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<\/a>Natalia Zabiiako and Daria Kasatkina, winning together. (Photo by Kathleen Ricker for Bounces)<\/p>\nWTA players including Mirra Andreeva, Nadiia Kichenok, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Kamilla Rakhimova, Arina Rodionova, and Yuliia Starodubtseva all attended the intimate affair, a celebration of love and freedom that the tennis player-figure skater couple designed themselves.<\/p>\n
The de Minaur-Boulter<\/a> and Paul-Lorenze<\/a> nuptials both already got the full Vogue treatments, but I was craving more details about Kasatkina\u2019s moment and her vision, so we discussed them at length in our first Bounces interview this year (our previous one last year was on her defection from Russia to Australia<\/a>). <\/p>\n After 61st-ranked Kasatkina won her final-round qualifying match at ATP-WTA 500 Washington on Sunday afternoon, she sat down for a lengthy chat with Bounces to share all the details of her wedding and what made it so special.<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: You haven\u2019t played that much qualies the last few years. What\u2019s the mindset like, and does it feel like a different sort of pressure or tension when you\u2019re in a qualies match?<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Well, I already played qualies in Strasbourg this year; now here in Washington. Honestly, it\u2019s actually feeling like a little bit less pressure, to be honest, because it\u2019s less stakes, let\u2019s say. <\/p>\n Plus, you can play more matches, which is good because the US swing is for me a little bit difficult: fast courts, balls are very fast. So for me, it\u2019s a bit difficult to adjust to these conditions. So I think to play additional matches is actually pretty good.<\/p>\n Yeah, I mean, for me it\u2019s easy: once you step on court, you have to give your best, and this is what I\u2019m trying to do. Obviously sometimes, you\u2019re waking up and you\u2019re like, \u2018I don\u2019t want to do this anymore,\u2019 you know? [Laughs.] But now, after a little bit of vacation, coming here, it\u2019s tough, but at the same time a little hunger is there.<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: Where do you find your hunger? What keeps you going?<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Um\u2026 good question. [Laughs.] Sometimes I cannot answer this question. <\/p>\n I think the most important for me is to step on court, start my wheels. And if I\u2019m losing during the match, I feel how I\u2019m getting anxious and angry, and I think that is one of the fuels for me. Then I just want to win\u2014because I don\u2019t wanna lose, obviously. There\u2019s naturally some mechanism starting in my body, in my brain, and it just keeps going like that. I think this is how I was operating, more or less, during all of my career.<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: The main topic today, of course: congratulations on your wedding. <\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Thank you.<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: I want to know everything, basically. <\/p>\n Let\u2019s just start with, actually, before it even started: how long had you known that you wanted to get married?<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: You mean before I proposed? Well, from the beginning. From the beginning when we started you know being together, I knew.<\/p>\n I mean in my speech during the wedding, I started with the sentence \u2018I knew that this day is going to happen from Day One.\u2019 <\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: Awwww.<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: [Laughs.] Yeah.<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: A love at first sight sort of thing?<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Yeah, definitely. Honestly, I didn\u2019t believe in that, but it happened to me.<\/p>\n The whole wedding, I mean, I can talk about it for ages, honestly. Mentally, I\u2019m still there.<\/p>\n We spent four days in Greece with the friends and family\u2014it was the best four days, it was the best week, and then the best day, particularly: the wedding day. <\/p>\n It was the best moment of my life so far. I hope there\u2019s going to be more \u2018best days in my life,\u2019 but so far, this is the best day of my life. <\/p>\n Mentally, I\u2019m still there. And whenever I will feel sad or angry or whatever, I will mentally just go back to that day. Me and our friends, we\u2019re still scrolling through the pictures, photos, videos. It was amazing, honestly. <\/p>\n Also the way everything was organized. The way the puzzle just [got put together] in terms of everything there. Energy-wise, the people, like how it all went: it was magical, honestly. It was so good. It\u2019s tough to get back to reality after this, because it was just too good. It couldn\u2019t be true.<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: You\u2019re still in the honeymoon fairytale period, hopefully.<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Yeah, yeah\u2014and in Washington. [Laughs.]<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: Exactly, nice honeymoon city.<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Yeah\u2014and then Cincinnati! [Laughs.] We\u2019re having a strong honeymoon. [Fist pump.]<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: How did you decide to do it in Greece? How did that come to be the location?<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Everyone is asking us this, because we\u2019d never been to Greece before\u2014it was the first time for both of us.<\/p>\n I guess we just saw the Pinterest pictures before, the photos, how beautiful it is. We really wanted to do it on the water\u2014on the beach, basically. And you don\u2019t have many places where you can do it. Plus, Greece was logistically the best spot for everyone to come. For my parents and friends from Russia, it was more or less convenient: they could get a visa, the travel time was acceptable. It\u2019s just 45 minutes from Istanbul. For other friends around the world, it was fine as well. The weather was very good. Food\u2014we\u2019ve never been there. My mom loves Greece.<\/p>\n So we were like, OK, that\u2019s probably the perfect spot: let\u2019s do it there. And it was. It\u2019s a beautiful spot. So we\u2019re like, why not visit the country for the first time, and while we\u2019re there, have a wedding?<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: I\u2019m glad to hear your parents were able to come, because I remember talking to you\u2014or you said a few years ago\u2014that you hadn\u2019t been able to see your dad, especially, for many years.<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: [Chuckles.] The funny thing: so my dad, he couldn\u2019t come.<\/p>\n Because, funny thing\u2014explaining the character of my dad: when he was applying for a visa, his passport was expiring in less than six months. [Laughs.] <\/p>\n This says a lot about my dad. But anyway, my mom could come. She had a very good time. She really loved it. I\u2019m happy that everyone had a great time. The hotel was nice. I think the main \u2018spice\u2019 of the magic which happened there was that everyone was on vacation. Everyone was so chill. Whatever happened, everyone was having fun. Nothing could disturb us. It was great.<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: I\u2019ve been to a few various LGBT weddings, and it\u2019s cool with them because I think there\u2019s less sort of clear rules or tradition in some ways, right? You can kind of be more creative, and make it more personal in your own ways.<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Yeah, we didn\u2019t have any traditions, to be honest.<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: Yeah, so I\u2019m curious for you: you get this kind of blank slate, this canvas to create whatever you want in this moment. So what did you see in that opportunity to do something that was really personal to the two of you and your relationship? And it\u2019s for your family and friends and everyone, too, but you kind of get to make your own rules, which I think is cool.<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Yeah. First of all, we wanted to make it a party, so it was.<\/p>\n We didn\u2019t have rules. So our emcee, she was asking like, \u2018OK, what do you want me to do? What don\u2019t you want me to do? Tell me the boundaries.\u2019 We said: \u2018No boundaries.\u2019 The woman who was doing that, she was exceptional, we loved her. <\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: How did you find her?<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Our wedding planners, they found her. We really trusted the people there. And on one of the calls she was like, \u2018I\u2019m so happy, girls, because this is going to be my first same-sex wedding, and I\u2019m really looking forward to it.\u2019 Like, she was so happy.<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: She\u2019s Russian?<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Yes, but let\u2019s\u2026 I don\u2019t want to put her in trouble. Because she is a famous emcee, so I don\u2019t want to make her any trouble. <\/p>\n Everyone in the team who was organizing and the team that was DJs and stuff, they were so into it. You could see that for them it\u2019s not just another job\u2014it\u2019s something else. <\/p>\n So we told her: it\u2019s going to be a party. You say whatever the fuck you want. Just don\u2019t make fun of the parents! That\u2019s the only rule. [Laughs.]<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: Good rule, good rule. <\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Don\u2019t make fun of parents\u2014that\u2019s it. You can say whatever. Any interactions, make fun of our friends, do whatever. And she stayed with us to party with us, after her shift was done. <\/p>\n Also, you know this tradition where you have to throw the [bouquet of] flowers? Where the one who girl catches it has to get married soon? So what we did: we were about to throw the flowers, and then we said \u2018No, we\u2019re not going to do it, because you are not going to compete for happiness. Each of you deserve it equally.\u2019 So we just gave everyone a small flower from the [bouquet]. Because we really didn\u2019t like the idea of this tradition, because honestly, I think that it\u2019s stupid. <\/p>\n And I mean, all the wedding was about love, friendship, and just like, being free\u2014wild and free. We were just having fun as much as we could, and I think that was magical. We didn\u2019t want to make it a very classic, traditional wedding. We wanted to do the complete opposite to that. <\/p>\n Also, we had just our closest people there, only like just 40 people.<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: Only 40, wow.<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Yeah, we made it very custom, let\u2019s say. And yeah, that was the best thing ever.<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: When you talk about being \u2018free\u2019 as a sort of a vibe for a wedding\u2014and maybe it\u2019s a big question\u2014but what does that mean to you at this stage? <\/p>\n With everything you\u2019ve gone through, having this sort of wedding that can be this expression of that value for you, what does that mean?<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Yeah, well, I would say we knew that we\u2019re still going to get some hate, but our skin got so thick that we didn\u2019t give a shit anymore. We could do whatever we want and we didn\u2019t care about the outcome of some people being [unaccepting of] what we were doing. So we really didn\u2019t think about it. <\/p>\n I think this is the best thing. I mean, I think this is what freedom is about: you can do whatever you want without thinking about what others will think. And that\u2019s beautiful, honestly. <\/p>\n Also, what we didn\u2019t want to do was to make the wedding secret. And I think, honestly, the outcome was so good. We really liked it.<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: And it was really cool seeing people there. You can talk about people who don\u2019t like it or whatever, but there were so many people who do love it who were there.<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: We got so much support, yes.<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: Obviously people who were actually there, all the people who came, but also everyone else. I saw a lot of people very excited, excited to see the photos, to see what you were wearing\u2014both of you.<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Another thing: we were wearing black; the guests were wearing white or beige. We swapped the other way around, actually. We weren\u2019t wearing dresses.<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: How did both of you decide your outfits? And did you not see them before, because you were wearing those blindfolds?<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: No\u2014this was another thing. We could see through them a little bit. It was an idea from our planners. <\/p>\n So the initial idea of that was we\u2019d [enter] from different sides, with a voice saying that they didn\u2019t know [they\u2019d find each other]. OK\u2014the idea was that you\u2019re going in your life without knowing where you\u2019re going. So you are kind of blind: you go without instructions. And so the idea was that we would come up from the two different angles, and we would meet each other in one point, being blind. <\/p>\n Yeah, but unfortunately, technically, we couldn\u2019t do it because there wasn\u2019t enough space. [Laughs.] Yeah, so we went together, which meant: we are going without instructions through our lives, but we go together. <\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: That\u2019s beautiful, that\u2019s great.<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Yeah, so we did it that way. And our whole wedding, also, the name of the wedding was \u2018What\u2019s the Love?\u2019 Like the vlog, \u2018What the Vlog<\/a>.\u2019<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: That was very cool. <\/p>\n How did you decide what to wear?<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Well, for me, it was obvious. Because I wanted to wear black, and I wanted to wear a suit\u2014but I didn\u2019t want to wear it like a traditional way, with a tie, being fixed. [Buttoning gesture]<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: All the way buttoned up, yeah.<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Yeah, I didn\u2019t want to do that. So I really like the idea being like more loosened-up. It was pretty easy, honestly.<\/p>\n And Natasha\u2019s idea: she wanted this bodysuit, and her mom actually made it for her. I think she also did all the outfits for the family. Yeah, she loves doing that. I think she used to [do that for] work.<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: Did she make her figure skating outfits, too, maybe?<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: As well! Yeah, when she was a kid, yes. As an adult, no, but when she was a kid she was making the outfits for her.<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: Yeah, that\u2019s a big part of figure skating, for sure.<\/p>\n What comes next for you two? Obviously now there\u2019s, like you said, Cincinnati.<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Yeah, Cincinnati. Woo!<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: And the rest of the tour; you now are both back together on this carousel. But again, what are your next hopes? Obviously, I\u2019m sure the wedding was a big date you\u2019d circled for a long time, and all the preparation for that and everything. But now that you have the rest of your lives in front of you, what do you want to do together next in your journey?<\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Phooof. <\/p>\n You know, what I like about us is that we are obviously together, but we are two individuals as well. We\u2019ve got our things, you know? I\u2019ve got my career. Natasha, I\u2019m so happy for her that she found her thing. She\u2019s now doing her shows. She just wrote a book. <\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: Oh, what kind of book? <\/p>\n Daria Kasatkina: Novel. The name of the book is \u2018The Taste of Her Lips.\u2019 Guess what it is about. [Laughs.]<\/p>\n Yes, so you can now buy it. You can buy it digital<\/a>, and soon you can also buy it physical\u2014but not yet. <\/p>\n And yeah, I\u2019m really proud of her. She\u2019s so talented. I mean, she\u2019s got so much potential which she\u2019s finally able to show. <\/p>\n And yeah, she\u2019s doing the figure skating show, which she is participating in and also being a big part of the organization stuff. She\u2019s now starting to write another book as well. Yeah, she is doing a lot of things. <\/p>\n So I think for the moment we are together, doing our own things, you know, which is super cool. She\u2019s supporting me on tour, still traveling a lot. <\/p>\n Natalia Zabiiako watching Daria Kasatkina. (Photos by Kathleen Ricker for Bounces)<\/p>\n I\u2019m going to do as much as I can supporting her. I also want to be there when she is in action, which, with my calendar, is fucking tough. But I will try to do my best to make it possible. <\/p>\n So, yeah, I\u2019m seeing her finally finding her thing outside of the [figure skating] career. Because it\u2019s for every athlete, I think it\u2019s very tough to find yourself after you retire. And I see, finally, her fire getting back in her eyes. So it\u2019s very important for me, and I really want to help her find her potential as much as she could. <\/p>\n And me, I will continue playing tennis. [Laughs.] Let\u2019s see for how many years more. But yeah, so far, we\u2019re a hard-working couple.<\/p>\n Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: The last time I wrote about you was when you switched to Australia. I guess I was talking to you in Charleston last year. <\/p>\n<\/a>From Instagram.<\/p>\n<\/a>Daria Kasatkina practicing in Washington. (Photo by Kathleen Ricker for Bounces)<\/p>\n<\/a>Daria Kasatkina, with Natalia Zabiiako watching on. (Photo by Kathleen Ricker for Bounces)<\/p>\n<\/a>Wedding guests. (From Instagram.)<\/p>\n<\/a>;P (Photo by Kathleen Ricker for Bounces)<\/p>\n<\/a>From Instagram.<\/p>\n<\/a>From Instagram.<\/p>\n<\/a>From Instagram.<\/p>\n<\/a>From Instagram.<\/p>\n<\/a>Daria Kasatkina. (Photo by Kathleen Ricker for Bounces)<\/p>\n