The former coach of Daria Kasatkina opened up about their split admitting that it was due to some differences, particularly how to manage her time off the court.
Martinez has been with Kasatkina for four years but the Spaniard ultimately parted ways with the Russian due to a different POV. They've achieved some great things together, particularly in the last year where she won trophies and made it to the WTA Finals. Asked bluntly why the split happened, Martinez said:
“There are some reasons (why we have stopped working together). It is not about tennis but it is about other priorities that I have and I have some principles that I want to follow. We have a different points of view about things and it is better that we do it like this.”
He expanded on that by confirming that he initiated the split:
It was an expected decision from my side. It was not a big surprise. I was very sad because I loved working with Dasha. She is a great girl and a great player. I think our connection on the court was really good but in the end, there were things about what she was doing, in my opinion, off the court. In my opinion, these were not the best for her career. That’s why she has decided to stop because our last conversation was the same way. Then I think she was a bit tired and not agreeing with my point of view of how she has to do things off the court."
He was pressed to say what he took issue with but Martinez did not want to elaborate in detail explaining that it was just a different point of view:
"Our points of view are a bit different. I like to just focus on tennis and try to do my best. To invest more time to get better every day and that’s why I was thinking a bit differently. I respect Dasha because in the end, it’s her career and her decision. She is an adult and she has to make her decisions. It’s not a problem for me."