Daria Kasatkina Reveals Reason Behind Ending 2025 Season Early: “It Was Very Weird”

Daria Kasatkina failed to reach a final this year, last winning a title at the 2024 Ningbo Open.

Daria Kasatkina Reveals Reason Behind Ending 2025 Season Early: “It Was Very Weird”

Daria Kasatkina (Image via X/Jimmie48 Photography)

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Daria Kasatkina chose to end her season after losing in the opening round of the China Open to Britain’s Sonay Kartal. A former World No.8, Kasatkina finished the season in 37th spot with a 19-22 win-loss record.

Kasatkina featured in 22 tournaments this year. Except for the Adelaide International, she failed to make the quarterfinals in the rest of the events. Kasatkina was suffering defeats in the early rounds.

She recently sat for an interview with the Australian Open‘s The Sit-Down podcast, during which she revealed the emotional reason why she decided to finish the season early. She cited mental fatigue as the reason why she struggled badly this year.

So the first six weeks after the China Open, I took a break, a very well-needed break, because, you know, I was destroyed mentally, so I really needed it. I mean, I was basically recovering during the first three weeks of the break, where I don’t even remember them, because I was just somewhere in space, honestly… It was very weird because I was just trying to figure out how I had to operate, you know, and stuff. Then, like three weeks after that, it was already better.

Daria Kasatkina said

After those three weeks, she began feeling like she was recharging herself. She was spending time with her family and friends and visited all of them.

The Australian ace then revealed that she was finishing her fifth week of pre-season and is looking forward to playing in her home country. Kasatkina, who was born in Russia, switched her nationality to Australia earlier this year. The first tournament she played as an Australian citizen was the French Open, where Mirra Andreeva knocked her out in straight sets in the fourth round.

Daria Kasatkina on the evolution of tennis on the WTA tour in the last decade

Daria Kasatkina turned pro in 2014, and after over 11 years on the tour, she has noticed how women’s tennis has evolved. Recently, during an interview, six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek talked about the serving speed, saying a 186kmh serve speed would have been a game changer three years ago, but now players are serving even faster, and it’s becoming common. Kasatkina shared a similar opinion regarding the evolution of the playing style of the players.

Daria Kasatkina
Daria Kasatkina (Image via X/bet365 Australia)

I remember when I just appeared on tour in 2015; sometimes some girls were struggling when you were slicing the ball. Some girls were struggling with the slice and the kick serve. Right now, there is no chance. All girls know how to return the kick serve, they know how to return 200kmph serve, they know how to go back and how to go inside, and when to attack. So for me, the main difference now compared to back then is that before it was styles of play.

Daria Kasatkina said on the Australian Open’s The Sit-Down podcast

The 28-year-old is the winner of 11 singles titles, the last of which she won at the 2024 Ningbo Open. Last year, she made six finals, winning titles in Ningbo and the Eastbourne International.

Kasatkina has yet to win a Big Title. In Grand Slam tournaments, she has never reached the championship match, playing the semifinals just once- at the 2022 French Open. In the WTA 1000 events, she had made the final just once, in the 2018 Indian Wells, where four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka defeated her in straight sets.

This season in the WTA 1000 events, Kasatkina failed to reach the fourth round. The next major event is the Australian Open, where Kasatkina has never progressed beyond the fourth round, reaching the stage this year.

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