Kasatkina, number 12 in world tennis, declares himself homosexual: "You have to be at peace with yourself"

The tennis player

, Russia's first racket and who was number two in the world in 2018, made her homosexuality public on Monday in an interview with a sports journalist from her country.

"Do I have a girlfriend? Yes," the 25-year-old athlete told reporter

in an interview that was posted on her YouTube channel.

Kasatkina, currently number 12 in the WTA, now trains under the tutelage of

at an academy in Barcelona.

During the conversation, in the Spanish city after one of her training sessions, the young woman acknowledged that she was "a little nervous" when making this revelation in front of a camera and recognized that it is a "taboo" subject in Russia.

"I've never talked about it so openly in front of a camera, but I like it," he said.

And he added: "Living in the closet for a long time is complicated [...] you have to be at peace with yourself, it's the only thing that matters."

Kasatkina, semifinalist in the past Roland Garros and winner of four WTA titles, the most recent last year in Saint Petersburg,

and has, among other players, Dominic Thiem .

The Russian, who also spends periods in Dubai, is an admirer of Rafael Nadal and a fervent follower of FC Barcelona, ​​​​whose emblem appears on the fist of her racket.

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