US Open star ‘using tournament to promote her YouTube channel’

Chinese tennis star Wu Yibing on his journey to ATP Tour

Daria Kasatkina’s US Open dream might be over for another year, but it seems that the Russian has other career targets outside of the tennis court to keep her focused. The world No 14 saw her Grand Slam hopes ended on Monday evening after No 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka demonstrated her championship credentials with a dominant 6-1, 6-3 victory.

Kasatkina has previously reached the semi-finals of the French Open and the quarter-finals at Wimbledon but has not yet progressed beyond the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.

The 26-year-old will have been all too aware of the daunting prospect of trying to defeat the highly-fancied Belarusian and seemed intent on taking the pressure off herself before her match.

Speaking to an ESPN reporter ahead of her round of 16 clash with Sabalenka, Kasatkina unusually took the opportunity to push her own YouTube channel.

When asked how she was preparing for a night match, she said: “Well honestly, we spent the whole day yesterday thinking how to promote my YouTube channel and I think this is it. Guys, subscribe. Just search my surname on YouTube and you’ll find it.

“And in case the match is not going to be interesting you can always watch the YouTube.”

Kasatkina runs a YouTube channel that follows her life on the WTA Tour. The channel is run alongside her girlfriend Natalia Zabiiako, who is a successful Russian-Estonian figure skater.

Kasatkina confirmed her sexuality in 2022 in an interview, when she also revealed her relationship with Zabiiako. Before long, photos of the couple emerged on Instagram before they decided to set up their own joint YouTube channel.

The channel has been running since October last year and currently has over 21,000 subscribers, with 82 videos published so far. Kasatkina has not won any titles on tour so far this season but has still banked around £860,000 in prize money.

It is a different story for her US Open conqueror Sabalenka however. The 25-year-old’s straight-sets victory against Kasatkina will take her to the top of the world rankings next week.

Don’t miss…
US Open fan kicked out for shouting ‘famous Hitler phrase’ at Alexander Zverev[SHOCKING]
Coco Gauff shares strange traits of ‘quirky’ coach behind her US Open success[INSIGHT]
Novak Djokovic loses his cool at US Open as Carlos Alcaraz skips training[ROUND-UP]

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

That was assured when current world No 1 Iga Swiatek was dumped out of the tournament by Jelena Ostapenko, losing 6-3, 3-6, 1-6 in the fourth round.

Sabalenka admitted to being surprised by the result and even expressed some disappointment that she now cannot face the Pole in the final.

Speaking on court after her victory against Kasatkina, Sabalenka said: “I had no doubt she’d (Swiatek) make it to the final. It only depended on me if I was going to make it. I wanted to have this battle and decide everything on court. I was sad that she lost.

“But it means a lot to me, all year I’ve been pushing myself to reach this goal, to become world No. 1. It means a lot to me and my family, it’s just unbelievable. It’s something crazy, I still can’t believe it.”

Source: Read Full Article