Abu Dhabi Open apologizes to Russia's Daria Kasatkina over Spain flag mistake

The Abu Dhabi Open has issued an apology to Daria Kasatkina, the Russian player currently ranked 11th in the world, for an administrative error that mistakenly identified her as a Spanish competitor during the tournament's draw ceremony on Sunday. This misrepresentation led to speculation regarding a potential change in her nationality.

Kasatkina has been competing as a neutral athlete since Russian and Belarusian players were prohibited from participating under their national flags following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Belarus serving as a logistical base for the operation.

The appearance of her name alongside the Spanish flag during the WTA 500 event draw raised concerns, prompting her team to clarify that she had not changed her national affiliation, while the tournament organizers expressed regret for the mistake.

"We sincerely apologise for the error made by one of our suppliers during the live draw, whereby an incorrect nationality was shown alongside the name of Daria Kasatkina," organisers said in a statement on social media.

"This was entirely an administrative mistake and has now been corrected."

Kasatkina, who has not returned to Russia in over two years after publicly coming out as gay and being one of the few Russian athletes to openly oppose the war, resides in Dubai but also trains in Spain.

"It is incorrect and we can categorically deny she is switching to Spain," Kasatkina's team told the BBC.

"This carries some strong implications for Daria if the Russian authorities feel she is trying to switch - which she is not."

Reuters has reached out to Kasatkina's team for additional comments.

Kasatkina is seeded third in the Abu Dhabi tournament, which is set to commence on Monday.