KASATKINA HOPES TO REPRESENT AUSTRALIA AT BJK CUP DESPITE 'COMPLICATED' PROCESS

(Getty/Dan Istitene)

Daria Kasatkina remains optimistic about making her debut for Australia at Billie Jean King Cup level, but understands that the situation is beyond her control.

The 28-year-old has represented Russia, her country of birth, until March of this year, when she made the surprise decision to switch allegiance.

Kasatkina became a successful applicant for permanent Australian residency, where her home base is in Melbourne.

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On Thursday, the BJK Cup playoffs draw took place in London, which saw the Aussies paired with Brazil and Portugal as they prepare to meet in Hobart from November 14 to 16.

Now Australia's top-ranked female singles player (No.16), Kasatkina spoke to reporters about the pending decision.

"Talking about the Billie Jean King Cup, that process is more complicated, which is not depending on me," she said.

"It's something which Tennis Australia has to deal with the ITF [International Tennis Federation]. This is where it's already different language. I'm not going to be the part of it. This is where the federation has to deal with the ITF."

She became world champion with Russia in 2021, the first edition in which the tournament was renamed to the BJK Cup, previously known as the Fed Cup.

The former Roland-Garros semi-finalist hasn't had the best start to her grass court preparations leading into Wimbledon, following back-to-back first-round defeats at the Queen's Club Championships and Berlin Open.

Samantha Stosur's Australia are favoured to top their group on home soil in a bid to book their place in the 2026 qualifiers with the world's elite.

The green and gold failed to qualify for the BJK Cup Finals in China later this year after they were toppled by Kazakhstan in April's qualifiers in Brisbane.

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