Sakkari ends her losing streak against top 30 players in Dubai with a victory.
Maria Sakkari competing at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (Via Imago)
is set to reclaim her position in the Top-10 rankings after a successful performance in the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai. The Greek player dropped out of the elite Top 10 on Monday after losing 8 consecutive matches against top 30 players, but she is now poised to climb back up the rankings.
On Monday, Sakkari attracted attention when she fell from 9th to 11th place. However, her impressive 6-2, 6-4 triumph over American Emma Navarro will see her return to 9th place after just one week.
Sakkari had been struggling to secure a victory against a top 30 player for some time, having been eliminated in the second round of both the Abu Dhabi Open and the Qatar Open. Emma Navarro, who had won 13 matches this season, was considered the favorite to win the game. However, Sakkari silenced her critics with a remarkable performance.
World No. 11 @MariaSakkari puts an end to her three-match losing streak with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Emma Navarro in Dubai! pic.twitter.com/LWHANjGZZP
During the on-court interview, Sakkari acknowledged that she knew it would be a challenging match, but she expressed her satisfaction with the win in Dubai.
In the Round of 16, Maria Sakkari will be facing Jasmine Paolini. Paolini secured an impressive 6-3, 6-4 victory over Canadian Leylah Fernandez. This marks the first time that Sakkari has reached the Round of 16 at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships, as she was previously eliminated in the second round on two occasions.
Recently, Sakkari made the announcement of her professional split from her longtime coach . The duo shared the news of their six-year working relationship coming to an end on Instagram.
Throughout their six years together, the Greek player achieved a career-high ranking of No.3. Sakkari also reached the semifinals of two major tournaments and won two WTA titles during this period.
In 2024, Sakkari was eliminated in the second round of the Australian Open and had been on a three-match losing streak following disappointing performances in Abu Dhabi and Doha.
According to the Source firstsportz.com