👋 Welcome back to The Daily Theory, our morning rundown to help you stay on top of your favorite sport. I’m Allen McDuffee, your guide to all things tennis.

On tap today, we’ve got: Daria Kasatkina adjusts to playing for Australia, Jasmine Paolini moves on from her coach of the year, Madison Keys takes on Caroline Dolehide, plus more in tennis news today.

Let’s tennis!

Three Points

🎾 A welcome adjustment: Daria Kasatkina arrived in Charleston representing Australia at a tournament for the first time since announcing her new permanent resident status last week. The openly gay player has been critical of her birth nation of Russia regarding the invasion of Ukraine. That bravery has come at a cost. Russia has classified her as a “foreign agent,” or somebody acting against Russian interests, which has kept her from returning home for more than two years.

  • What she said: “It’s my first official day as an Australian player. Honestly, it feels different, I’m not going to lie. It’s emotional for me...I have to get used to it. But I’m really happy to start this new chapter of my life representing Australia on the big stage...With everything going on in my previous country, I didn’t have much choice,” she told reporters on Monday. “For me, being openly gay, if I want to be myself, I have to make this step, and I did it.”

🎾 Moving on: On Monday, Jasmine Paolini announced the split with her coach of ten years, Renzo Furlan. Furlan had been coaching Paolini full-time since 2020 and was voted the top WTA coach last year for his role in helping Paolini reach number four in the rankings and two major finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

  • What she said: “Renzo has been such an important part of my growth, both as a player and as a person,” Paolini posted on Instagram about the former ATP world number 19. “Everything I’ve learned from him will stay with me and continue to guide me in this new chapter, he’ll always be an important person in my life.”

🎾 A strong return game: Caty McNally, battling back from injury and a current ranking of 397, had an emotional first-round win over Anhelina Kalinina. Down 4-1 in the third set, she reeled off five straight games to take the match — her first win over a top 100 opponent since June 2023. When it was over, she collapsed on the court and tears welled in her eyes. In her on-court interview, she said she wasn’t sure if she would be able to play tennis again after elbow surgery that took her out of action for six months. But she is playing, and she is climbing. Next up: Anna Kalinskaya.

And, that’s game.

What They Said

I don’t know. Sometimes tennis you have to fight and you never know what can happen in the end of the match. I just tried to fight, to put the ball in, to play with more consistency and a little bit [deeper]. I did it...It’s always tough to finish a match, to end a match, and it happened to him. Then I felt much better on the court and that’s tennis.

-Richard Gasquet on how he came back from a set and two breaks down against Botic van de Zandschulp to win the match in Bucharest on Monday.

Watch This!

🔥 Caroline Dolehide vs. Madison Keys (2nd round WTA 500 - Charleston): This is a temperature check for Madison Keys, who will face a player who hits just as big as she does. Look for shot tolerance on Keys’s side of the court, as well as how well she moves on the clay. But marvel at how big the Dolehide forehand is and her one-of-a-kind kick serve to the backhand on the ad side.

  • The record: Madison Keys leads the head-to-head record over Caroline Dolehide 2-0. But that record is dated because the two haven’t faced off since 2018.
  • On the line: Madison Keys is looking to quiet the external (and possibly internal) voices questioning whether or not she can maintain her level of play from Australia. An early loss in Charleston won’t help on that front. As for Caroline Dolehide, she’s looking to accumulate points to get back into the top 50 in the world. With all the pressure on Keys, she has an opportunity to pull in another win.

On The Radar

  • Robin Montgomery vs. Danielle Collins (2nd round WTA 500 - Charleston)
  • Olivia Gadecki vs. Hailey Baptiste (1st round WTA 500 - Charleston)
  • Sofia Kenin vs. Bernarda Pera (1st round WTA 500 - Charleston)
  • Ann Li vs. Anna Blinkova (1st round WTA 500 - Charleston)
  • Iva Jovic vs. Alycia Parks (1st round WTA 250 - Bogota)
  • Yannick Hanfmann vs. Nicolas Moreno de Alboran (1st round ATP 250 - Houston)
  • Michael Mmoh vs. Adam Walton (1st round ATP 250 - Houston)
  • Colton Smith vs. James Duckworth (1st round ATP 250 - Houston)
  • Ethan Quinn vs. Jordan Thompson (1st round ATP 250 - Houston)
  • Rinky Hijikata vs. Chris Eubanks (1st round ATP 250 - Houston)
  • Kei Nishikori vs. Mitchell Krueger (1st round ATP 250 - Houston)
  • Yunchaokete Bu vs. Roberto Bautista Agut (1st round ATP 250 - Bucharest)
  • Stan Wawrinka vs. Timofey Skatov (1st round ATP 250 - Bucharest)

📺 Learn how to watch today’s action over at Tennis Watchers.

Read, Watch, Listen

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Which matches are you watching? What news caught your eye today? Hit the comments below!