Daria Kasatkina's former coach reveals their split was motivated by Russian's off-court distractions

Last week, Daria Kasatkina shocked the tennis world by revealing that she was parting ways with her long-term coach Carlos Martinez. Although the 48-year-old Spaniard was not entirely happy with the player's decision, he knew that a clash of opinions between the two regarding off-court work was the main reason behind the split.

The World No. 8 started her association with Martinez in June 2019. He helped Kasatkina win four of her six singles titles, including two WTA 250 and two WTA 500 tournaments. She also achieved her career-best ranking of No. 8 last year under the Spaniard's watch.

In a recent interview with Ubitennis, Martinez praised the Russian but also remarked that she did not agree with him when it came to how she spent her time off-court.

"It was not a big surprise. I was very sad because I loved working with Dasha," Martinez said. "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 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."

Martinez added that despite Kasatkina being a thorough professional, there were quite a few aspects that required the 25-year-old, who is under a lot of pressure as it is, to pay special attention.

"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," he added.

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Daria Kasatkina begins trial with former player Flavio Cipolla

Daria Kasatkina during the 2023 Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open

It was during a vlog with her girlfriend Natalia Zabiiako that Daria Kasatkina spoke about ending her partnership with Carlos Martinez and trying out former Italian player Flavio Cipolla. The Russian stated that it was not easy to switch and that a player should only make changes to their coaching staff during the off-season if possible.

"Of course, it was scary. To end such a long working relationship, it was hard," Daria Kasatkina said. "It’s a little scary during the season, when you don’t know a person and you start working during the tournament. If you change the coach, it’s better to do it at the end of the season, before pre-season, so you can get to know each other."

Meanwhile, Kasatkina crashed out of the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in the second round with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 loss against Barbora Krejcikova.