"This isn't betrayal, but a desire to play": Russian tennis chief says Rakhimova strategically switched to Uzbekistan due to Olympics

A few days ago, it was officially announced that World No. 110 Kamila Rakhimova changed her nationality for 2026, moving from Russia to compete under the flag of Uzbekistan. This time, the reaction came from Russian Tennis Federation President Shamil Tarpischev, who stated that 'this isn’t betrayal.'

The 24-year-old player is currently competing in a WTA 125 event in Angers before ending the season, currently competing without a flag. The official change is expected to be formalized by the WTA starting next week.

The news of Rakhimova's change of nationality is added to other well-known cases during recent times, amidst the tension surrounding the war conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Earlier this year, 22-year-old Maria Timofeeva also joined the Uzbekistani ranks, while former World No. 8 Daria Kasatkina changed her nationality to Australian.

"Kamila Rakhimova joining the Uzbekistan national team is an event of historic significance," Uzbekistan's Tennis Federation said in a statement as soon as the news broke. "We are delighted to welcome Kamila to our team and are confident that she will achieve great victories, go far, and set new records under the Uzbekistan flag.”

Following the welcome from the Uzbekistan federation, the reaction of the Russian Federation President arrived. According to Tennis World USA, Shamil Tarpischev did not insist on controversy and assured that Rakhimova's decision is aimed at competing in the next Olympic Games – where she would not have many opportunities representing Russia.

"This isn't betrayal, but a desire to play. She remains Russian, but she's simply changing her sporting citizenship. These moves are happening because of the upcoming Olympics,” he said. “She wouldn't have made our national team. She could make it for Uzbekistan. But it's not a given that she'll make it. To qualify for the Olympics, you need to be in the top 60 or top 70.”

Up until Tokyo 2024, delegations could present up to six players in their team, of which only four can compete in the singles draw – the highest-ranked ones. To date, there are 12 Russian players ranked above Rakhimova, including names like Mirra Andreeva, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Diana Shnaider, and Veronika Kudermetova among the standouts. There are seven Russians within the top-50, which also includes Liudmila Samsonova, Anna Kalinskaya, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

In the case of Uzbekistan, they currently only have two representatives within the WTA top-1000. These are Maria Timofeeva (former No. 93, currently No. 142), another player who changed nationality this year from Russian to Uzbekistani, and 18-year-old Laima Vladosn (No. 878), another who changed nationality, having previously competed under the Lithuanian flag. Thus, Rakhimova also becomes the Uzbekistani No. 1.

Rakhimova continues to compete this week at the WTA 125 Angers, where she currently appears without a flag while awaiting the WTA to officialize the change. In her campaign, she defeated 18-year-old Alina Korneeva (6-1, 6-1) in the first round – a player trained at the Rafa Nadal Academy and winner of the Australian Open and Roland Garros Junior titles in 2023.

She then achieved a hard-fought victory against Poland's Linda Klimovicova (6-0, 6-7(5), 6-3) and advanced to the tournament's quarterfinals, where she awaits her opponent, who will come from the match between Mona Barthel and former Chinese top-20 player Shuai Zhang. Rakhimova still has the possibility of finishing the year in the top-100 if she wins the title, in a draw where several well-known names on the Tour remain, such as Turkey's Zeynep Sonmez or the American Alycia Parks.