Varvara Gracheva wins first match in France, becoming French women's Wimbledon champion
Posted : 26 June 2023
Russian-born tennis player Varvara Gracheva, who recently became a French citizen, emerged victorious in her first match representing her new country.
Gracheva, 22, defeated Jacqueline Cristian from Romania with a score of 6-2 6-2 at the Bad Homburg Open in Germany on Monday.
Having lived and trained in France for six years, Gracheva now holds the position of French women's number two and will represent France in the upcoming Wimbledon tournament starting on July 3rd.
Although Gracheva participated in the French Open in May, she was not listed as French at the time since she had not yet received her French passport.
This year's Wimbledon allows Russian and Belarusian players to compete, but they must adhere to strict guidelines outlined by the All England Club. In 2022, another player, Natela Dzalamidze, competed at Wimbledon after changing her nationality to represent Georgia.
Gracheva had applied to switch nationalities before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as she mentioned in an interview with the Daily Mail in March. In the same month, she faced a defeat in the ATX Open final against Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk, who refused to shake her hand.
Gracheva's victory in the Bad Homburg Open marks a positive start to her new chapter as a French representative on the tennis court.
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