The list of eight countries competing in the 2010 Hyundai Hopman Cup starting tomorrow includes many tennis mainstays--Australia, Great Britain, United States, Russia, Spain, Germany, and even Romania.  But there's also one newcomer on the block--Kazakhstan.  The Kazakh team consists of Andrey Golubev and Yaroslava Shvedova, who together won the Asian Hopman Cup pre-qualifying event.

Kazakhstan had absolutely no tennis heritage whatsoever as recently as five years ago, but now features some six players in or around the respective top 200s of the ATP and WTA. 

How did Kazakhs go from nothing to something so quickly? The same way anybody who wants to acquire something quickly does--they paid for it.

Not one of those six players with "KAZ" next to their names in the rankings was born in Kazakhstan.  Five were born in Russia, and a sixth in Bulgaria.  All six played for their birth country up until the last couple years, when the Kazakhs made them an offer they apparently couldn't refuse.

What exactly these offers entail is unclear, and neither the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation (who didn't reply to several emails) nor any of the players have opened up about the particulars of the transfer.

I asked Russian-born Galina Voskoboeva, the current Kazakh #2 in the WTA, about her switch from Russia to Kazakhstan, but she was pretty evasive as to the particulars of the agreement.

TDF: You switched from playing for Russia to playing for Kazakhstan recently--why did you decide to change?

Galina Voskoboeva: Oh, because there's an agreement between the two federations--Russian and Kazakh.  So they decided to have an agreement, and the Russian Federation said that we can play now for Kazakhstan.   That was the agreement between the Federations.

TDF: Did [the Russian Federation] assign you to play for Kazakhstan? Or was it your choice?

Galina Voskoboeva: They decided, and then they made us an offer, you know? Of course they asked us if we wanted to [play for Kazakhstan], and we signed a contract.

TDF: A contract for financial assistance?

Galina Voskoboeva: A financial contract, yes.

The most successful of the Kazakh imports currently is Yaroslava Shvedova, who made the third round of the US Open this year and is currently ranked #51

Shvedova's expressed desire to switch from being an anonymous Russian lost in a sea of superior talents in that country to a big fish in the relatively small pond of Kazakh tennis is an understandable one, certainly.  Shvedova says she has received greater attention with the Kazakh program, and is excited to represent a country in Fed Cup and the Olympics.  She still lives in Moscow, but travels back to Kazakhstan for clinics to promote the sport to kids in the country, kids who likely see her as their best Kazakh role model in the tennis world.

As Shvedova herself put it, "I was, like, so happy for my change."

Andrey Golubev, the current ATP #133 and Shvedova's teammate in Hopman Cup, is also Russian-born and recently acquired by Kazakhstan, but he lives in Italy.  If his website is any indication, Golubev is pretty happy with his relationship with the Kazakh Federation.  An article with the headline "Andrey Brings His Kazakh Heritage to the Prestigious Hyundai Hopman Cup" opens with "Astana [the capital of Kazakhstan] continues to reward Andrey." 

Either Golubev (or his webmaster) really does feel that lucky, or he's just terrified of angering someone over there.

The most surprising addition to the Kazakh tennis forces is Sesil Karatantcheva, the only convert not poached from Russia.  Karatantcheva had previously played for her native Bulgaria, a country from which she had received considerable support throughout her junior career and later doping allegations.  Why Karatantcheva would want to switch from one small country to another isn't entirely clear, nor is it clear why Karatantcheva would be seen as a desirable pick-up by the Kazakhs considering her floundering play and largely sullied reputation.

With all their focus on importing talent, Kazakhstan seems to have largely overlooked a locally grown product who seems close to making herself an export.  Zarina Diyas, a 16-year old currently ranked #242, was born in Kazakhstan, but has lived and trained in Prague for most of her life.  Diyas made a big splash making in her first WTA event this summer in Prague, making the quarterfinal and upsetting Petra Kvitova along the way.  Word on the street in the Czech Republic is that Diyas is planning to switch over to the Czech Federation in the very near future, though may be open to hearing an offer from the Kazakh Federation.

Kazakhstan will more than likely go 0-3 in Hopman Cup play, but at least now you hopefully will know something more about the intrigue behind the winlessness.

If you still want to know more about Kazakh Tennis, check out the Official Website of the Kazakh Tennis Federation.