Former Australian No.1 Daria Kasatkina set for return from tennis break after mental burnout

Daria Kasatkina hasn't been seen in a number of months on the tour with the Australian hitting the pause button on her career for a few months after hitting a mental wall but it seems like she will return in the opening week of the new season to attempt to surge up the rankings again.

Kasatkina was last seen in Beijing where she was soundly beaten by Sonay Kartal 6-3, 6-0 in favour of the Brit which was the third consecutive loss for the Aussie. The 28-year-old announced in early October that she would be ending her season early. In the message, she said that she was dealing with burnout and needed a complete rest from tennis.

Albeit it perhaps wasn't the first thought for a player who also has a successful YouTube vlog on the side of her career wit her fiance Natalia which documents life on the tour and sees cameos from her friends including Mirra Andreeva, Eva Lys and top names like Aryna Sabalenka among others. But likely Kasatkina will also address it further in her vlog when she does return.

That return has been pencilled in for the Brisbane International which is due to take place between January 4-11. She took to socials in October to confirm the break and wrote her statement with a lot of openness and honesty about how she was feeling and dealing with it all.

"Truth is, I've hit a wall and can't continue. I need a break. A break from the monotonous daily grind of life on the tour, the suitcases, the results, the pressure, the same faces (sorry, girls), everything that comes with this life. There's only so much I can deal with and take as an individual woman, all whilst competing with the best female athletes in the world," Kasatkina said at the time.

"If this makes me weak, then so be it, I'm weak. However, I know I am strong and will get stronger by being away, recharging, regrouping and reenergizing. It's time I listened to myself for a change, my mind, my heart and my body."

Kasatkina though perhaps has taken a shorter time off than expected with others who have taken a mental health break such as Bianca Andreescu and Amanda Anisimova vanishing from the tour for a more extended period of time but in reality it is also likely due to ranking pressure.

While Kasatkina perhaps would rely on potential wildcards in Australia, she is now down to World No.37 and won't want to fall down the trap door that the likes of Maria Sakkari and others have in the past few years where when it begins, it is very hard to get out of the cycle. Katie Boulter too is an example where she was top 25 and is now outside the top 100 within months. Kasatkina's high was World No.8 and at the time of her defecting to Australia, she was seen as unlikely to leave that spot even with the rise of a certain Maya Joint in recent times.

But now Maya Joint is World No.32 and is at a career high with the Aussie No.1 spot to boot so it is very much a crossroads moment for Kasatkina. It is also an interesting moment for Kasatkina who will play as a home player for the first time in her career as she turned over to Australia mid way through the season so she hasn't played for her new nation yet in regards to crowd support and being a full blown Aussie. But now the 28-year-old will get that honour during the coming weeks.

For Kasatkina, this will be her seventh Brisbane appearance. Her best result in this tournament came in 2024 when she made the Quarter-Finals before losing to Aryna Sabalenka.