United States of Tennis: Black Girls Tennis Club liberates Black women and girls both on and off the court

In her first visit to South Korea, the Hana Bank Korea Open's top seed crammed in a lot of off-court activities before her tournament got underway on Thursday.

ByBaseline Staff

Published Sep 19, 2024

Hey, Seoul sister! In her first visit to South Korea, Hana Bank Korea Open top seed Daria Kasatkina is enjoying herself, both on the court and off.

The beneficiary of a first-round bye and premiere placement in the draw as a result of the pre-tournament withdrawals of Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina, Kasatkina's tournament did not officially begin until Thursday. That, coupled with hot weather, left the world No. 13 with a lot of time on her hands to explore the city and stay entertained.

"I had a lot of time before my first match to enjoy some indoor activities in Seoul," Kasatkina confessed after finally getting on court and posting a a 6-4, 6-2 win over American Hailey Baptiste to reach her sixth quarterfinal of the season. "I went to an adventure park, went to a Korean convenience store, went to buy some skincare ... I'm having a good time here!"

In their effort to keep cool, Kasatkina and her girlfriend, former Olympic figure skater Natalia Zabiiako, also laced up their skates and visited an ice rink.

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Daria Kasatkina and Natalia Zabiiako are having some fun ice skating in Seoul ahead of the Korea Open!

Dasha is the top seed and will face either Sloane Stephens or Hailey Baptiste to begin her campaign. pic.twitter.com/8PajKY66vk
— WTARussians (@WTArussians) September 14, 2024

The on-court vibes were good, too, for Kasatkina in a match in which she never trained on the scoreboard. But in the quarterfinals, she'll seek to record back-to-back wins for the first time since Wimbledon when she faces 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu in the last eight.

Raducanu, meanwhile, is at home in Korea in more ways than one. Seoul is one of her favorite cities, she says; she not only is bidding to reach the semifinals in the South Korean capital for the second time in the last three years, but told WTA Insider's Courtney Nguyen earlier this week that Korean food is her favorite "over anything."

"I think these courts suit her because they bounce quite a bit," Raducanu said of Kasatkina. "But for me, every time I get exposure to that top level of opponent, it's invaluable. It allows me to build confidence. It's a match where I don't really have anything to lose."