Russian tennis player to represent Uzbekistan

The 21-year-old Russian tennis player Maria Timofeeva has changed her sporting nationality from Russia to Uzbekistan, Vedomosti reported, citing the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

In recent years, several Russian tennis players have opted to represent other countries. Among them are Alexander Shevchenko (Kazakhstan), Elina Avanesyan (Armenia), Varvara Gracheva (France), and Daria Kasatkina (Australia).

Earlier, the President of the Russian Tennis Federation, Shamil Tarpishchev, stated that about 20 Russian tennis players had applied to change their nationality. According to him, the lack of funding within the federation has led athletes to seek support from other countries.

Currently, Timofeeva ranks 146th in the WTA standings and 14th among Russian tennis players. Her career-high ranking was No. 93 in April 2024, which she achieved after winning the WTA-250 tournament in Budapest in 2023.

Timofeeva’s best result in Grand Slam tournaments came at the 2024 Australian Open, where she reached the fourth round. Afterward, her ranking dropped to 279th in June 2025, but she later improved, claiming victories at the W100 tournament in July and the W75 tournament in October. So far, she has earned nearly $800,000 in career prize money, including approximately $140,000 in 2025.

In 2023, the Russian Tennis Federation earned 1.79 billion rubles from betting companies, but this figure fell to 543 million rubles in the first quarter of 2025.