Maria Sakkari kicked off her campaign in the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai with a convincing win.
Sakkari defeated the 23rd-ranked player in the world, Emma Navarro of Spain, with a score of 6-2, 6-4, securing her spot in the next round.
This victory marks Sakkari’s first win in the main draw of the tournament after three previous losses.
In the upcoming round, Sakkari will face off against the 26th-ranked Italian player, Jasmine Paolini, who advanced after defeating Leylah Fernandez in straight sets (6-3, 6-4).
The last time Sakkari and Paolini met was two years ago at Roland Garros, where Sakkari emerged victorious with a 2-0 set score.
With this win, Sakkari is set to return to the top ten of the world rankings next week.
Meanwhile Sakkari responded strongly to a comment criticising her and fellow Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas’ recent drop in the rankings.
Both players had been fixtures in the men’s and women’s top 10, but they were both pushed out of this elite group in the latest rankings update on February 19.
Tsitsipas had been a top 10 player for nearly five years, first breaking into the top 10 in March 2019.
Sakkari, on the other hand, had been in the top 10 since September 2021.
Currently, they are both ranked World No. 11 in their respective categories.
A Greek tennis reporting account on X called their drop in rankings “a historic low” for Greek tennis in recent years.
Sakkari reacted to this remark, saying it was not well-thought-out and would have a negative impact on tennis in their country.
“Did you think before writing this? Comments like this hold back tennis in our country. You are ridiculous!” she wrote on X.
Despite their recent results, Sakkari and Tsitsipas remain Greece’s highest-ranked tennis players and have previously achieved the highest rankings ever for Greek tennis players, reaching as high as World No. 3 in their respective categories.
