Daria Kasatkina is into the second round of the 2024 Australian Open, after beating American Peyton Sloane in the first round, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
Kasatkina is seeded No. 14 in Melbourne, the highest-seeded publicly out LGBTQ athlete in the women’s singles tournament.
Kasatkina came out publicly, inch by inch, in late 2022 and early 2023, despite hailing from Russia, where anti-LGBTQ laws and policies are becoming common-place.
Since then, Kasatkina has dedicated her social-media presence to being totally positive and inclusive:
Other publicly out athletes at the Australian Open include: Demi Schuurs, who is part of the 9th-seeded women’s doubles team; Greet Minnen, part of an unseeeded Belgian doubles team; and Emina Bektas, also unseeded and part of an American doubles team.
While there are a number of out LGBTQ women at the Australian Open, there are zero publicly out men.
For her courage coming out publicly while representing Russia, Kasatkina earned Outsports’ 2023 Female Hero of the Year Award.
