Melbourne, Australia-de born Australian tennis player Daria Kasatkina in Russia says she ends the season early because of her mental well-being after touching “breaking point” on tour.
The 19th ranking Kasatkina, a French open semi-finalist in 2022, said on Monday that she was exhausted by the constant trips on the Tour schedule, a stressful process of getting permanent stay in Australia and not being able to see her parents.
Kasatkina, who is engaged to skating the Olympic medal winner Natalia Zabiako, told The Times of London in 2023 that she cannot go back to Russia “as gay who resists the war” in Ukraine.
“The truth is that I have hit a wall and cannot continue. I need a break. A break of the monotonous daily grind of life on the tour, the suitcases, the results, the pressure, the same faces (sorry, girls), everything that belongs to this life,” Kasatkina wrote on Instagram.
“The schedule is too much, mentally and emotional, I am at the breaking point and unfortunately I am not alone.”
She added that she intended to return in 2026 “Energiek and Ready to Rocken”.
Kasatkina said that she was “far from right” and had suffered her results on the field while she “held a lid” about how she felt for fear of being ungratulated.
She is the newest in a series of players, including Elina Svitolina and Beatriz Haddad Maia who chose to end their seasons early for extra rest.
Kasatkina’s last match on tour was a straight-set loss for Sonay Kartal in the second round of the China Open on September 27 and her last tour title was open on the Ningbo in October 2024.
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