Russian-born Kasatkina switched allegiances to Australia in March with this summer being her first as an Aussie in her new homeland.
Kasatkina came out as gay in 2022 and since then the Russian government has enacted a suite of discriminatory laws targeting the LGBTQ community.
The 28-year-old world no.37 took a break from tennis in October after realising she was at breaking point.
Ahead of the Brisbane International she looked back at that decision and also her call to represent Australia.
"I am playing for the 11th time in Australia but this time it is super special," she said.
"I feel a bit nervous coming into the tournament with a different status but in general I am super excited.
"I already feel the love and support.
"So far, it is the most important decision in my life. I would choose it 100 times out of 100 times.
"It has been a really rough year, accepting everything and processing everything and going through difficult times, but I am just really happy being here."
The decision to choose Australia ahead of other nations was not made out of convenience or by chance.
"Australia has a lot of advantages. I can't name all of them. There are too many," she grinned.
"The main things are that I have been accepted for the person I am. I can feel safe here. This is the most important because unfortunately not everywhere in the world right now you can feel like that.
"Australia is one of the places where I feel people come together and the philosophy of mateship is the best."
The fact Australia is such a sporting nation also appealed.
"Every year coming here I felt super jealous of the life and sport here," she said.
Kasatkina bared her soul in her pre-tournament interview but she is in a happy place.
In October it became clear she needed a break and it wasn't easy to come to that conclusion.
"That was a super necessary decision but for us tennis players it is very difficult to accept that you need a break," she said.
"We have tournament after tournament and we have to defend the points from the previous season which is an additional anxiety.
"I just felt that if I pushed for longer I would have got in a deeper hole. I am proud of the decision."
She had a record of playing all the tournaments and ploughing on regardless so to miss multiple tournaments in a row was "something big".
Early on in the break she didn't know what to do with herself. Free time was a curse but the light emerged at the end of a dark tunnel.
"I took six weeks off but the first three weeks was a disaster," she said.
"It was really difficult. I just wasn't enjoying it. I found myself being super unhappy and in a really dark place.
"After the six weeks I feel like I am finally recharged.
"I needed to do this to understand there are certain limits you can push through and then you have to give yourself space to stay a sane person. For me it worked pretty well.
"The second part of my break I felt like I was enjoying my break and ... I found out how to deal with my free time."
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