Daria Gavrilova has not easily accepted the ITF's decision that closed her possibility to play in the Fed Cup. The decision that had  been subordinate to a change in the rule book, became effective on January 1st, which required two years of citizenship in order to be able to play - an enforcement from the previous two years of residence requested. The former Russian player, now Australian citizen since December 2015, according to the new rules, should not be able to play until 2018.

Gavrilova’s case to be discussed not before March

Gavrilova’s staff has announced an appeal to ITF to allow the 21-year-old rising star to attend at least the next Fed Cup tie, planned for this spring.

"Her eligibility is still under consideration, and it will be addressed at the next ITF board meeting”, announced Paul Kilderry, Gavrilova’s manager. “We’re confident Daria’s case will be treated fairly and she’ll be ready to play."

The appeal won’t be discussed before March, definitively excluding Gavrilova from the tie with Slovakia, but leaving her the opportunity to be able to play in the Playoffs.
 

Daria Gavrilova poses with Australian fans after practice at 2016 Australian Open [Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images]
Daria Gavrilova poses with Australian fans after practice at 2016 Australian Open [Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images]

Fed Cup exclusion and Olympic repercussions

The exclusion from the tie with Slovakia may have put an end to Gavrilova’s hopes to attend the Olympic Games, which will be held in Rio De Janeiro in August.

Among the requirements to enter the competition for the WTA circuit, it is necessary to have collected at least three convocations in Fed Cup between 2013 and 2016 - one of them has to be in 2015 or 2016. The number of convocations can drop to two when a player can claim at least twenty weeks of participation in Fed Cup or when their country has remained in the Zonal Group for at least three of the last four years.

Lacking any of these requirements, Gavrilova could still benefit the particular circumstances given from the status of a newcomer - thought for players who hadn't fulfilled the requirement to play in Fed Cup for part of the last four years. Even taking that into account, however, she still will be lacking the minimum of two Fed Cup participations required, making her hopes to compete at the Olympic games more and more feeble.