players who formerly represented Russia are now waving different countries flags. Selekhmeteva is the latest to have done so, becoming the latest Spanish player in the top 100.

Ranked 89th in the world, Selekhmeteva is now the Spanish number three, trailing Cristina Bucsa and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. This bolsters their depth ahead of tournaments like the Billie Jean King Cup and gives them another option.

Selekhmeteva will still go into Roland Garros bearing the Russian flag but will hope to soon change that to Spain in the upcoming future. She won the US Open 2019 and Roland Garros 2021 junior editions, making her a player to watch. However, her senior career in the WTA has not exploded yet.

She made a first ever third round appearance at Grand Slam level at the Australian Open at the start of the year, but since then has failed to kick on. She ended a losing streak of five matches in a row when trying to qualify for the Internationaux de Strasbourg, defeating Sofia Kenin before losing in straight sets against McCartney Kessler. She has won three WTA Challenger titles, reaching a career-high of 74th in the world back in February. A slight slide in recent times will hope to be reversed at the upcoming Roland Garros with a first win in sight at the Grand Slam.

Selekhmeteva's switch is not a standalone occurrance. Loads of tennis players who used to represent Russia are making the switch to a different country.

Daria Kasatkina was one of the first, starting to represent Australia in 2025 as she spoke against the war while not feeling safe in her home country over the anti-LGBTQ+ rules, allowing to play with more freedom.

Anastasia Potapova chose Austria as her new nation, copying and altering Kasakina's statement in a bizarre move. She had enjoyed a lot of success, including on home soil where she reached the final of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz. Kamilla Rakhimova, Maria Timofeeva and Polina Kudermetova all now represent Uzbekistan. Varvara Gracheva (France) and Elina Avanesyan (Armenia) no longer call themselves Russian.