Refreshed Daria Kasatkina talks Winter Olympics, Papadakis-Zabiiako figure skating

DOHA, Qatar—Watching Milan's Winter Olympic Games in her hotel has inspired Daria Kasatkina to a return to form at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, the former world No. 8 winning back-to-back matches for the first time since August this week in Doha.

“Obviously, I’m watching figure skating. That’s pretty obvious,” Kasatkina said in a nod to longtime girlfriend and former Olympian Natalia Zabiiako.  “Then, whatever they show on TV. Sometimes it could be curling, other times skiing, curling. Some of the disciplines, I don’t know, but I’m watching it all on TV.”

Kasatkina endured a brutal start to the 2026; her first Down Under swing since adapting the Aussie flag saw her win just won match in three tournaments, losing in the first round of the Australian Open.

“I didn’t feel very nervous or extra pressure during the Aussie swing,” Kasatkina insisted on Tuesday. “It was just a continuous feeling of how I’ve felt for the last season, for the last year.”

But as Kasatkina said, “nothing is forever,” and the 28-year-old has looked more like herself on the court in Doha, following up a straight-sets win over Elena-Gabriela Ruse with another victory over No. 16 seed Elise Mertens.

“For a long time, I didn’t feel like this on the tennis court,” she said after defeating Mertens, 6-4, 6-0. “It’s something I was looking for over the past few months.

“It’s more the feeling of the results I’m getting after the work I’ve done for the past few months,” she added later. “When I say a few months, I mean over the last five-six months. Tennis is a difficult sport because sometimes you can get results straightaway, and other times you can wait much longer for them to come.

“I hope this is the first sign of my job paying off, but I don’t want to be super excited and think I’m finally back. There’s a lot still to work on, but I hope it’s just the beginning.”

While Kasatkina continues a journey of rediscovery, partner Zabiiako is on one of her own after debuting a same-sex figure skating partnership with Olympic ice dance champion Gabriella Papadakis.

A co-creator of Kasatkina’s What The Vlog YouTube channel, Zabiiako’s emotional skates with Papadakis have gone viral on social media.

“Natasha is enjoying it so much because unfortunately, she cannot get the same feeling on ice with me!” Kasatkina said with a laugh. “She needed someone a little bit better. Honestly, seeing her in her habitat is amazing. She’s really enjoying it and I can see how good she feels on the ice.

“Skating with someone like Gabriella is amazing and the results are very good, as well. I’m really happy for her and hopefully they can continue to do some stuff together because it looks beautiful.”

Kasatkina, who is planning to binge watch Olympic-themed hockey drama Heated Rivalry with Zabiiako, confessed her own skating skills remain scratchy, though not for lack of trying.

“I am often on the ice!” said the Aussie. “Not on the level I want to, but it’s like in tennis: one day’s better, one day’s worse. It depends on the ice, depends on the skates. But I really like it. It’s something about, when you learn something new, it’s good for your head. The only thing is that it’s a bit dangerous, so I have to be really careful. I might not care about my body as much if I wasn’t a professional athlete, and I would probably go on the ice by myself more often without the support.

“I’m still a little bit scared on the ice, so I’m always searching for something to hold onto so I don’t fall! So, my progress is stuck a little bit. Still, little by little, I’m improving.”

Still, Kasatkina was hard-pressed to pick another winter sport should she find herself drafted on to an Olympic team.

“Honestly, the Winter Olympic sports are dangerous!” she joked. “They’re either dangerous or boring!”

Her laidback attitude in post-match press is clearly a part of her desire to embody her adopted country’s relaxed mindset—even if it’s a struggle to do the same in her matches.

“On the tennis court, I think I’m just pretty much stuck in an Eastern Europe mentality,” sighed Kasatkina, who could face top seed Iga Swiatek in the third round. “It’s difficult to change because it’s coming from when I was a kid. This is something probably I have to keep going with, adding some positive Aussie stuff in there. But in life, it’s definitely the best approach ever. I’m trying to get it more and more.

“The tennis court is a bit different because of all the pressure and emotions involved. You need to really know how to manage them.”

Finding a better balance this week, Kasatkina is eager to aim for gold as the first WTA 1000 tournament of the season heats up.