Daria Kasatkina became the first Russian tennis player to publicly acknowledge her same‑sex orientation in a candid interview with the YouTube channel Vitya Kravchenko. Shortly after, she shared a joint photo with Russian figure skater Natalya Zabiyako, pairing the post with a wholehearted caption that left little doubt about their relationship.
Zabiyako echoed the moment on her own page, posting the same photo and then sharing two more pictures that sparked clear indications they were a couple.
Kasatkina spoke about living openly, saying, “It doesn’t make sense to live in a closet for a long time. It will always be spinning in your head until you say it. Everyone chooses how to reveal things, but the goal is to live comfortably with yourself—the main thing.”
She had previously acknowledged openness to relationships with women. In April 2021, she had suggested she had not fully decided yet. “Which is more comfortable for me – with a man or with a woman? It’s a good question. There are pluses to both,” Kasatkina told Sports.ru. She added that a relationship with a woman would not be a problem for her, noting that women often understand certain dynamics intuitively. She admitted there were misunderstandings between men and women and said she hoped to understand her own desires better with time, suggesting a future update on the matter.
Within about a year, the same interview and photos showed her embracing Zabiyako, signaling a more definite path. Joint pictures of the two began circulating on social media from October 2021, after Zabiyako posted about a shared breakfast with Kasatkina.
In December, the two were seen hugging at Port Aventura, the theme park near Barcelona where Kasatkina has been based. Zabiyako described the day as a “versatile mix of head‑spins and adrenaline,” capturing a mood of playful affection.
A week later, Zabiyako shared a skating video on Red Square in Moscow with Kasatkina, highlighting the duo’s life in the capital during the snowy season.
Meanwhile, Zabiyako’s personal life underwent changes. It emerged that she had ended her marriage to director Danil Grinkin, whom she had wed in 2020, following their engagement in 2018. The director recalled the moment he proposed, describing it as a whirlwind of thoughts and fast-paced moments, and he expressed confidence that Kasatkina would be a lifelong partner. He later spoke about the hope of building a life together with her and their future plans to start a family, while acknowledging that life can be unpredictable.
Before the separation, Grinkin had supported Zabiyako during training and on film projects, including a duet with singer Nikita Presnyakov for an Ice Age show. Zabiyako described their meeting in 2018, noting that the relationship began during a period of rest after the Olympic season, and she recalled the simple invitation to coffee that started it all. The couple married in Saint Petersburg in 2020, though the wedding did not involve a honeymoon due to the pandemic. Zabiyako later explained she took Grinkin’s surname, and while parenthood remained a future plan, she emphasized a focus on their life together for the time being.
Grinkin also produced a documentary about Zabiyako and her partner Alexander Enbert, chronicling their work in doubles. The project highlighted their achievements, including a silver medal at the PyeongChang 2018 team event and a bronze at the 2019 World Championships. Grinkin’s film, Unbroken, follows Zabiyako and Enbert’s preparation for the 2019 World Cup and their subsequent medal win.
According to Zabiyako, a suggestion by their coach Nina Moser helped turn the idea into a project that eventually reached theaters in Russia and the United States. She also indicated an interest in cinema, noting that during the quarantine she studied scripts and collaborated with her husband on screenwriting projects after ending her sports career due to heart issues. In the years that followed, Zabiyako erased romance‑related posts with Grinkin from her social media, signaling a shift in her public narrative. A February 2022 post showed a shared breakfast where Kasatkina rested her head on Zabiyako’s shoulder.
In May 2020, Zabiyako announced intentions to switch sports citizenship and represent Canada alongside Olympic champion Zachary Daleman, though Canada later withdrew that request for reasons not disclosed. She returned to Europe to pursue new opportunities in her skating career, balancing the challenges of career transitions with personal life. The public’s interest in the couple persisted, and American tennis player and 2022 Roland Garros finalist Corey Gauff publicly voiced support for Kasatkina and Zabiyako, emphasizing the courage it takes to live openly and recognizing the inspiration such openness can provide to others.
Through it all, the narrative around Kasatkina and Zabiyako underscored themes of self‑acceptance, resilience, and the real costs and rewards of living authentically in the public eye. Their story reflects broader conversations about visibility, personal choice, and the evolving acceptance of diverse identities in the worlds of sport and entertainment.