Barca stan Daria Kasatkina shouts out retiring Gerard Pique from Fort Worth

WATCH: Kasatkina's season ended with disappointment as she narrowly lost her final round-robin match in Fort Worth.

FORT WORTH, Texas—Sometimes you just can’t catch a break. In the midst of processing a brutal WTA Finals defeat against Caroline Garcia, Daria Kasatkina was reminded that football legend Gerard Pique had just played his final match with FC Barcelona.

“It’s really a shit day, huh?” joked the No. 8 seed before going into a heartfelt tribute to one of her sporting heroes.

“Well, I mean, Gerard, he's obviously the legend of Barcelona. And he's one of the greatest players for me, I think, in the history of the club. Unfortunately, he had to finish, you know, not in the not the best way. But, I mean, he brings to the club and to the fans so many amazing memories. When I started to follow Barca he was the player, so I remember him since the first day supporting the club.

Kasatkina is represented by Pique’s Kosmos Management, and was disappointed to have missed his final on-field appearance in Camp Nou.

“I'm kind of getting used to legends quitting Barca, unfortunately, but he had a great career, and I wish him all the best,” she continued. “He's kind of my boss as well, because he owns the agent company where I am. So, this chapter is closed. Next one is going to be open. I know it probably it's very tough for him now, but he's a great figure, so I think he's gonna do everything well and I wish him all the best.”

When I started to follow Barca he was the player, so I remember him since the first day supporting the club. Daria Kasatkina

Though the 25-year-old’s resurgent season came to an unfortunate close—"I must say last year, the end of the season was a bit better,” she said, referencing her Billie Jean King Cup victory with the Russian Tennis Federation last fall—Kasatkina has plenty of positives to take from 2022, including a first Grand Slam semifinal and a return to the Top 10.

A passionate sports fan, Kasatkina devoted herself entirely to tennis in the final stretch of the season, and is looking forward for an opportunity to disconnect—if only for a few weeks.

“When you are in this, in the tournament, you're unconsciously thinking about tennis, watching tennis, checking all this scores for this tournament and the other tournaments. Yeah, you're getting a lot of tennis information in one moment, to the point that you don’t want to anymore, but this is my passion, this is my job as well.

“You can get sick from anything, even if, even you love something so much,” she added. “And I mean, you live for it. Still, if it's too much you can really be sick of this. So now I will take some time to love tennis again.”

And presumably watch a few Barca games..