Kasatkina definitely adopted?

The naturalized player is finally pleasing her crowd...

… and above all for her. I’ve rarely seen such an emotional release from a player. It must be said that between, I quote, “personal problems, mentally and emotionally to a breaking point,” poor tennis results since the US Open, and the frustration of missing her first match in Australia in front of her home crowd, it was a lot. Naturalized since March 2025, Dasha had been eagerly waiting for this moment. It has finally arrived.

Her post-match interview felt like a long-awaited psychological victory. She was determined, I quote, to “give back to Australia what it has given me,” while putting a certain amount of pressure on herself. This should translate into greater confidence on court, looser shots, and the desire to earn as many points as possible this season to get back, maybe not immediately into the top 10, but at least into the top 25, a goal well within her reach given her technical and mental qualities. We could already see it from the second set onwards, with more polished points, a better serve, and an increasingly clear domination over the Greek Sakkari.

Now that the story is set, the timing is perfect, since she will immediately have a real-world test against the Romanian Cristian, who is starting her 2026 season in style by taking out a top-10 player without dropping a single set, but who has lost all three of her previous encounters against Dasha. Very solid in defense and clutch in the key moments against Alexandrova, who seemed out of answers without really being in prime form either, Cristian remains a real challenge. A fine opportunity nonetheless for Kasatkina to confirm, not without difficulty, this new state of affairs.