At 23 years of age, Daria Kasatkina is extremely knowledgeable about what it means to be a pro in tennis. Daria achieved a world no.10 career-high a couple of years ago, but then she started to struggle with the pressure.
She shared her story with Behind The Racket. Daria said that she was struggling with the expectations and the fact that she had to compete in some mandatory events even if she was not feeling happy doing that.
“I finished 2018 ranked in the Top 10. The beginning of 2019 was very tough because everyone had high expectations. Meanwhile, I had split from my coach and most of my team. I did not have a practice partner so I could not prepare well for matches. I was alone, traveling to tournaments with only my brother. I was very lost. I wanted to take a break. But I had to play mandatory tournaments because of my ranking. If I chose not to play these events, I had to pay huge fines. So I continued playing but was breaking down,” she said.
Financial problems
Daria added that it is difficult to deal with financial issues. Basically, if you do not play you do not earn and that adds more and more pressure on some players.
“Tennis is one of the most difficult sports because you’re alone. Our season is longer than most other sports and we are not financially secure. If you’re not playing tournaments, you don’t earn money. If you do not play well at the main events, you have to earn money somewhere else so you play even more tournaments. At some point, you break down. Most of the professional players reach a point where they cannot do it anymore.”
Thinking about retiring
The Russian revealed that even if she was still young she wondered if it was time for her to call it a career. She had a depressing 13-21 win-loss record in 2019 and she lost in the opening matches in 11 tournaments.
Daria commented: “I wondered if I wanted to quit. But then I thought, ‘If I want to quit now, what am I going to do?’ All of these doubts in your head make you crazy because you love what you do but you are constantly exhausted. I knew if I quit then changed my mind, it would be very difficult to maintain my game. These thoughts broke me.”
Working with a psychologist
Finally, Daria admitted that she decided to work with a psychologist and she was pretty happy with that. The Russian registered a positive 9-7 record in 2020 before the tours have been halted.
“I decided to work with a psychologist and it has been a great experience. I think that many junior players could benefit from working with a psychologist. It is tough to accept that you need help but I realized how important it was to have someone who can always listen, understand and advise. In tennis, there is a ton of pressure so I think it’s quite important to have this support.
Since then, I have rebuilt my team. I am working with Carlos, and my brother who is also my fitness coach. I am also seeing a psychologist. These people are the wall that holds me up. This means a lot because in tennis, you are always single and you need to have a support system of people who have your back. This is most important'” she concluded.
Daria Kasatkina in 2020
Ranked no.66, the Russian played her last match on the 7th of March when she was overcome by Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-3 3-6 6-2 in the semifinal in Lyon.
Daria Kasatkina’s best achievement of the year was reaching the semi-finals in Lyon.
