Melbourne, Australia – Russian-born Australian tennis player Daria Kasatkina said she ended her season for mental health after reaching a “breakthrough point” on the tour.
No. 19, Kasatkina, a French Open 2022 player, said on Monday that she was exhausted from her continued travel on the tour, a pressure to obtain permanent residence in Australia to be unable to meet her parents.
Natalia Zabiiako, medalist for Kasatkina’s figure skating Olympics, told Times of London in 2023 that she could not be “as a gay man against the war” in Russia in Ukraine.
“The truth is, I hit the wall and couldn’t continue. I needed a break. From the monotonous daily life on the tour, the suitcase, the result, the stress, the same face (sorry, girl), it all comes with it,” Kasatkina wrote on Instagram.
“There are too many timetables, both mentally and emotionally, I’m at the breakout point and sadly, I’m not alone.”
She added that she plans to return to “live and rock ready” in 2026.
Kasatkina said she was “not bad for a long time” and her grades in court suffered, and she felt “keep covered up” “for her fears.”
She is the latest in a range of players including Elina Svitolina and Beatriz Haddad Maia who chose to end the season early for extra rest.
Kasatkina’s last match was a straightforward defeat against Sonay Kartal in the second round of the China Open on September 27, with her last tour champion at the Ningbo Open in October 2024.
