“I was shocked,” Daria Kasatkina recalls ‘peeing’ in front of drug tester which was ‘worst experience’ of her career | FirstSportz Exclusive

Daria Kasatkina, after lifting her first Grand Slam juniors singles title, understood what happens when players win tournaments.

“I was shocked,” Daria Kasatkina recalls ‘peeing’ in front of drug tester which was ‘worst experience’ of her career | FirstSportz Exclusive

Daria Kasatkina (Image via X)

Players, it seems, are not at all fans of doping tests. And Daria Kasatkina dubbed her first doping test as one of the worst moments of her life during her interview with Fantastic Tennis Podcast by FirstSportz.

During her junior career, Kasatkina won her first and only Grand Slam title in singles. Seeded eighth at that time, Kasatkina came from a set down to beat first seed Ivana Jorovic at the French Open, while her mother Tatyana Borisovna, and brother Alexandr watched her from the stands. Kasatkina wanted to win that match so badly and when she finally tasted victory, she was on cloud nine. It was the ‘best day’ of her life and she felt as if she achieved everything.

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The feelings didn’t last for long. She right way had to go to the toilet, for a drug test. Kasatkina narrated what actually happens behind the scenes when players become champions.

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I was shocked. It was like, one of the worst experiences I have had. Okay, I am ready to go to the toilet. Yeah, exactly. I was shocked. It was like…it’s one of the worst experiences in my life when after I say, ‘OK, I’m ready to go to the toilet’, They say, ‘OK, let’s go’. They’re bringing me somewhere through the corridor. I’m like…where we are? What? We’re opening the door. There is a lady.

Daria Kasatkina told Fantastic Tennis Podcast by FirstSportz

Kasatkina joked that she was brave enough to pee in front of a doping control official. Following her ‘weird’ experience, she also had to perform a mixology.

I have to sign papers and stuff. I’m like, ‘OK, OK, I do all that’. And then she’s like, ‘OK, go take this glass and go to the toilet’. I’m like, ‘OK, I go’. She goes with me and she stares at me and I’m like, ‘What’s going on? I’m sorry, What? What? What should I do now?’ She’s like, ‘You have to pee’. And I said, ‘You watch that? [She said] ‘I’m gonna watch you’.

Daria Kasatkina added

One of Andy Murray‘s worst experiences, probably the most embarrassing one, too had got everything to do his drug test. After a tough first-round win at the Australian Open a few years ago, the Brit, who had consumed a lot of sports drinks and pickle juices because of cramping problems, was asked to do the drug test, during which, he suffered from a ‘violent diarrhea’ in front of a doping official in a tight cubicle.

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But drug testing is an essential part of every sport, as it helps to maintain fairness and catch those who intentionally use banned substances to enhance their performance. The tennis community has been rocked by doping scandals of two high-profile players. Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek tested positive for clostebol and trimetazidine, respectively, last year, and dealt with lenient punishment.

Daria Kasatkina reveals the moment Rafael Nadal became her idol

Rafael Nadal has inspired generations of tennis players and Daria Kasatkina too was not an exception. The tennis match she watched for the first time on television was Nadal’s French Open victory in 2005, and she remembered almost every detail of that match.

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal (Image via ATP/X)

It was the final of the French Open 2005 when Rafael won his first Roland Garros title. And this is the moment, he became my idol.

Daria Kasatkina told Fantastic Tennis Podcast by FirstSportz

It was the 14-time French Open champion’s first triumph at Roland Garros. The 22-time Grand Slam champion called time on his career at the 2024 Davis Cup, becoming the second member of the Big 3 to hang up his racket after Roger Federer, who retired in the 2022 Laver Cup. It was due to his persistent struggles with injuries that forced the 38-year-old to end the most remarkable chapter of his life.

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27-year-old Kasatkina, on the other hand, is still chasing her first Grand Slam title. The World No.11, with eight career WTA titles, hasn’t yet won a tournament this season, and recently succumbed to a first-round defeat to Sorana Cirstea in the ongoing Dubai Open. Her campaign on the Middle East Swing didn’t end on the right note, for she was defeated in her opening round match in Abu Dhabi and in the third round of the Qatar Open.