Following successful appeal, Gavrilova eligible to represent Australia in Fed Cup

Daria Gavrilova is eligible to represent Australia in Fed Cup following a successful appeal to the International Tennis Federation.

According to new ITF rules introduced two years ago, players are not eligible to play for more than one nation during their careers, and must be citizens of a country for two years before representing it in ITF competition.

Players are allowed to appeal, with the ITF deciding an exception should be made for Gavrilova. The Russian-born 22-year-old, who resides in Australia and recently became a citizen, was happy with the decision.

However, Slovenian-born Aljaz Bedene will not be allowed to represent Britain in Davis Cup. He had previously played on the Slovenia Davis Cup team, but is a longtime British resident who has received his citizenship. The world No. 57 would have become the second-highest ranked member of the team behind Andy Murray.

Maxim Dubarenco, who previously represented Moldova and was looking to play for Belarus, also appealed. He lost and will not be allowed to compete for his new nation.

The decisions were issued by the ITF Board of Directors.