Professional Player Kasatkina Concludes Season Prematurely, Pointing to Mental Strain
Ranked 19th globally Daria Kasatkina has declared she is at her "limit" and has decided to end her competitive year early, characterizing the grueling schedule as "excessive, mentally and emotionally."
The 28-year-old changed her citizenship from Russia to Australia in the month of March, following voiced concerns regarding her nation's LGBTQ+ regulations and the war in the Ukrainian region.
Her performance suffered for form this year, failing to secure a title and concluding with a win-loss tally of 19-21.
Kasatkina linked the mental strain from her nationality switch as a major contributor to her challenges, which involve not seeing her parent for several years.
She wrote in a lengthy statement: "I have been far from fine for quite a while and, truth be told, my results and performances reflect that."
"I have reached breaking point and unfortunately I am not alone," she continued.
"Add in the mix the emotional and mental stress related to my citizenship change and I can only handle so much I can deal with and endure as an individual woman."
"Should this label me as fragile, then so be it, I am not strong enough," she stated.
"Nonetheless, I know I am resilient and will get stronger by being away and restoring my energy."
"It's time I listened to myself for once."
Fellow Athletes Also Ending Their Years Early
Former top-five players Svitolina and Badosa similarly ended their seasons ahead of time in the past few weeks.
Ukraine's Svitolina stated she had "not felt her usual self", while the Spanish player has discussed the psychological impact of an ongoing back problem.
Additional athletes have also spoken about the effect of the tour schedule.
A quintet of competitors retired due to injury in a pair of events in China last week, with multiple major winner Swiatek saying the competitive year is "too long and intense."
Tour Regulations and Athlete Issues
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) has made it mandatory for elite athletes to participate in each Grand Slam, ten premier events and six secondary competitions.
The bulk of 1000 events on the women's and men's circuits run for a fortnight, as do each of the Grand Slams.
Players can skip required tournaments if they are hurt or have personal reasons, but they will receive no rankings points or prize money if they opt out.
Former world number one Djokovic, who has slimmed down his tournament appearances in recent years to protect his body, has called on fellow professionals to be better aligned in forcing change.
