Daria Kasatkina has no issue with fan-less slams, welcomes ATP-WTA merger talk
Former world number 10 Daria Kasatkina spoke to Stats Perform News about the coronavirus-hit tennis season and talk of an ATP-WTA merger.
Daria Kasatkina has no problem playing grand slams behind closed doors amid the coronavirus pandemic, while the former world number 10 talked up the possibility of an ATP-WTA Tour merger.
COVID-19 has wreaked havoc globally, with the WTA Tour suspended since March and not expected to return until August at the earliest.
The French Open has been pushed back to September and the US Open is still scheduled to go ahead, with Wimbledon cancelled for the first time since World War II.
Events are set to be staged without fans when tennis returns, though French Open organisers remain hopeful spectators will be able to attend the rearranged slam at Roland-Garros.
Kasatkina: “For the moment, Roland-Garros looks very positive”
World number 12 and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova said she would rather see majors cancelled than be held without fans, but Kasatkina has no issue with a spectator-less slam.
“It’s going to be completely different, especially at grand slams and in night sessions on the big courts, it will lose its energy,” 2018 French Open and Wimbledon quarter-finalist Kasatkina told Stats Perform News.
“At the same time, at least if we can play the tournament without spectators, for me it’s fine. Yes it’s different but to play a tournament and gram slam, it doesn’t matter spectators or no spectators. As I think Marin Cilic said, it will be different to win a Grand Slam like the US Open without spectators there, which is true. At least it will be very special and it will stay in the history forever.
“For the moment, Roland-Garros looks very positive. If we see how it goes and it keeps like that, I think Roland-Garros will happen and they want to do it with spectators, which is really good. It’s different to play with spectators, that’s for sure.
“The US Open, of course everyone wants to play and I wish to play the US Open – it’s such a special tournament – but I’m not that sure because the situation in the United States is still shaky. The main thing is travelling. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to be very good. I’ll be very happy.”
“It’s easier to promote tennis as a big tour, not like men’s or women’s tennis”
The re-arranged French Open in Paris could provide headaches for players, with the clay-court slam set to take place a week after the final of the US Open on hard courts in New York.
“It’s going to be an interesting experience, especially to change the surface and the time so much,” the Russian said. “Between Roland-Garros and Wimbledon there is one month, but at least it’s in one part of the world. If it’s like this, players have to accept it. I’ll be happy, even if it’s going to be like this.
“When we were juniors and just starting to play professional tournaments, we’d play one tournament there on clay and another here and there. For sure, for some players it will be tough and for many players with injuries, it will be a little bit dangerous but I hope everything will be okay.”
Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, talk of an ATP-WTA merger has emerged – a tweet from 20-time slam champion Roger Federer backing a unified tennis tour sparking the discussions.
Asked about the possibility of the ATP and WTA joining forces, two-time tournament winner Kasatkina said: “I think it would be good to work together because it’s much easier to do something with one structure than two structures like the situation we have now. It’s easier to promote tennis as a big tour, not like men’s or women’s tennis.
“I was a little bit surprised because I never thought they were talking about this, I didn’t hear anything. So, it was a little bit surprising especially from Roger Federer on Twitter. But I think it’s a good idea. Why not be together? It’s better.”
The coronavirus-enforced break has provided Kasatkina with plenty of time to reflect and recharge, having struggled in 2019 after her breakout season in 2018.
Kasatkina burst onto the scene two years ago by reaching the French Open and Wimbledon quarter-finals before eventually losing to finalists Sloane Stephens and Angelique Kerber, while she also faced Naomi Osaka in the 2018 Indian Wells decider.
Kasatkina on her way to come back at her best before the hiatus
However, Kasatkina endured a frustrating 2019 campaign – only progressing beyond the opening round of a slam once last year, at the French Open, and dropping to 66th in the world rankings. There were, though, signs that the 23-year-old was returning to her best prior to the COVID-19 crisis.
Kasatkina reached the last four of the Lyon Open in March, her first WTA semi-final since claiming the Kremlin Cup in October 2018.
“I had a lot of expectations for myself and not only me but the people around after my very successful year in 2018, which I wasn’t ready for, especially mentally,” Kasatkina, who has become somewhat of a social media queen during the tennis hiatus, said.
“After this, my game fell apart little bit because you have no confidence in your head, there’s no confidence in your shots. Rankings drop down as well because I was losing matches.
“I spoke with my coach and many things happened. I was pretty lost at that time but I think that helped me a lot to rebuild my confidence, rebuild my game maybe to change something.
“I think I started the year, not in Australia [first round], but after it better in Lyon. I really felt like I was building up my game again and I’m hungry to play the tournaments and win. Because I finally taste this semi-final, this special tournament. When I came to Indian Wells, I was feeling perfect in the practices. I really felt that if there wasn’t the situation with coronavirus, maybe that was the point I could really start again.
“What happened, happened. Now I have the time for myself to maybe think a bit more, to work on the things which I’ll probably need when the season starts again. Everything is going the way it should be.”
A beneficial break for her?
Since losing 6-3 6-2 to Osaka in the 2018 Paribas Open final, Kasatkina has watched the Japanese star go on to win the US Open and Australian Open. Is it a motivation for the right-hander?
“Well after that final and during the tournament, of course I felt I was close to a very high level of tennis,” Kasatkina continued. “I showed some good results and finished top 10, which was very positive at the time but maybe a little bit early. After the final, I felt like okay it seems like I have something inside that can bring me higher. But mentally, I wasn’t ready.”
Kasatkina, who believes she was close to rediscovering her 2018 form before the pandemic, believes the enforced break has been beneficial.
“For sure because for the past season, it was really tough,” she added when asked about her time away from the sport. “Maybe it was good I had this time to come down a little bit and live a normal life. Not to rush to every tournaments, tournament by tournament, week by week.”
