“First it almost killed me and then it saved me” Daria Kasatkina reminisces an important period in her life in a candid chat during the WTA Finals


“First it almost killed me and then it saved me” Daria Kasatkina reminisces an important period in her life in a candid chat during the WTA Finals

Daria Kasatkina

Daria Kasatkina is currently the highest-ranked Russian player in the world and has won a whooping 6 WTA singles titles in her career. With two WTA singles titles up her name, 2022 has been an exceptional year for the World No.8 as she is rising through the ranks once again. She also played in the semi-final round matches of the Melbourne Summer Set 2 tournament, the Italian Open, and the French Open.

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However, as expected, life is all about ups and down and that’s precisely what the tennis star talked about during her recent interview with none other than sports journalist Reem Abulleil. Although Kasatkina is currently satisfied with the professional trajectory she is on, it is a long way removed from when the Russian struggled with her performance on the court and came inches close to quitting tennis altogether.

Eminent sports journalist Reem Abulleil shared an excerpt of her interview with Daria Kasatkina for Eurosport. Here, the Russian talked about her journey back to tennis after she contemplated quitting tennis and the rough phase of her professional life in its entirety.

As per the tennis star herself, after her 2018 US Open run, things didn’t go down well as planned for her and she started to feel like her life was falling apart. The weight of expectations from viewers, fans, fellow players, and her coaches took a heavy toll on her mental well-being, as she felt like she was letting everyone down with her weak performance.

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First it almost killed me and then it saved me.” My chat with Daria Kasatkina about her journey back to the top 10 after she contemplated quitting tennis and felt that “everything was falling apart,” Reem Bill’s post caption reads.

Daria Kasatkina breached the Top 10 for the first time back in 2018. But for a long period, things went downhill. She was under a lot of pressure as the weight of expectations kept increasing on her.

I was not enjoying tennis because I couldn’t play. I couldn’t play and enjoy being on court. I wasn’t enjoying the travelling, hitting the ball, nothing. So that’s why [I considered quitting]. But it wasn’t a long period of time, I just had to go through this point and got this experience and I’m happy that I didn’t close that door at that moment,” Kasatkina said.

In 2019, she joined hands with Spanish coach Carlos Martinez and he has his observations about the Russian.

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She couldn’t play, it was unbelievable. It was tough because at that time, she wanted, but she couldn’t,” he said.

But gradually things began to improve, and by 2021 she bounced back on the court. The 25-year-old has gone through many agonies in her meteoric career, but she has also learned from her past mistakes and has also worked on them.

In that certain moment, that [not letting people down] was the motivation for me and I’m glad that at that certain moment that worked. I would say that I came to this point because of the expectations and because people expected something from me. But then, actually this is what also saved me. So you always have to see it from both sides,” she reflected.

You see, the same situation. First, it almost killed me, and then it saved me. Perspective is everything,” she further added.

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The things which were bogging her down and not letting her grow eventually helped her to become a stronger person. With renewed confidence, she again made it to the Top 10 of the WTA rankings and got a chance to play at the prestigious WTA Finals tournament. She played well to defeat Coco Gauff but unfortunately lost her two matches to Iga Swiatek and Caroline Garcia.

Also Read: “It’s probably the worst week of the year for me” Coco Gauff reflects on her poor outing at the WTA Finals and vows to come back stronger

Expectations are on the rise for Daria Kasatkina

Daria Kasatkina
Daria Kasatkina

Daria Kasatkina is the “Future of women’s tennis”. She is talented and dynamic and can play long rallies and win points, as she has been one of the most consistent performers this year.

She won two WTA titles- the Silicon Valley Classic and the Les Championnats Banque Nationale de Granby tournaments. She took on top seeds throughout the year and has prevailed over them many times.

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The 2022 WTA season may have been over for the Russians, but new challenges lie ahead in 2023. Now that she is in a better state both physically and mentally, the Russian is all set to kick-start a season with utmost confidence, perfection, and, of course, determination. We are eager to see her more often in the WTA tournaments and probably she can win her first Grand Slam next year.

Also Read: “My heart was almost in my brain”- Holger Rune reveals a series of emotions during the final set of the 2022 Paris Masters finals

Also Read: “She doesn’t have respect” Arantxa Sanchez Vicario once ‘taught’ Serena Williams a lesson on her attitude after beating her at the 1998 French Open