The Baseline Player of the Week: Daria Kasatkina

Every week Baseline will select a “Player of the Week.” That athlete may not always win the highest category tournament that week, but perform the best compared to their recent playing history.

Daria Kasatkina’s reaction was priceless when asked if she realized the company that she joined after winning her first-career WTA Tour title at the Volvo Car Open on Sunday, earning herself a picture on the side of the tournament’s stadium. Past champions in Charleston include the likes of Serena and Venus Williams, Angelique Kerber, Martina Hingis, Chris Evert and Steffi Graf.

“Oy,” Kasatkina said. “I need to prepare for these things. It never happened to me before. So little bit makeup for the pictures. No, I am joking.”

The 19-year-old Russian, who won the first all-teen final on the WTA Tour since 2009 by defeating Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, 6-3, 6-1, was certainly no joke on the court this week.

Despite losing four matches in a row before coming to Charleston, the 2014 junior Roland Garros champion was at home on clay, becoming the sixth teenager to win the title. Not to put pressure on the youngster, but Sabine Lisicki—who is probably the least notable player in that winning group—has reached a Grand Slam final.

“I had a few tough months. I couldn't win a match. So I came here with not a lot of expectations for sure,” Kasatkina said after beating friend Daria Gavrilova in the fourth round. “I was just happy that I came back on the clay so I can play my favorite tennis.”

Perhaps it was unrealistic to think world No. 29-ranked Kasatkina would win in Charleston before the week started, considering she had never made a tour-level final before. But her form has shown signs of stardom this season after beating world No. 1 Angelique Kerber on two occasions.

The Russian certainly earned her right to be emotional after winning three three-setters and beating four Top-40 opponents on the way to her maiden title.

The teen also earned a lengthy celebration.

So while Kasatkina jokingly said "Oy" when asked about her face being displayed among the Volvo Car Open’s former champions, she has actually got it backwards.

If the Russian continues on this winning trajectory, it will be her opponents who will be saying "Oy" when they see her name across from theirs in the draw.