"Enjoy being yourself" - Daria Kasatkina stands by fan embracing coming out amid 'sad' reaction from mother

World No. 18 Daria Kasatkina has come to the support of a fan whose mother had a 'sad' reaction after they came out of the closet.

Kasatkina herself came out as gay earlier in 2022. She received a lot of encouragement from other tennis players and later revealed her relationship with Natalia Zabiiako. Zabiiako is a professional figure skater who has represented both Estonia and Russia at the international level.

The couple are happily together now and openly share their journey on social media, which inspires others who are still hesitant to accept their sexualities. They also run a joint YouTube channel named 'Zabiiako & Kasatkina,' where they share their tournament experiences with vlogs.

So when an X (formerly Twitter) user posted on the social media platform that their mother had a 'sad' reaction to their coming out, Daria Kasatkina jumped in to lend her support.

"That was very unexpected, but i came out to my mom, her reaction was so sad for me but yeah life," the user wrote.

Kasatkina replied:

"Its gonna be alright. Enjoy being yourself."

The user then thanked the Russian for her support, which gave them hope that everything would fall into place:

"Thank you so much dasha. All this support gives me faith that everything will be fine."

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Daria Kasatkina: "Living in the closet is impossible, it is pointless"

Daria Kasatkina pictured at the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai 2023

In a 2022 interview on YouTube with Russian blogger Vitya Kravchenko, Daria Kasatkina revealed that she was gay and dating a woman. The 26-year-old made her remarks after Russian legislators suggested a rule that outlawed discussing any non-traditional sexual relationships in public.

She claimed that living in a closet was futile and that the only important thing is to be at peace with oneself, adding:

"Living in the closet is impossible. Not for the long run, no. It is too hard. It is pointless, you will be completely focussed on that until you choose to come out. Of course, it is up to you to decide how to do it and how much you tell. Living in peace with yourself is the only thing that matters, and fuck everyone else."

Kasatkina also spoke about her compatriot and footballer Nadya Karpova coming out of the closet, saying that her actions empowered others in her home country and paved the way for them to do the same.

"My respects to Nadya Karpova [for coming out], attagirl. I was happy for her, but also other people, especially girls who needed to know that. It has empowered them for sure, supported them. Not only did Nadya help herself by coming out and get this burden off her chest, she has also helped others," Kasatkina said.

Daria Kasatkina recently lost to Beatriz Haddad Maia in the WTA Elite Trophy semifinals. She will next be seen in action in the inaugural MGM Macau Tennis Masters, set to take place from December 2-3.