MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Russia-born Australian tennis player Daria Kasatkina says she's ending the season early for the sake of her mental wellbeing after hitting “breaking point” on tour.
The 19th-ranked Kasatkina, a French Open semifinalist in 2022, said Monday she has been left drained by the constant travel on the tour schedule, a stressful process to gain permanent residency in Australia, and being unable to see her parents.
Kasatkina, who is engaged to figure skating Olympic medalist Natalia Zabiiako, told the Times of London in 2023 that she can't go back to Russia “as a gay person who opposes the war” in Ukraine.
“Truth is, I've hit a wall and can't continue. I need a break. A break from the monotonous daily grind of life on the tour, the suitcases, the results, the pressure