It is pretty standard for a player to announce in some form of a statement that they have decided to change their coach but Daria Kasatkina didn’t do that. Instead, her girlfriend, Natalia Zabiiako, broke the news in a vlog posted on her YouTube channel. 

The revelation caught many off guard. Whilst the WTA Tour is known for its frequent coaching changes, the French Open semi-finalist had been working with Carlos Martinez since June 2019 and enjoyed some of the biggest success of her career under his guidance. Four out of her six WTA titles were won during this period and last year was the first time she reached the last four of a major. 

So what was the reason for this change? Kasatkina has had a roller-coaster start to the season. In Adelaide, she reached the final before losing to Belinda Bencic. However, in her five other tournaments played this year the Russian has failed to win back-to-back matches. 

“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,” Martinez tells Ubitennis.
“We have a different points of view about things and it is better that we do it like this.”

Martinez’s initial comment only sparked more curiosity about what was it that went wrong. The Spaniard has previously worked with the likes of Svetlana Kuznetsova, Marc Lopez, Kateryna Kozlova and Feliciano Lopez. He is also the head of his own tennis academy called CMC Competition which is located roughly 20km outside of Barcelona. 

As Kasatkina begins a trial with Italian coach Flavio Cupolla, Martinez spoke at length with Ubitennis about his time working with the tennis star, why they have separated and his plans for the future. 

UBITENNIS: Was Daria’s decision to stop working with you unexpected? 

MARTINEZ: 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. 

 UBITENNIS: You said the decision to stop working together was not about tennis but principles. What do you mean by this? 

MARTINEZ: As a coach, I want to do things in a way. I think if you want to be a top player you have to do better and better every single year because if you want to be at the top of the rankings you have to be more precise with how you do it. Especially off the court. That’s why I think we had different points of view on the things that one professional tennis player has to do. 

 UBITENNIS: What were the different points of view between you and Daria? 

MARTINEZ: I am not saying what she was doing was wrong because she is a very good professional. But I feel that on some days she has to take care if she wants to be there. There is a lot of pressure, she has to work on very specific things and I think that she has to manage her time off the court a bit better. 

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. 

 UBITENNIS: Daria is sometimes inconsistent on the Tour with her results. Do you think this is due to the technical side of her game or is it more to do with her mentality? 

MARTINEZ: Of course, Dasha is a very good player. She is not the kind of player who can win a point with one or two shots. She has to work and that’s why it’s more mental for her. She has to be more technical than others but she has the ability to do this. She is a super-talented player. The technical part, of course, is important but it is more about how she manages her emotions to get success. 

 UBITENNIS: You have worked together for four years. What would you say was your greatest achievement with Daria? 

MARTINEZ: It was a very intense four years. I enjoyed it a lot with Dasha because she is a very good player and is easy to work with because she can do everything. She is a talented player. 

The best achievement with Dasha was making her a consistent player and getting her to play all kinds of games. In the end, she was this player who could play with (big) hitters, stable players etc. She had the weapons to beat them. 

She has won good tournaments such as the WTA 500s. She has played in the semi-finals of big events such as Roland Garros which was a very good result. She was a consistent player and last year I think that after three years of working very hard together, she got what she deserved. 

So our biggest achievement is Dasha becoming more consistent and understanding the game much better. I can’t focus on one result but the fact she reached the WTA Finals last year was a good signal that she was doing things well. 

 UBITENNIS: I understand the separation has just happened but have you thought about what you want to do next? Are you still interested in working with a WTA/ATP player or do you want to spend more time working at your academy? 

MARTINEZ: I don’t know what I’m going to do. The truth is that I do have some offers to work with WTA players which for me is good. I like working on the women’s circuit. But at the moment I don’t want to move from my academy. I want to stay here and work with those at the academy who trust the way that I work. Also, I want to enjoy time with my family. 

But you never know in this world. It is full of opportunities and if something interesting comes up… I am going to study (the opportunity) and see if it’s good. 

I will wait and see. I will not change anything from the way I teach tennis. 

 UBITENNIS: Following up on my previous question – are there any players you would like to work with if you had the opportunity to do so?

MARTINEZ: If my mind I have some players that I would like (to work with). Of course, it’s better and easier if you feel that the player can follow your way. 

I feel that I have a lot of passion and power to help players who want to keep improving and working hard. Tennis is my passion and nothing is going to stop it. Even this situation with Dasha which is very sad. I’m ready to help whoever wants to achieve something good. 

By Marco Lorenzoni

Earlier this week Ubitennis conducted an exclusive interview with Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco after his loss to Mackenzie MacDonald in the first round of the Dallas Open. Despite his 39 years of age and several physical issues, Nando (Verdasco’s nickname) continues to look to the future with optimism.

UBITENNIS: Fernando, you got to your first round match after playing two tough qualification matches. How did you feel from a physical point of view?

VERDASCO: The toughest match was definitely the first qualifying round against Zhu which I won 7-6 in the third set. I felt more tired after that match than yesterday (Monday), but last night I felt a slight pain in my forearm and elbow which I had to undergo surgery on in the last two years. Even after the Australian Open, I faced some lesser physical problems that did not allow me to play the two Challengers before this tournament. Obviously, when you play three straight matches you have very little time to recover and a sore elbow makes everything more complicated. I wasn’t able to serve at the same level (in the first round) as in the previous two matches. That made it hard against a player like McDonald who is playing great and is at a higher level than those I played against in the qualifying matches. However, I was leading 3-2 in the first set and also in the second there were many close games which unfortunately I didn’t manage to win. Tennis is like that, you can win a match 6-1 6-1 but every game goes to deuces and you are just lucky that day to win the decisive points. From this point of view was a bad day for me, but I’m still happy I played three matches in the same tournament and I hope it will help me and give me more confidence over the next weeks.

UBITENNIS: In recent seasons we have seen several players winning Masters 1000 or achieving excellent results in the Majors. You reached your best ranking, No. 7, in 2009. D do you think the general level today is comparable to when you were at the peak of your career?

VERDASCO: I think it’s very different today. When I reached the seventh position of the ranking, the top four players were basically winning every single tournament they participated in. It was practically impossible for other players to imagine winning a Major or a top event.  Only Cilic, Del Potro and Wawrinka managed to win a slam in that period. During almost 20 years and in 80 slams it just happened on three or four occasions. Now there is certainly more space for everyone, from a certain point of view it is fairer … If you ask me if I would prefer to occupy the seventh position today or in 2009, my answer is today. Roger has just retired, Murray is no longer at the same level he was ten years ago and Rafa unfortunately is constantly struggling with injuries. I have the feeling that the seventh seed in a big tournament stands a real chance of winning. In my time it wasn’t possible.

UBITENNIS: What are your plans for the coming weeks? Have you already decided with your family and team which tournaments you are going to play?

VERDASCO: Fortunately I’ve been given two wild cards, for Delray Beach next week and Doha the week after. I hope I’ll not have any issues with my elbow so at least I can participate in these two events. As for the month of March, I still have no idea if I’ll play in Dubai and rest in the week of Indian Wells to return to Miami. I could also skip Dubai and play the Sunshine Double. It will all depend on my physical condition and how my body responds in the next two weeks.

The mentor of Daria Kasatkina admits that he is ‘a bit worried’ about her most recent performances on the Tour but is maintaining a positive outlook for the weeks ahead. 

Kasatkina, who was seeded eight at the Australian Open, suffered one of the heaviest defeats of her career in the first round where she lost 6-1, 6-1, to Varvara Gracheva who is ranked almost 90 places lower than her. The world No.8 only managed to win two points behind her second serve and hit a costly 23 unforced errors against three winners. Overall, she was on the court for less than an hour. 

The performance was not easy viewing for Kasatkina’s coach Carlos Martinez. A Spanish-based former player who has also previously worked with Svetlana Kuznetsova, Marc Lopez, Kateryna Kozlova and Feliciano Lopez. Speaking to Ubitennis shortly after arriving back in his home country, Martinez provided some insight into what went wrong at Melbourne Park. 

“It was not the best. The truth is she was managing very badly because we expected to play on Tuesday. Then at the end, she played on Wednesday evening,” he said. 
“We spent Tuesday waiting a lot of hours at the club. The first day was ok but the second day for her was tough. It’s not an excuse, this is what it was.”

Kasatkina’s match was among those affected by mother nature. Earlier this week, there was a three-hour delay to play due to the blistering heat. Then showers disrupted matches on the outside courts multiple times.

Although the encounter against Gracheva wasn’t the only disappointing result the Russian has experienced this year. At the Adelaide International 2, she looked to be in top form after reaching the final before losing 6-0, 6-2, to Belinda Bencic. In an unfortunate coincidence, last year Kasatkina also reached a tournament final (winning a title) a week before the US Open and then lost in the first round of the Grand Slam. 

“There was zero energy, it was windy and the court was very fast. She didn’t do so well, she played not good. This is the truth because to lose 6-1, 6-1…..in her position now it’s very tough,” Martinez admits.
“Especially after the last week when she was doing well (In Adelaide) against Barbora Krejčíková and Petra Kvitova where she played two very good matches. The final against Bencic wasn’t good. So that’s why I’m a bit worried because the last two matches were very easy scores (against Kasatkina).”

In the eyes of her coach, Kasatkina’s biggest problem during matches doesn’t involve the upper part of her body. It is another part of her body which is biggest factor. 

“Physically when she doesn’t have this energy in her legs it is more difficult for her because she doesn’t have as impressive strokes and depends a lot more on her legs.” He commented. 

Although there is still no reason to panic just yet given the credentials of the 25-year-old. So far in her career, she has won six Tour titles and reached the semi-finals of the French Open last year. She has also recorded 19 wins over top 10 players with six of those victories occurring during 2022. 

“I am not worried because I know that it is just the beginning of the season and we have to keep working,” Martinez states. “We will adjust a few things but not change her preparation a lot because in my opinion every day we are working one hundred percent.’
“I’m expecting better results when we are in Abu Dhabi. There are three super tough tournaments (coming) but we are going to prepare well to get ready to compete and to try to win matches. We will see how it goes.”

Kasatkina is the only top 10 player to not win a match at this year’s Australian Open.