Former Russian tennis player Daria Kasatkina discovered that changing citizenship and abandoning her native country does not guarantee a happy and cloudless future. The newly minted Australian woman admitted her own powerlessness and inability to cope with problems.

— 2025 became the year of “I’m fine” for me. For a long time I was far from okay, and frankly speaking, my results and performances confirm this. The fans aren’t stupid, they see it too. I kept my feelings to myself because I didn’t want to seem like I was complaining, weak or, God forbid, ungrateful for this amazing life we ​​lead in professional tennis. The truth is that I’m burned out and can’t continue,” the tennis player wrote on social networks.

Daria Kasatkina / Photo: © NurPhoto / Contributor / NurPhoto / Gettyimages.ru

Kasatkina, of course, has the right to any decision regarding her career. But, you might think, the rest do not face psychological problems, difficult travel and other companions of professional athletes.

Justifying herself, Daria also mentioned the costs associated with changing citizenship. Surprisingly, this decision did not pass without leaving a trace.

“Add to this the emotional and mental stress associated with changing citizenship, the inability to see my parents (my father and I had not seen each other for four years), as well as the protracted struggle for the opportunity to fully represent Australia in tournaments. “It’s just too much for one person, especially when you’re competing with the best athletes in the world,” Kasatkina said.

Change of flag and decline in results

2025 really became a difficult year for Daria. Surely she expected that after changing her citizenship the results would improve. But in fact, under the new flag, Kasatkina failed to even reach the quarterfinals at 13 tournaments in a row – the longest streak of failures since 2021.

The last time she played at this stage was back in January, in Adelaide, where she beat two local tennis players who received wild cards – Olivia Gadeki and Emerson Jones. Since then there has been a series of early departures, broken rackets and unjustified hopes. If in 2024 Kasatkina suffered defeats in four finals and won two tournaments, then in 2025 she cannot boast of anything like that.

The defeat in Beijing and the “steering wheels” at the majors

One of the last blows was the tournament in Beijing. There, Daria lost to world number 81 Sonay Kartal with a score of 3:6, 0:6 and left the tournament in the second round. Before that, she received a “steering wheel” from Naomi Osaka at the US Open 2025 in the first set – 0:6, 6:4, 3:6. These defeats became a symbol of her current state: good tennis was replaced by complete failure just a few games later.

Daria Kasatkina / Photo: © Robert Prange / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

However, Kasatkina could still fight at Grand Slam tournaments. She reached the fourth round at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, and won two victories each at Wimbledon and the US Open. It was this stability that allowed her to remain in the top 20. However, this is still not the level she is used to being at.

At the end of September, Kasatkina fell to 20th place in the world rankings – her worst performance since May 2022. Given the early end of the season, she could end the year outside the top 40.

There is no talk of retiring from his career yet. Kasatkina promised to return in 2026 – “full of strength and ready for new achievements.” However, there are no prerequisites for a renaissance of the former first racket of Russia. Under the new flag, she did not achieve a single cool result. And there is no certainty that the trend, which is unpleasant for her, will change.