Russian Ksenia Pervak Switches to Kazakhstan for Possible Olympic Spot

Written by: Staff on 23rd December 2011

Russian Ksenia Pervak Switches to Kazakhstan for Possible Olympic Spot

Ksenia Pervak of Russia hits a return to Ana Ivanovic of Serbia during their first round match on the second day of the 2011 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA 30 August 2011. The US Open runs through 11 September 2011. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO |

Kazakhstan’s Davis Cup team is comprised entirely of players born in Russia and now Ksenia Pervak, the world’s 39th ranked player on the WTA computer has pledged her international allegiance to the trans-continental nation that is now the world’s ninth biggest state in order to contest next year’s Olympic Games as well as Fed Cup.

But there is a distinct difference of opinion about 20 year-old Pervak’s switch in the Russian camp. Shamil Tarpischev, the long time Russian Davis and Fed Cup captain has no problems with helping out Kazakhstan but national coach Vladimir Kamelzon is furious.

“I’m upset and angry about Pervak’s switch to the Kazakhstan national team,” said Kamelzon, head coach of the Russian team. “I just can’t understand Pervak’s decision, and I will never accept it.

Pervak, a former Australian Open junior champion who has homes in Moscow and Berlin, has been reclassified a Kazakh player on the WTA website, made the fourth round at Wimbledon this year, her best achievement to date. It is widely accepted foreign players are offered generous financial inducements to switch to oil-rich Kazakhstan and she will join the Moscow-born duo of Galina Voskoboeva and Yaroslava Shvedova along with Bulgarian Sesil Karatantcheva in the team.

When previously questioned on the matter of Russian players defecting to Kazakhstan, Tarpischev said: “I don’t have a problem with this as there is an agreement between our tennis federations to help each other out. This has managed to help a lot of tennis players, as they have been able to get extra funding from the Kazakh federation, which helps them to develop.

“There were problems in Russia, as we were unable to give them the financing they needed since we have so many good players.”

Topics: Kazakhstan tennis news, Ksenia Pervak, Russian tennis news.