Daria Kasatkina Criticizes Hectic Tennis Calendar as Alex De Minuar Complains of ‘Mental Burnout’ After Crashing out of Roland Garros

Daria Kasatkina has scheduled a fourth-round Roland Garros clash with reigning Indian Wells champion Mirra Andreeva.

Daria Kasatkina Criticizes Hectic Tennis Calendar as Alex De Minuar Complains of ‘Mental Burnout’ After Crashing out of Roland Garros

Daria Kasatkina, Alex de Minaur (Image via X/Tennis Channel, Alex de Minaur)

Alex de Minaur blamed the hectic 11-month schedule for mental burnout after squandering a two-set lead against Alexander Bublik in the second round of the French Open before eventually crashing out of the tournament. His compatriot Daria Kasatkina too shares the same opinion, saying tennis players are “humans” and needing some rest is “normal“.

Kasatkina moved past Paula Badosa 6-1, 7-5 to schedule a fourth-round clash with Mirra Andreeva. After the win, when the World No.17 was asked in the press conference to comment on de Minaur’s complaints, she said that even though tennis players travel most of the time and live a great life, they burn themselves out due to the crammed calendar.

That sometimes you just aren’t super excited to go on court. This can happen. This is, you know, our job. I think everyone can relate that sometimes you don’t want to wake up to go to your job [laughing]. We are super lucky we have this opportunity to do what we love and get paid for it and travel around the world. It’s a nice life. But sometimes this also happens.

While de Minuar’s best performance at the French Open came in 2024 when he reached the quarterfinals, Kasatkina was the semifinalist in 2022. Last year in the clay-court Major, she lost to America’s Peyton Stearns in the second round.

Several players on both the Men’s and Women’s tour have complained of the 11-month schedule, including five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek and four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz. They claimed that not getting enough time between tournaments affects their performance and cause injuries.

Daria Kasatkina says she hates Mirra Andreeva

The upcoming fourth-round clash will be Daria Kasatkina‘s second clash with Mirra Andreeva in her career after the 2024 Ningbo Open final, which she won. The Ningbo Open final was not a one-sided affair.

Mirra Andreeva
Mirra Andreeva (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

After being handed a bagel by the 28-year-old, Andreeva made a strong comeback to take the second set but couldn’t capitalize on the momentum, eventually losing the match with a 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 scoreline. During the trophy presentation, Andreeva burst into tears and Kasatkina ran toward her to console her. Ahead of their fourth-round clash, when Kasatkina asked about the Russian teenager, she joked, “I hate her! I’m kidding,” before lauding the young sensation.

I can even say that I think we’re kind of friends, so yeah, she’s super young and super talented. So she already achieved a lot of things and we’re going to have I think second match. We practiced so many times, we’re going to play the second match of our career. So let’s see. The last one in Ningbo was a big drama match.

Andreeva scheduled the match against Kasatkina after knocking out Yulia Putintseva in the previous round. The 18-year-old hasn’t yet dropped a set, but Katerina Siniakova took a set off Kasatkina in the first round.

Andreeva is the winner of two back-to-back WTA 1000 singles titles she lifted in Dubai and Indian Wells by beating Clara Tauson and World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, respectively. Kasatkina, on the other hand, hasn’t yet lifted a title this season.

knownThe winner of the match will meet Lois Boisson or Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinal. In the semifinal, the winner could set up a clash with Madison Keys or Coco Gauff, while in the championship match, they could meet three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, last year’s French Open runner-up Jasmine Paolini, or 2024 Paris Olympics gold medalist Qinwen Zheng.

Andreeva produced her best performance at the French Open last year by reaching the semifinals. She lost to Paolini in straight sets.

Also read: Jannik Sinner Shares Insightful Solution to the Women’s Scheduling Debate at Roland Garros