AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 17, 2026

Daria Kasatkina

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Dasha, welcome back to the Australian, officially as an Australian. How does that feel?

DARIA KASATKINA: Thank you. It feels very special. Honestly, like, last couple of days has been, you know, interesting, because, you know, I had to go through all the bureaucracy stuff and everything.

Yeah, it's super exciting for me. Yeah, really happy to be an official Australian now and just to participate in Australian Open and in front of the great crowd here.

Yeah, it means a lot to me.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Congratulations on the citizenship. I imagine this is something you circled in your calendar for a long time, this first Australian Open as an Australian. How are you feeling? How do you feel about, I guess, the crowd backing, but also the pressure that comes with being a home hope here?

DARIA KASATKINA: Well, you know, this is a good pressure, so I would choose this one compared to what I have been through in the past couple of years. So definitely, I mean, let's call it a fun pressure, I don't know.

Yeah, also for the first time I'm gonna play in front of such a big home crowd, so that's gonna be special. Definitely have to manage my nerves, because it's gonna be -- I mean, never been in this situation before.

Yeah, but, I mean, honestly I'm super proud, and, you know, it's extremely positive change. I mean, the whole last year has been a year of transition, which, I mean, brought me where I am right now. Yeah, I'm really happy about it.

Q. How do you assess your game so far in Australia? Where is your game at getting to the AO?

DARIA KASATKINA: Well, definitely in the better place than it was, like, most of the time of the last year, honestly. Also, but most importantly, mentally I'm, you know, much, much better.

So that's the most important thing, because I was, you know, like, especially at the end of last year, the last season was very, very tough. You know, I was trying to get out of this, like, hole basically. It's never easy.

But, yeah, I'm really happy with the progress I have done, and now is just about, you know, compete well and, you know, just about tennis, which is basically what I was looking for for, like, quite a time.

Yeah, so really now I can just talk about tennis, and that's the most important thing to me.

Q. In the past, when you were playing Grand Slams and you would play someone from the country where the Grand Slam was taking place, did you ever feel, I wish I knew what it was like to be at a Grand Slam and to be, you know, in my home country and to have the crowd? Have you thought about how you might be able to use the crowd to your advantage now that you are going to be playing a Grand Slam in front of a home crowd, essentially?

DARIA KASATKINA: I mean, I think all of the players who are not from the countries who host a slam, you know, had these thoughts. Obviously I was thinking, must be nice to come from the country with the home slam where it's like -- I mean, it's completely different. Even if we compared Masters 1000s, it's still not the same. Like, nothing can be compared with the slams.

So, yeah, I had a thought, like, it would be so nice to have a home slam, but I would never imagine that it will become real, you know (smiling). Yeah, tell God about your plans, and then you will see.

Yeah, so now I basically gonna play a home slam, and that's really, yeah, a really special chapter of my life. Yeah, I will try to enjoy it as much as possible.

Q. Will you use the crowd to your advantage, do you think?

DARIA KASATKINA: I have to understand how it's working (laughter). I need instruction.

Yeah, I mean, I think I will figure it out. You know, already played in Brisbane and Adelaide. The crowd has been great. I mean, they are honestly one of the best fans -- no, best fans, best fans, in the world. Yeah, I just hope we're going to cheer each other up. I'm hoping for this, really.

Q. You have spoken about your struggles last year, but you were still able to perform fairly well at the slams compared to the smaller tournaments last year. I was wondering how much easier it is for you to get up for the slams, or vice versa, how much harder it was for you to stay motivated to play the smaller events last year?

DARIA KASATKINA: Well, honestly last year was very, very weird season. Yeah, I was performing better on the slams, where normally that wasn't the case.

Honestly, I was just exhausted mentally. So in the smaller tournaments, it was really difficult for me to push, where on the Grand Slam obviously, like, the motivation is higher itself, so it was a bit easier for me.

I mean, past is past, honestly. I needed that year for something, you know, to develop something in myself. But, yeah, obviously it wasn't my best season. You know, I have been through very tough moment of my life, very tough times, you know.

I've got a lot of experience, and now, as I said, now just back to pure sport. This is what I was looking for for the last couple of years, and I'm finally in this position. I'm just gonna go out there and work a lot, you know, work hard, compete as hard as I can, and just, you know, try to enjoy.

Q. Congratulations on your citizenship. Hoping you can give us some insight. What does it mean to you to be an Australian?

DARIA KASATKINA: Honestly, I cannot even describe how much that means, because it's not just about the passport. It's about the acceptance, let's say. Because honestly, like, the whole process, the support from the people, like, from the other citizens, I mean, it's been amazing, honestly.

I couldn't imagine that, you know, coming from the completely different background to receive this amount of support basically from strangers, you know, I mean, I felt so much love, honestly. From now on, I'm just I'm -- not from now on. From the last year, but now that I'm fully Australian, I'm just super proud and grateful. I mean, that's a responsibility, but that's what I was looking for.

Yeah, I'm just really grateful. I mean, I don't know if I will be ever able to pay back, you know, the same amount what this country gave me. Yeah, it's super special. Honestly, cannot wait for the moment when I can wear green and gold for the first time. Yeah, really looking forward to this moment.

Q. You mentioned that there is good pressure in your life with tennis and leading into this Grand Slam. Could you give us some insight into some of the other types of pressure that you're referring to?

DARIA KASATKINA: You mean before?

Q. Yeah.

DARIA KASATKINA: I mean, definitely this transition last year, it wasn't easy. I've got a lot of support, but also I got a lot of critics, you know, from the other part. It's been difficult, but this is kind of what I have been dealing for for a couple of years.

I mean, even if you deal with that, it's still a bit exhausting, you know, because it's something you cannot control, and it just keep going and going. So when I can finally breathe and just not to think about it, and it's just... yeah.

That's why I wrote in my step, "grateful and free," because finally I can just breathe. I can live and just do my job and not to be worried about the things which are not in my control.

Q. What parts of Australian life have you embraced?

DARIA KASATKINA: Honestly, just, like, the way they take things, like, the way they just -- you know, they're not just chill, but they're, like, Don't worry about it, just don't worry about it. I'm, like, No, I'm worrying about it. What are you talking about?

They're just like, Give it a crack, that's okay (laughing). I'm like, Makes sense, actually. Okay, take a coffee and just relax. I'm like, Okay, I'll take a coffee, and I will relax, okay, guys.

Honestly, this way of thinking, that something that I was missing, because, you know, coming, like, with my background, everything, it's about pressure, sacrifice, but in some ways, survival as well.

This calm way of thinking, it's actually something I'm missing. So maybe my gray hair will disappear with if I will take the things a bit more easily than I did before.

Q. When you talk about achieving that sort of mental reset coming into this season, what do you feel you did to accomplish that? Do you feel embracing more of this Australian cultural identity will help you develop tactics to avoid burnout in the future?

DARIA KASATKINA: Well, that's a good question. Honestly, you know, as I said, during, like, in the past few years I have been through things which were out of my control, and unfortunately, they were very, very emotionally exhausting.

But now I don't have these problems, which will, you know, give me a lot of room to, you know, which I can fill in with the good, positive thoughts and just a little bit of relaxation, let's say.

But yeah, talking to the people here, I really love it. It's like I always have a feeling that -- I mean, before when you talk with a person and he's, like, you know, just really positive and supportive, you're like, Something is wrong here, something is not right. I don't understand what, but something is not right.

Then I'm just, like, Okay, they're just like this, Daria. Accept they're just good people, okay? Just take it, and live with that. I'm like, okay.

You know, I don't know, I'm coming to Australia maybe 12, 13 years in a row, and before, I was not noticing many things, because, I mean, yeah, I was quite focused on the tennis. I was, you know, just, like, okay, yeah, very nice country, good coffee, nice animals. Spiders we don't like, but okay. Okay, we finish, and we go to the next one.

But now I'm looking differently on a lot of things. I'm, like, Wow, this is actually a place to live and raise your kids. I don't know who to thank for that, but, I mean, it is what it is, yeah.

Then I'm talking to people who are also, you know, visiting the country, and they're saying the same thing. I'm, like, Yeah, I can say that I am extremely lucky to now represent this country.

Q. On a lighter side, trying to get their speech? Are you saying "G'day" to people? Are you adopting, trying to learn those things?

DARIA KASATKINA: They are nice people, but the slang (laughing)... Yeah, this is something, huge room for improvement, the slang, the accent. Let's see. It's a bit too early to ask me this, but let's see in the -- I mean, Daria Saville is still trying, still trying very hard, yeah.

Q. Do you have someone coaching you? Emerson Jones, anybody?

DARIA KASATKINA: I should have asked, actually. They'll ask for money (laughter).

More I will spend time with Aussies, definitely it will improve, so that's why I'm also waiting, you know, for the opportunity to participate in the national team, because I think this is where your Aussie skills are improving even more.

Q. You mentioned some of the pressures. The Australian way might be to fob things off, but you do still sometimes get social media abuse. Are you aware of that, and do you have coping mechanisms to try and deal with that?

DARIA KASATKINA: Well, we unfortunately don't. All I can do, for example, is just close my comment section on Instagram or direct messages before I going on court, and then just don't worry about it.

I mean, I have to think about it. Imagine so before the match I'm thinking, oh, I have to remember to close my comment section, because there is some idiots in the world who are betting on tennis and don't know anything about it. Then they're blaming us for losing a tennis match. Okay, off.

Yeah, but unfortunately, it's -- but still, even if you do that, still one or two messages will still hound you on the Internet. Plus you don't know not just these guys, but also some of the journalists sometimes, you know, they're doing their job, so that their statement doesn't look very respectful, you know.

At the end of the day, if you want to completely cut this off, you have to forget about social media. You have to just, you know, don't use it. But, I mean, it's quite difficult in our life, so... and why I have to cut something off just because of the other people, you know, being not happy with how I'm doing on tennis court?

So, I mean, it's just something you have to -- like, if you see bad comments, you're just like, okay, this person probably doesn't know anything. Still, hurts a bit, but, I mean, at the end of the day, we are athletes, public can see us competing and stuff, and everyone, I mean, can have their opinions.

Sometimes they're abusive, which is not good, but this is -- I mean, this is not our job to, you know, protect the Internet and stuff. So far we don't have a strong mechanisms to, you know, prevent this, but I hope, honestly, with AI and the things like that, I think there is a way to avoid this kind of abuse on the Internet, especially after you lose 7-6 in the third.

Q. You did really well here last year, made the second week. This year it looks like you have Nikola first, but then it could be a tricky draw. How do you reflect on how far can you go this year, and do you lean into what you were able to do last year?

DARIA KASATKINA: Yeah, definitely last year was my best result in the Australian Open, so first time I reached the second week. Honestly, seeing the draws right now, any tournament, it's just like you cannot get an easy draw.

So for me, there is no point to think, ah, like to calculate your chances. It's never work. And for me now, my priority is different, is to, you know, get back my confidence, get back to, you know, to the same mental level on the court, because, you know, physically I'm quite back, but, you know, the last season left some mark on me, so I have to get out of this and, I mean, this is my priority right now.

I will just go match by match, tournament by tournament, working hard and try to get it back. I'm working very hard, you know, on all of the aspects of my game, on my mental strength.

Yeah, honestly, I don't have regrets with how I doing my job. For me, I think this is the most important.