Russian-born tennis player Kamilla Rakhimova has officially switched her sporting nationality to Uzbekistan, the Uzbekistan Tennis Federation confirmed Monday. The 24-year-old, formerly ranked as high as world No. 60, now becomes Uzbekistan’s top women’s player with a current ranking of No. 112.
Rakhimova’s decision follows family ties to the country, her mother represented Uzbekistan at youth level, and her brother was born in Tashkent. Though born and raised in Yekaterinburg, she had struggled for consistency on the Tour this season despite a strong grass-court run that included a third-round appearance at Wimbledon, where she upset last year’s finalist Jasmine Paolini.
Currently competing at a WTA 125 event in Angers, France, Rakhimova celebrated her debut under the Uzbek flag with a dominant 6–1, 6–1 win over Russia’s Alina Korneeva to reach the round of 16.
Uzbek tennis officials hailed her arrival.
«Kamila Rakhimova joining the Uzbekistan national team is an event of historic significance,» FTU Secretary General Sador Kamilov said, expressing confidence that she will «set new records under the Uzbekistan flag.»
Russian tennis chief Shamil Tarpischev said the move was driven by Olympic qualification hopes, noting Rakhimova would likely struggle to make Russia’s national squad. Players must be ranked inside roughly the world’s top 60–70 to qualify.
Rakhimova joins a growing list of Russian players who have changed national representation in recent years amid the fallout from the war in Ukraine and restrictions placed on Russian athletes. Recent switches include Maria Timofeeva (to Uzbekistan), Elina Avanesyan (to Armenia), Daria Kasatkina (to Australia), and men’s player Alexander Shevchenko (to Kazakhstan).
