An emotional Daria Kasatkina says she held back tears walking onto an Australian court representing her new homeland for the first time.
The former world No.8 switched her allegiance from Russia last year, due to opposing the Ukraine invasion and being publicly gay.
Tszyu vs Zerafa: Bad Blood | Friday 16 January from 7pm AEDT | One of Australian boxing’s most heated rivalries finally hits the ring as Nikita Tszyu defends his family name against Michael Zerafa. Plus former NRL enforcer Nelson Asofa-Solomona’s pro boxing debut | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports
The stress of her massive life change caused Kasatkina to bring her 2025 season to an early end, declaring she was “at breaking point”, with her ranking falling out of the top 32 in the process. It means she is set to miss being seeded at the Australian Open.
Her first match at home as an Australian came in Brisbane, against fellow ex-Russian Anastasia Potapova – who bizarrely seemed to copy Kasatkina’s exact post when she announced her move to represent Austria late last year.
Kasatkina’s serve let her down in a 7-5 4-6 6-4 defeat, with 16 double faults proving too much to overcome, but experiencing the Aussie fan support for the first time meant more than a win ever could.
“Stepping on court and I heard the cheer – I almost started crying but I was able to hold it,” the 28-year-old said.
“I wanted to win so much and feel this extra energy.
“I’ve been through a tough year. Now I’m fine, but I have to get out of that deep hole.”
Kasatkina will play the Adelaide International next week before beginning her 11th Australian Open campaign, but first as a local.
“Nobody’s putting this pressure on me, only I do because I want to represent Australia and when it’s not happening, I feel bad,” she said.
“I want to pay back to the country.
“I’m getting to know the Australian mentality; the people here, they support because they want to, they don’t expect you to go and win slams.
“It’s just the way I am.”
However it wasn’t all bad news for the Aussies with Ajla Tomljanovic recording a strong 6-1 6-3 win over Frenchwoman Elsa Jacquemot.
The former world No.32 has faced mental and physical demons ever since a lingering knee injury which struck at the peak of her career in late 2022.
“I feel like there’s certain mental battles that people don’t see, where I really struggled to just enjoy what I’ve been doing for this long, and I really had to dig deep to just find it again,” she said post-match.
“And I was really fortunate that I did. Middle of the season, I just made a bit of a switch in my head and just looked at everything in a way that I’m just grateful to still be here.”
With her victory Tomljanovic earned a second-round clash with world No.19 and former French Open finalist Karolina Muchova.
On the men’s side, Aussies James Duckworth, Dane Sweeny and Rinky Hijikata all qualified for the main draw – the latter after top seed Matteo Arnaldi withdrew.
In the tournament proper, local hope Aleksandar Vukic was quickly dispatched by two-time US Open semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe 6-2 6-2.
Discussion about this post