Russian Alexander Shevchenko announces nationality change to Kazakhstan

World No.48 Alexander Shevchenko is switching his playing nationality to Kazakhstan.

The 23-year-old Russian made the news official with an Instagram story post on Saturday, saying that the change would take effect as of the upcoming ATP 250 event in Montpellier, France, which begins Monday. Shevchenko is seeded No. 6 in singles there, and is also playing doubles with his now-compatriot Alexander Bublik.

"I'm very proud about it and can't wait to step on the court, trying to make memorable moments for myself and the country," Shevchenko wrote.

The 23-year-old was born in Rostov-on-Don, a port city in southern Russia. But since the spring of 2022, Shevchenko had been among the Russian and Belarusian tennis players competing on tour as neutral athletes with no national flag as a consequence of Russia's invasion of Ukraine with the support of Belarus.

As of this writing on Sunday, Shevchenko was listed as representing Kazakhstan on the ITF's official website (though his profile on the ATP website still featured no national flag), and was spotlighted in a video posted on the official social media channels of the Kazakhstani tennis federation.

Shevchenko joins several current and former tennis players, including Bublik, Elena Rybakina and Yulia Putintseva, in switching playing nationalities from Russia to Kazakhstan, but is markedly different from the trio in that they all accepted support from the Kazakh tennis federation as teenagers. He broke through at ATP level in 2023, when he raised his ranking from outside the Top 150 to into the Top 50, made his Grand Slam and Masters 1000 main-draw debuts, and reached his first ATP-level singles final.

Shevchenko married Russian WTA pro Anastasia Potapova, 22, married in December after less than a full year of dating.