It’s Pride Month, and love is in the air!
Aussie tennis star Daria Kasatkina just got engaged to her longtime girlfriend, former Olympic figure skater Natalia Zabiiako.
The two athletes started dating three years ago and announced their engagement on June 7 via an adorable Instagram post showing off Zabiiako’s diamond ring.
Advertisement
“And just like that,” the caption reads.
The pair’s fellow athlete friends took to the comments to send them well-wishes on their upcoming nuptials.
“Ahhh congrats,” wrote British tennis player Katie Boulter.
“I will be at the wedding regardless if you want it or not,” commented Russian-Australian tennis star Arina Rodionova, who frequently stars in the couple’s YouTube channel “What the Vlog” which chronicles life on a tennis tour.
And former American tennis champ Jennifer Brady said, “Congrats Dasha and Natalia!!!”
The star athlete couple’s engagement comes on the heals of Kasatkina being granted a permanent residency by the Australian government after leaving Russia, a country that she has vocally criticized for it’s persecution of the LGBTQ+ community. In 2023, the Russian Supreme Court ruled that “the international LGBT movement is an extremist organization” and in 2024 the first convictions in connection with the law were handed down after a man posted a Pride flag online and a woman wore rainbow frog earrings.
“For me, being openly gay, if I want to be myself, I have to make this step, and I did it,” Kasatkina said when she left Russia, WTA Tennis reports.
https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/u8ooFjgcza0YV1xPV__Pfw–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD02NzU7Y2Y9d2VicA–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/pride_articles_642/9203b358103a9880b63734a8d4a7cb94
2025-06-10 21:25:43