On court

• introduced to tennis by her parents at age six
• realised at age 12 she was good enough to become a professional
• favourite surface is hard court, favourite shot is forehand, favourite tennis tournament is Australian Open
• tennis idols are Venus and Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters and Martina Hingis
• feels her game contains elements of Kim Clijsters and Simona Halep
• is a former ITF world No.1 junior
• career highlights to date include winning the US Open juniors in 2010 and representing Australia in the Fed Cup
• says Serena Williams is the toughest opponent she’s ever faced
• dream tennis scenario was to beat Maria Sharapova at Rod Laver Arena
• professional goal is to win a Grand Slam
• had a break out year in 2015, ascending 197 spots to World No.36
• made the final 16 at the Australian Open in 2016 and 2017
• sidelined for 12 months from September 2019 with plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendonitis

Off court

• family includes father Alexey, mother Natalia and younger brother Stepan
• has a pet beagle
• enjoys eating sushi and cheese and reading the Twilight series
• graduated from high school in 2010
• married Australian professional player Luke Saville in December 2021
• has a sausage dog named “Tofu”
• nickname is “Dasha”
• best piece of advice is to treat everyone the same way you want to be treated
• perfect day would involve sleeping in, going out for breakfast, going for a swim, and having her family and friends around her
• would have loved to be an actress if not a tennis player

Year-end ranking history

Titles/Finals

Titles

2017 Connecticut WTA

2015 Burnie ITF, Launceston ITF

2014 Bangkok ITF

2011 Antalya ITF

Finals

2017 Strasbourg WTA, Hong Kong WTA

2016 Kremlin Cup WTA

2012 Moscow 4 ITF

2011 Moscow ITF