The Greek has only managed to win one WTA career title, something she will be looking to add to over the course of her career.
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With a career win-loss record of over 60%, Maria Sakkari is one of the most prolific and aggressive tennis players in the world today. She is the highest-ever ranked women’s player from Greece with a current WTA ranking of third. Sakkari has won one WTA title in her career ever since making her professional debut in 2015. She has played at every single Grand Slam, her best performance being at the French Open and US Open in 2021 where she reached the semi-finals. Although being one of the highest-ranked players in the world today, Sakkari’s trophy cabinet is uncharacteristically empty. The Greek has only managed to win one WTA career title, something she will be looking to add to over the course of her career. Born in Athens in 1995, the Greek’s idols growing up were the likes of Serena Williams, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Sakkari’s first and only WTA triumph came in 2019 when she was victorious at the Morocco Open. She defeated the likes of Olga Danilovic, Isabella Shinikova, Elise Mertens, Alison van Uytvanck and Johanna Konta. After that win, she climbed from 51 to 39 in the WTA rankings. 2021 saw Sakkari break into the WTA top 10 rankings and it was also the year when she recorded her best Grand Slam performances. At the French Open that year, the Greek beat the likes of Iga Swiatek, Sofia Kenin, Elise Mertens and others. However, she would then lose to Barbora Krejcikova despite having a match point.
Sakkari then shone on the hard courts of the US Open, beating Karolina Pliskova and Bianca Andreescu to reach the semi-finals of the competition. She would, however, lose to eventual champion Emma Raducanu. The year ended with Sakkari scripting a special piece of history as she made it through to the WTA Finals, becoming the first Greek player in history to do so.
Hill and Sakkari began their collaboration in 2018 by reaching her first career final at the Premier event in San Jose, their first tournament together. Soon after, Hill assisted the Greek in winning her first WTA title in Rabat in April 2019, as well as a semi-final appearance at the Premier 5 event in Rome and a quarter-final appearance at Cincinnati. Sakkari won six Top 10 titles in 2019 under Hill’s tutelage, as well as qualifying for the WTA Elite Trophy event in Zhuhai. Sakkari reached her first two 1000 finals in 2022, at Indian Wells (l. Swiatek) and Guadalajara (l. Pegula), before reaching her second consecutive WTA Final semifinal (l. eventual champion Garcia).
