Maria Sakkari admits she is surprised to have ended the year in the world’s top 10 after losing her latest match at the WTA Finals on Thursday.
The world No.9 was beaten 6-3, 6-2, by an in-form Jessica Pegula in just 80 minutes to make it her third consecutive defeat at the season-ending tournament. Sakkari only managed to get entry into the main draw following the withdrawal of Karolina Michova due to injury. In her latest match, the Greek won less than 50% of her service points and hit almost three times more unforced errors than winners (35-12).
Despite her recent losses on the Tour, Sakkari is drawing positives from what has been a roller-coaster past 12 months. At the four Grand Slams, she only managed to win two matches which both were at the Australian Open. However, in September she won her first WTA 1000 title at the Guadalajara Open.
“I really believe this was the toughest season of my career,” Sakkari said following her loss to Pegula.
“I don’t want to be hard on myself. I’m very proud of myself that I managed to finish in the top 10 for the third time in a row. I don’t know how I did it. I’m being deadly honest.”
“After the US Open, I was probably around number 20 in the race. It’s just proof to myself that I can make things happen.”
Sakkari closes out 2023 with a record of 38 wins against 25 losses achieved on the Tour. Although only three of those victories were against top 10 players. She was also a runner-up at the Citi Open in Washington and reached the semi-finals or better at eight different tournaments.
Looking ahead to the future, the 28-year-old admits that she needs to improve her game if she wishes to challenge the best in the world. Sakkari hinted at making some changes to her game during the off-season but didn’t elaborate on what that will be.
“I also need to push hard in pre-season because there are players out there who’ve taken it to another level. For me to get back to the top three, I need to take it one step further.” She admits.
“The good thing is that everyone on my team is on board. We’re gonna make changes. We’re gonna make steps and try. I’m not saying it’s gonna happen for sure. But try to get to the top level of the game again.”
“Coming into the (WTA) finals, I wasn’t well prepared. I don’t feel physically fit or as fit as I should be. When I don’t move well and I’m not intense or energized, I cannot play my best tennis. But I’m very proud of the season I had.”
Meanwhile, Pegula is through to the semi-finals in Cancun for the first time in her career. The American is yet to drop a set in the tournament after also beating world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina earlier in the week. She is 50-0 in matches played this season after winning the first set.
Pegula has become the first American woman to record six consecutive wins over top 10 players on the Tour since Serena Williams in 2013.
