Daria Kasatkina’s Personal "Propaganda" Campaign

Daria Kasatkina was in a rush. Having reached the quarterfinals of the 2024 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo and lost to Sofia Kenin, the Russian player found herself in the midst of a logistical nightmare. She and girlfriend, former Olympic figure skater Natalia Zabiiako, had bags to pack, visas to obtain and flights to book before their next stop: Beijing for the WTA 1000 China Open. And oh, Kasatkina still needed to practice.

Nonetheless, the pair found it a perfect time to pull out a camera phone and film. “I played in Tokyo last night and it was impossible to fly in the evening,” Kasatkina explains in one of her popular editions of What the Vlog entitled, Problems In Tennis. “So I needed to fly the next day, fight at 10AM. I needed to arrive earlier, so I have time to practice because on Sunday, tomorrow, I have to play.

“Honestly, I’m fucking knackered,” continues Kasatkina. “Fuck tennis. The game of tennis itself is the simplest thing we do. Everything else is just completely fucking bullshit.”

Russian tennis player and videographer, Daria Kasatkina, continues practice while partner Natalia Zabiiako looks on.

It was not one of Kasatkina’s most cheerful videos, but the straight-talking women from the industrial city of Tolyatti, doesn’t mince words whether she is joyful or frustrated with the particulars of her pro sport. That’s possibly one of the greatest aspects of What the Vlog, as she and Zabiiako have become the free-talking, free-spirited premiere documentarians of life on the WTA tour at a time when social media posts are sliced, diced, screened and triple-vetted before they hit the Interwebs. The pair, with Zabiiako in the role of general cinematographer, upload regular vlogs featuring recaps of the sport’s biggest events, player interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage of their travels, including recent billiards games and cafe tours with the nearly equally outspoken Mirra Andreeva. “All these parts are always behind the scenes,” Kasatkina has said. “Nobody knows about it: 95 percent of the fans; they see us as tennis players on the tennis court. They don't know who we are outside of the court and how we live and what's going on, actually, behind the tennis court doors.” And although the pair generally shies away from the political situation between Russia and Ukraine, they chronicle their adventures as two free female athletes totally in love — their own middle fingers to Putin.

British Lucky Loser Sonay Kartal (WTA No. 83) made it to the fourth round of Indian Wells and as of next week will be within three spots of fellow countrywoman Emma Raducanu (WTA No. 55) who lost in the first round.

More on Kasatkina, who even plugged her 50,000-view strong YouTube channel during a U.S. Open interview, following a run-down of the action in Palm Springs California during the last few days of the BNP Paribas Open. In one of the biggest wins of his career, Jack Draper (ATP No. 14) reached the Indian Wells quarter-finals for the first time by sending hometown favorite Taylor Fritz (ATP No. 4) who was sent back to LA after a nail-biting match, 7-5, 6-4. Draper then followed that with a similarly scored victory over Ben Shelton (ATP No. 12). “I want to play against the best players in the world so I can show what I'm all about,” Draper said.

Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev (ATP No. 6) had a bit of a wobble, but ultimately pulled through to overcome the inspired Frenchman Arthur Fils (ATP No. 21) to reach the semi-finals in Indian Wells once again, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(7) — victory on his third match point. “I lost a lot of tight matches this year where I could have won, should have won maybe… and the more it goes like that, the more you can lose confidence in the tight moments,” Medvedev said. Holger Rune (ATP No. 13) finally ended unseeded Dutchman’s Tallon Griekspoor’s (ATP No. 43) phenomenal run, while Carlos Alcaraz (ATP No. 3) defeated Girgor “the Diver” Dmitrov (ATP No. 15) in an uninspiriting 6-1, 6-1 match.

Bulgarian Grigor Dmitrov gives a thumbs up to signal his well-being after diving for a drop shot delivered by fellow trickster Gael Monfils, but maybe those six-pack abs hurt a little more than he let on after the double breadstick delivered by Carlos Alcaraz.

On the women’s side, Aryna Sabalenka (ATP No. 1) ended the very lucky loser run of English up-and-comer Sonay Kartal (ATP No. 83) with a 6-1, 6-2 victory, although Kartal should jump about 30 ranking spots next week to put her within ball-striking distance of childhood rival, Emma Raducanu (WTA No. 55). Defending champion Iga Swiatek (WTA No. 2) cruised past an unrelenting China's Zheng Qinwen (WTA No. 9) in straight sets. She will play Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva (WTA No. 11) in the semifinals. Former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic (WTA No. 58) continued her post-maternity punishings with Coco Gauff (WTA No. 3) as her most recent victim and reached the quarter-finals in three, 3-6, 6-3 ,6-4. She will face Australian Open champion Madison Keys (WTA No. 5), who beat Donna Vekic (WTA No. 22) 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3 for her 15th consecutive win since January. Imagine if Keys and coach/husband, Bjorn Fratangelo, had a child, took maternity leave and returned — bakery aisle, anyone?

Daria Kasatkina exiting her second round match after losing to comeback kid, Sofia Kenin, in three sets during the second round of the BNP Paribas Open.

While Kastakina coceded defeat in the second round of Indian Wells, shortly after, she was back in the players cafe with Vlog regular and newly emerging personality, Andreeva, doing a survey of the pasta on offer. Zabiiako, who used to video with her phone, captured the footage with her new(ish) DJI Pocket. After a practice, Andreeva shows Kasatkina the burrito bowls and the salad bar, commenting on the price of the $15 salad, but nothing compared to the Nobu sushi. “They are expensive like my kidney,” a worldly Andreeva comments, to which Kasatkina dryly replies “special price for you.” The denouement of the episode comes when Kasatkina, like a seasoned pundit, asks Andreeva how she spent her days after winning Dubai. “I had three days off and then one day of fitness, but (Andreeva points to her mother) she just lie by the pool with her doggy while I do…” she mimics pull ups. Kasatkina then soaks up the mock admiration of Andreeva who eventually compares her brown eyes to a tree, and then her entire physique to a “flexible” tree.

If this sounds like standard naval gazing, it’s not. It’s fairly revolutionary. Women’s tennis (and the WTA in general) was once portrayed as snarling, biting bitch fest, in which all female players either disdained, actively avoided, or hated each other, their competitors and rivals, as described in John Feinstein’s (who died today at age 69) Hard Courts: Real Life on the Professional Tennis Tour, while the men were all pals. Now, aside from Qinwen, players like Kasatkina, Ons Jabeur, Sakkari, Sabalenka, Pegula, Gauff and others are seen as friends among competitors, leaving their beefs on court. Even Jelena Ostapenko, a childhood rival of Kasatkina, regularly appears. "Sometimes they come out of nowhere!" Ostapenko told the WTA tour PR team. “When I don't expect them, they're right there. That's the fun part because you're not expecting an interview, you can be yourself. Sometimes they have serious questions but sometimes they're just, like ... opening the water in Madrid and Dasha says, 'Oh cheers, we're getting some beer.'

The latest edition of What the Vlog, INDIAN WELLS. ANDREEVA shows players restaurant. BTS of TENNIS PARADISE. Got FREE BMW featuring Mirra Andreeva giving Kasatkina a tour of the player’s cafe at Indian Wells while commenting on the $15 salad and the price of Nobu sushi, which Andreeva compared to the price of her kidney.

“You have to make jokes because it's not easy to be on tour and always be very serious. Sometimes you can get nuts being too serious. They make it a more relaxed atmosphere,” Ostapenko added. Of the players Zabiiako most wanted to feature was, in fact, Ostapenko. “Dasha and her were not in a good relationship,” Zabiiako said. "I was like, ‘No, we need to do this.’ I had to go to her to ask questions and I was so scared the first time."A couple of appearances and the junior discord was a thing of the past. “They were young and stupid,” Zabiiako said. “Now they are mature.”

Zabiiako added that the project helps Kasatkina chill out a bit during the tour mayhem. “During competitions she thinks a lot and it’s really tough,” she said. “It helps her take her mind off tennis.” And everyone feels less isolated. While What The Vlog initially featured Kasatkina’ closest friends, its popularity means that she's become friendlier with more and more players.

Kasatkina and Ostapenko on a 2023 What the Vlog in Australia, PRE - GRAND SLAM TOURNAMENT. FINALS. OSTAPENKO. PAVLYUCHENKOVA. RECOVERY WITH KALINSKAYA. Although sworn enemies as juniors, through the vlog Kasatkina and Ostapenko have become friends.

Kasatkina, who goes mostly by Dasha, grew up in Tolyatti, an industrial city between Moscow and the remote region of Kazakhstan. Her father, a former hockey player, worked as an engineer at the Volga Automotive Factory, while her mother, a serious Athletics competitor, became a lawyer. Kasatkina’s older brother, Alexander introduced her to the sport at age six and talked her parents into getting her lessons. As a junior, Kasatkina climbed to No. 3 in the world and in 2017 won her first career singles title at the Charleston Open shortly before turning 20 years old. She defeated Ostapenko.

In a 2021 interview with a Russian TV broadcaster, Kasatkina made comments that people presumed to be discussing her bisexuality. But by that time, Zabiiako, a former figure skater, had seen Kasatkina play on TV and sent her a message, after which they met in person when Kasatkina came to Moscow for the Kremlin Cup. The couple has pretty much been together since and in 2022, Kasatkina, came out as lesbian, and she and Zabiiako posted photos together on Instagram. Zabiiako, who retired after her 2019 World Championship bronze and a silver medal from the 2018 Winter Olympics, now travels with Kasatkina full-time and the couple lives in Dubai, where Kasatkina trains.

The blog started almost as an accident. Zabiiako mistakenly deleted her old YouTube channel and had to start over, she suggested that the pair chronicle their lives on tour. Although Zabiiako has no formal media or camera training — and says she sometimes feels a bit weird with her compact handheld device, while a roaming cameraman focuses around them with large lenses — the skater can seemingly work a lot of magic with Instagram and photoshop, making cutouts or players and eye-catching headlines and graphics to promote the videos. “We're not trying to make everything look glamorous or to break our ass to make it look super-interesting if it's not. What we're doing is just to show how we live,” Kasatkina said. “To show people into the tennis kitchen.” Zabiiako and Kasatkina have never gone into tournaments with an advance plan for the vlog. But every vlog is original.

“We are learning while doing,” Kasatkina said. "Platforms like YouTube give you a lot of freedom to do what you want and just see how it goes. You can experiment, you are independent."

What the Vlog MUBADALA CITI DC OPEN. TENNIS GOSSIPS. AZARENKA & RODIONOVA DUET. SABALENKA ROOTING FOR JABEUR from the 2024 Mubadala Citi DC Open. Kasatkina and Zabiiako explore the mall, gossip with their friends in Rockville Park and sample the various coffee houses, which they conclude all look like Starbucks. And that the coffee is all iced “with some sort of syrup in it.”

Although the couple prefers to keep the blog light, quirky and funny — with players’ dogs especially being fussed over — Kasatkina has said that she “found living in the closet impossible” and has also used What the Vlog to speak out against discriminatory attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community and the restrictions of their rights within Russia. In the same episode, Kasatkina condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has called for an end to Russian aggression, expressing solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Kasatkina has added that she is unsure of the consequences if she chooses to return to Russia to see her friends and family.

And while Kasatkina plays down her skills as an interviewer and interviewee — “Basically, I am just saying some rubbish on the camera and Natasha is doing everything else,” she said — but, as most sardonic people or comedians, the laughter shines a light on the bigger issues of life and the tennis world. During the 2023 US Open, the pair attended a French bulldog meet-up at the Carl Schurz Small Dog Park along the East River. Seemingly offhandedly, Kasatkina, in a Nirvana t-shirt from the early 1990s, said in Russian, “Look at so many dogs… different breeds ,different nations. and they all love each other… no one infringe anyone.

“Some of them have curly wool, some have short wool. Someone has long paws and someone shuffles his belly on the floor. They all walk and talk to each other. We have a lot to learn from dogs.”

The 2023 U.S. Open What the Vlog US OPEN DOCUMENTARY. SABALENKA. PEGULA’S BEER. MEDVEDEV. TIRED RYBAKINA. GIVEAWAY. This vlog shows one of the few times Kasatkina opens up about her situation in Russia — through metaphor.