Alexander is looking forward to the opportunity to please his new homeland.
The exclusion of Russians from international competitions has minimal impact on tennis players from our country. In a neutral status, no one prevents them from participating in tournaments and even winning prestigious trophies. And yet, in the current realities, some of them are looking for an opportunity to change their sports citizenship.
Last year, Varvara Gracheva moved under the banner of France, and now another famous tennis player has decided to make the move.
“I consider Austria home”
Tennis player Alexander Shevchenko, ranked 48th in the ATP rankings, had been toying with the idea of changing his sports citizenship for some time, and by the end of January 2024 he was ready for the official transition. Now the native of Rostov-on-Don will represent Kazakhstan. There is little surprise in the athlete’s decision; from the age of nine he lived in European countries and did not experience any particularly warm feelings for our country.
“I just don’t know what to do in Russia.” And I already consider Austria my home—I’ve been there since I was nine years old. I have a residence permit in Slovakia, I live in Bratislava, I go to train in Austria. Why did you choose this country? Honestly, by accident. Mom just wanted to see Vienna. My mother and I really liked it there. Dad gave the go-ahead. I don’t visit Russia at all. I’m probably not even going to,” Shevchenko told the “Championship” in 2022.
At the end of last year, Alexander was nevertheless forced to visit Russia. In December, he performed at the exhibition tournament “Trophies of Northern Palmyra”, where he was invited together with his wife Anastasia Potapova. In St. Petersburg, Shevchenko played tennis for the last time as a Russian, but now he will proudly represent his new country.
– Hi all! I just want to inform you that starting next week I will represent Kazakhstan on the court. “I am very proud of this opportunity and can’t wait to get on the court, trying to give unforgettable moments to myself and the country,” Shevchenko wrote on social networks.
Not all tennis fans in our country liked the athlete’s decision. The pride of the opportunity to represent Kazakhstan against the backdrop of words about Russia also caused bewilderment among a number of fans. In addition to good wishes, Shevchenko received a rich collection of unprinted messages on the road, the general meaning of which boils down to the phrase “good riddance.” And yet there were enough of those who did not slander, but were sincerely upset over the loss of the sixth racket of the country.
If some fans were sad, the leaders of Russian tennis did not want to lose optimism in this situation. Honored Coach of Russia Viktor Yanchuk said that the tennis federation is not particularly concerned about individual young people; the talent of Rublev or Medvedev is not visible in the tennis player. The head of the FTR, Shamil Tarpishchev, noted as a positive point that we invested practically nothing in Shevchenko.
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Austrian tennis player Sebastian Ofner (ATP 131) suffered a disappointing defeat in the second round of the 2026 Australian Open qualifiers.
In the semi-finals of the selection, the Austrian player lost to the US representative in three sets Nisheshu Basavareddy (ATP 239) in 2 hours 32 minutes. Basavareddy took the victory over Ofner in the third set super tiebreaker.
Sebastian was ahead 7:1 in the super tiebreaker and started celebrating his victory after gaining a point. Sebastian started walking towards the goal and the referee told him the match wasn’t over yet.
As a result, Ofner lost 11:13 and missed two match points: one at 10:9 on the return, the other at 11:10 on serve.
Basavareddy will compete against George Loffagen (Great Britain, ATP 211) in the Australian Open qualifying final.
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On January 14, all second round matches in tough tournaments ended WTA 500 in Adelaide And WTA 250 in HobartIt will take place parallel to the Australian Open 2026 qualifying match (Melbourne).
In Adelaide, Dayana Yastremskaya’s felon Katerina Sinyakova lost to Diana Schneider in the second round.
The best moments of tennis matches LIVE on Telegram channel Tennis on Sport.ua
Second-seeded five-hundred Madison Keys knocked out Tereza Valentova, and eighth-seeded Victoria Mboko fought Anna Kalinskaya.
Victoria Mboko [8] – 🏳️ Anna Kalinskaya – 6:2, 3:6, 7:6 (8:6) Teresa Valentova – Madison Keys [2] – 4:6, 1:6
WTA 500 Adelaide. Quarter final matches
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🏳️Mirra Andreeva [3] – Ayla Tomljanovic [WC]
🏳️Diana Schneider [9] – Emma Navarro [6]
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Kimberly Birrell- Jacqueline Christian [Q] Victoria Mboko [8] – Madison Keys [2]
Video review of match day in Adelaide
In Hobart, top seed Emma Raducanu advanced to the quarter-finals without a fight – Magdalena French withdrew from her second round match.
Olga Danilovich, who defeated McCartney Kessler and advanced to the second place, also defeated Peyton Stearns in the 1/8 final.
Third-seeded Iva Jovic crushes her opponents: The young American first gave up just one game to Janice Tjen and then defeated Renata Sarasua with scores of 6:1, 6:2. Her next opponent will be Magda Linette.
WTA 250 Hobart. 1/8 final
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Emma Raducanu [1] – Magdalena French – WO., Raducanu Rebecca Shramkova – Talia Preston [WC] – 4:6, 1:6
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(Adelaide) Leylah Annie Fernandez and her Hungarian playing partner Timea Babos fell 7-6 (3), 6-7 (6) and 6-10 to the Czech Katerina Siniakova and the Chinese Zhang Shuai in the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Adelaide tennis tournament on Wednesday.
Fernandez and Babos bowed after a tight duel lasting one hour and 59 minutes in front of the second seeds of the doubles tournament.
Siniakova and Zhang will face Kazakh Anna Danilina and Serbian Aleksandra Krunic, fourth seeds in the doubles, in the final four.
The Quebecoise, 22e world racket, lost to Russian Diana Shnaider 7-5, 6-3 in singles on Monday.
Furthermore, Ontario’s Victoria Mboko, eighth seed, will meet in the quarter-finals of the women’s singles with American Madison Keys, second seed, at the end of the evening.
Mboko is playing her first official WTA singles tournament in 2026, and her first since Hong Kong, which she won, in November 2025.
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Maria Bouzkova [LL] – 6:3, 6:1
