Daria Kasatkina is “giving ‘no worries’ a crack” in first Australian Open as Aussie citizen

MELBOURNE, Australia—Millennials may remember the online aphorism “Bold of me to constantly use the phrase ‘No worries!’ when I am, in fact, constantly full of worries.”

A pervasive phrase Down Under, Daria Kasatkina confessed her own skepticism towards the Aussie equivalent to “Hakuna Matata.”

“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?’” she said with a laugh on Saturday.

Playing her first Australian Open as an Aussie citizen, Kasatkina insists she’s now eager to embrace the “No worries” ethos to its fullest after a turbulent 2025 ended in burnout for the former world No. 8.

“In the past few years I have been through things which were out of my control, and unfortunately, they were very, very emotionally exhausting,” Kasatkina told me during her Media Day press conference, having shut down her season in early October after reaching a “breaking point.”

“I was trying to get out of this, like, hole basically. It's never easy.”

The 28-year-old Tolyatti native has felt effectively stateless since coming out as LGBTQ+ with partner Natalia Zabiiako and publicly opposing Russia’s 2023 invasion into Ukraine. Though she announced plans to represent Australia last spring and long put on a positive front—happily chronicling life on tour on a weekly YouTube vlog—mental exhaustion from years of external pressures led to inconsistent results and a drop from No. 9 to No. 38 in the rankings.

Now ranked No. 48, Kasatkina views 2026 as a year to rebuild and embrace the country and culture that has so warmly welcomed her.

“They're just like, ‘Give it a crack, that's okay,’” she said of the Australian people. “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.”

Finally feeling at home, Kasatkina has felt that calm translate into an increased trust in those around her.

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. Daria Kasatkina

“Talking to the people here, I really love it,” she said. “It's like I always had a feeling that…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.’ Now 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.’”

That support and positivity is at an all-time high for Kasatkina as she prepares to play her first major tournament as a home favorite. Scheduled to open against Czech qualifier Nina Bartunkova, Kasatkina could renew a rivalry with Belinda Bencic that dates back to their junior days.

“This is a good pressure, so I would choose this one compared to what I have been through in the past couple of years,” said Kasatkina. “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.”

Win or lose, Kasatkina appears to at last understand what it means to have no worries.

“Finally, I can just breathe,” she smiled. “I can live and just do my job and not to be worried about the things which are not in my control.”