Boris Becker lends support to Daria Kasatkina after the Australian's premature end to 2025 season

Following another disappointing early round loss, Russian-Australian tennis player Daria Kasatkina announced she would be ending her 2025 WTA season early, prompting retired tennis star Boris Becker to offer words of encouragement.

Kasatkina fell to in-form Brit Sonay Kartal in the opening round of last week's China Open. The 14th seed could only muster three games against her lower-ranked opponent, and was visibly frustrated as she left the court after the match.

The loss in Beijing is the latest in a string of bad performances by the former World No.8, who has been struggling to discover her form all year. Kasatkina made it to the fourth round at this year's Roland Garros, but has failed to surpass that benchmark as she continues to produce subpar results.

After her disappointing loss at the China Open, Kasatkina announced she would be withdrawing from this week's Wuhan Open. The 28-year old joined the list of top stars who opted to skip the event for various reasons, as Madison Keys, Paula Badosa and home favorite Qinwen Zheng all announced their withdrawal just days before the WTA 1000 event.

Kasatkina ends her season early, Becker commiserates

Soon after the commencement of the Wuhan Open, Kasatkina took to social media to share some devastating news with her fans. The World No.19 revealed she needed a break, as she had "hit a wall" and was unable to continue competing on the WTA Tour this season.

Additionally, the former Russian national admitted to being overwhelmed by the entire process of changing her citizenship, as she was granted permanent residency in Australia and would represent them going forward at every tennis event.

Kasatkina ended her heartfelt open letter by stating she would return stronger in 2026. This prompted several of her peers and fans to send their well wishes, with tennis great Boris Becker chiming in on Twitter.

"Word, Dasha," wrote Becker.

Kasatkina ends her season with a 19-22 match record, with her best result this year being a quarterfinal appearance at the Adelaide International in January.