Kamilla Rakhimova has broken her silence after changing her sporting nationality from Russia to Uzbekistan as she expressed her belief that the decision will give her \u201cthe best chance to develop as an athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Uzbekistan Tennis Federation announced at the start of December that Rakhimova had started representing the Central Asian nation, which is a former Soviet republic.<\/p>\n
Rakhimova, who was born in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, had played for Russia since making her debut on the\u00a0WTA Tour<\/a> in 2019. Her mother is from Uzbekistan.<\/p>\n Kamilla Rakhimova speaks about switching sporting allegiance from Russia to Uzbekistan<\/p>\n Kamilla Rakhimova has admitted it was \u201cnot an easy decision\u201d to change nationality from Russia for Uzbekistan Sador Kamilov, Secretary General of the Uzbekistan Tennis Federation, highlighted the significance of Rakhimova\u2019s switch to Ukbekistan.<\/p>\n \u201cThe arrival of Kamila Rakhimova to the Uzbekistan national team is an event of historic significance,\u201d Kamilov said.<\/p>\n \u201cShe has already proven herself to be a strong, competitive tennis player capable of playing on equal terms with the world\u2019s top players.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are delighted to welcome Kamila to our team and are confident that she will achieve great victories, go far, and set new records under the Uzbekistan flag.\u201d<\/p>\n Rakhimova reached her career-high singles ranking of world No 60 in December 2024, while she peaked at 55th in the doubles rankings in August this year.<\/p>\n The 24-year-old is currently ranked 97th in the world, having climbed 15 places in the latest WTA Rankings after winning a Challenger tournament in Angers last week.<\/p>\n Tennis News<\/p>\n Do Andreeva and Shnaider \u2018support\u2019 Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine? WTA star\u2019s damning claim<\/a><\/p>\n
\nThe world No 97 described the move as \u201cthe right step for my future in tennis, both professionally and personally\u201d, but said it \u201cdoes not erase my roots\u201d
\nRakhimova is one of nine players to stop competing for Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine<\/p>\n