Selekhmeteva : "Quand on m'a confirmé que j'étais espagnole, j'ai pleuré de joie et d'émotion"

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Oksana Selekhmeteva experienced one of the most special and emotional moments of her entire sports career at Roland Garros 2026. Beyond the defeat, the player born in Russia played an official match representing Spain for the first time, a change of nationality that had been brewing for years and, as she emotionally acknowledged, ended up bringing tears of joy when she received the official confirmation.

In an interview with Spanish media after her match in Paris, Oksana Selekhmeteva openly talked about her deep connection with Barcelona and Spain. She explained the sporting and personal reasons that led her to stop representing Russia and also shared the economic and professional difficulties she currently faces while trying to establish herself definitively on the circuit. The tennis player made it clear that, although she keeps some of her roots, she now feels that her true home is in Spain.

Her emotional bond with Barcelona and Spain

"I first went to Barcelona at the age of 14 for a couple of months, and then I returned again. I have been living there since I was 15, training there, and I really have my entire life there. It's hard to explain because in the end, we travel forty weeks a year, but when I go back, my parents are there, my dog Leo is there, and my whole life is there. The truth is that for me, it is an honor to represent Spain."

The reasons she stopped representing Russia

"It was not a political decision. The reality is that in Russia, it is very difficult to train to be a professional tennis player. It is very cold there, and logistically everything is very complicated. I had to practice tennis in one place and then spend two hours in traffic to do physical training. It was very difficult to build a suitable structure."

"I truly believe that Spain is the best country in the world to have the necessary structure to develop as a professional tennis player, and that's why we made this decision."

The challenges of completing the change of nationality

"It has been a very long process. It started in 2023, and it was practically three whole years. The last year was especially complicated due to all the problems related to documents and visas. There were really tough moments."

"When I first saw a small post on Instagram saying that I was already Spanish, I didn't even know if it was true. Then Javier Soler wrote to me to officially confirm it. I still don't have the passport, but as soon as I return to Barcelona, I will finish all the paperwork. The truth is, I started to cry because I felt very happy. It was a very long and not easy journey."

The difficulty of moving forward without sponsors

"Right now, I don't have sponsors, and honestly, that makes everything much more difficult. In tennis, you need to constantly invest a lot of money to travel, pay coaches, hotels, and all the structure required by this sport."

"Many times people only see the big tournaments and think that everything is easy, but the reality for many players is completely different. Fortunately, I have my family helping me a lot and also close people who believe in me because without that, it would have been practically impossible to move forward."

Her current relationship with Russia

"I was born there, and part of my family still lives there. My sister is still there. But at the same time, now I feel that my home has been in Barcelona for a long time. It is difficult to explain exactly what I feel because there are many mixed emotions."

What she loves most about Spain

"I love the people and the mentality they have here. In Spain, you know how to enjoy life much more, and I believe that also helps a lot in tennis."

"In Russia, there is a mentality of working 24 hours a day constantly. Here too, people work a lot, but you understand that there is also time to rest, to live, and to enjoy. I think little by little, I am becoming more Spanish, although I still feel that I am a mixture of both cultures."

The Russian mentality she maintains on the court

"I still think I have that part of being a warrior and always going for everything when I want something. In Russia, we are very much like that, very persistent and very mentally strong when we have a goal."

Her tennis role models and playing style

"I believe my style has a bit of Rafa Nadal, especially for being left-handed and for the intensity. I also admire a lot the mentality of Maria Sharapova. I try to be aggressive but also vary rhythms because right now tennis is extremely fast, and you have to adapt."

Despite the defeat at Roland Garros 2026, Oksana Selekhmeteva experienced one of the most important and emotional chapters of her career in Paris. The player made it clear that Spain is already an essential part of her personal and professional identity, and representing the country means much more to her than just an administrative change within the circuit.

Cette actualité est une traduction automatique. Vous pouvez lire la nouvelle originale Selekhmeteva: "Cuando me confirmaron que era española lloré de alegría y emoción"