Tennis Star Daria Kasatkina Concludes Season Early, Citing Mental Exhaustion

Ranked 19th globally Daria Kasatkina announced she is at her "breaking point" and has decided to conclude her competitive year early, describing the grueling schedule as "too much, mentally and emotionally."

The 28-year-old athlete switched her citizenship from the Russian Federation to the Australian nation in the month of March, following voiced concerns regarding her nation's LGBTQ+ laws and the war in the Ukrainian region.

Her performance suffered with consistency throughout the season, failing to secure a title and concluding with a win-loss tally of 19 wins and 21 losses.

Kasatkina attributed the mental strain from her nationality switch as a major contributor to her difficulties, which involve not seeing her parent for four years.

She wrote in a lengthy statement: "I've been far from fine for a long time and, truth be told, my results and performances reflect that."

"I have reached breaking point and unfortunately I am in the same boat as others," she continued.

"Combine the situation the emotional and mental stress related to my nationality switch and I can only handle so much I can manage and endure as an individual woman."

"Should this label me as fragile, then I accept it, I'm weak," she stated.

"However, I know I am strong and will get stronger by being away and restoring my energy."

"The moment has come I heeded myself for once."

Fellow Athletes Similarly Halting Their Years Prematurely

Former top-five players Svitolina and Paula Badosa have also ended their seasons early in recent weeks.

Ukraine's Svitolina stated she had "not felt like myself", while Badosa has spoken about the psychological impact of an persistent back problem.

Additional athletes have also spoken about the effect of the tennis calendar.

A quintet of competitors withdrew due to injury in two tournaments in the Chinese tournaments recently, with six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek commenting the season is "too long and intense."

WTA Requirements and Athlete Issues

The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) has made it mandatory for top players to participate in every major tournament, 10 WTA 1000 events and six 500-level tournaments.

The majority of premier tournaments on the WTA and men's ATP Tour last a fortnight, as do all four major championships.

Players can skip required tournaments if they are injured or have personal reasons, but they will receive no points for the standings or financial rewards if they opt out.

Former world number one Novak Djokovic, who has slimmed down his schedule in lately to preserve his health, has called on fellow professionals to be better aligned in forcing change.