Wimbledon: Off-court issues have become a real problem in women’s tennis

Daria Kasatkina is not your usual Russian. The Wimbledon 11th seed demolished plucky Brit Jodie Burrage in the first match on Centre Court on Wednesday. The 6-0, 6-2 win was surprisingly straightforward and predictable, just like the imbroglio Kasatkina has put herself in regarding her home country.

During a series of interviews last year in Barcelona with the Russian blogger Vitya Kravchenko that was published on YouTube, Kasatkina described the war as “a full-blown nightmare”, adding that the end of it was what she wanted most in life.

She also came out as gay, saying she “found living in the closet impossible” and spoke out against the attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community and restrictions of rights within Russia.

Same-sex relationships

Last December, Russian president Vladimir Putin signed into law a Bill that expanded a ban on so-called LGBTQ “propaganda” in Russia, making it illegal for anyone to promote same-sex relationships or suggest that non-heterosexual orientations are “normal”.

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Her relationship with Natalia Zabiiako, a professional figure skater, was not well received by the Russian establishment.

For Kasatkina, who is the highest-ranked Russian woman at 11th in the world, the statements were a rare move for a celebrity of her stature within Russia, where family and friends remain.

She explained that she wanted to train with and play against players “who don’t have to worry about being bombed” and expressed support for Ukrainian players who have been forced to leave their homes. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to have no home,” she said.

As risk-taking goes, Kasatkina has taken it to a different level. In January of this year at the Australian Open, she had not seen her father for two years.

“I have been going through tough times before and not long time ago, and just, as I said, life is like a roller coaster,” said Kasatkina on Wednesday. “You never know what is around the corner. But for the moment, I think I found my routines, and I’m happy with the way, you know, I’m building my days, my routines, my, like, schedule.”

The physical and mental health of athletes has become an important talking point within women’s tennis in particular. Anett Kontaveit announced she will end her career at Wimbledon. Persistent back issues have plagued the Estonian who last year was second seed.

In May Amanda Anisimova, the 21-year-old American who reached the French Open semi-finals in 2019, announced that she’d be taking an indefinite mental health break.

“I’ve really been struggling with my mental health and burnout since the summer of 2022,” Anisimova posted on Instagram. “It’s become unbearable being at tennis tournaments. At this point, my priority is my mental wellbeing and taking a break for some time. I’ve worked as hard as I could to push through it.”

Mental health

The 2019 US Open champion, Canadian Bianca Andreescu, also opened up about her mental health and addressed the six-month sabbatical she took from tennis between 2021 and 2022, saying she came close to calling time on her career, while Australian player Ash Barty retired at 25 following Grand Slam wins in Australia, France and Wimbledon in 2021.

One of the biggest names in the sport, Naomi Osaka, the 25-year-old Japanese player, has spoken out defiantly about her mental health and also stood back from the game.

“I was always saying that mental health is very important, and you have to take care of it,” said Kasatkina. “Especially now in the world, the things which are going on in the world are crazy. Our generation, we are going through Covid, war, I mean, so many things.

“Plus we are so much in the media. Everything is just taking so much energy. Taking your focus away. Social media, not helping. I mean, all these electronic things are not helping. If you want to stay mentally healthy, you need to manage this, and you have to also work with the right people.

“All this cocktail is just in one moment can just explode.”