Maria Sakkari has expressed her agreement with
Coco Gauff regarding the need for perspective amid the sport's highs and lows.
19-year-old Gauff had a dream run at this year's
US Open, defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the final to win her first Grand Slam title and lift the trophy in front of a home crowd. As a result, she rose to World No. 3 and received $3 million in prize money.
This was particularly impressive due to the fact that Gauff was carrying a lot of pressure at the tournament following a successful summer on the North American swing, where she won both the WTA 500 DC Open and the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open.
Gauff explained that she dealt with such pressure by putting the tournaments into perspective.
"I mean, there are people struggling to feed their families, people who don't know where their next meal is going to come from, people who have to pay their bills. That's real pressure, that's real hardship, that's real life," she said.
Sakkari backs up Gauff's words
Now, top-10 player Sakkari has backed up Gauff's comments. The Greek player is currently competing at the San Diego Open after a disappointing run at Flushing Meadows, crashing out in the first round. In the press conference after her defeat, Sakkari was visibly upset and suggested she may take a break from the sport. However, she has since seemed to be in a much more positive mindset.
"There are a lot worse things than losing a tennis match... sometimes we're too focused on losing a match or something going wrong in our tennis career and we don't look at the outside.
"There are people that are homeless, people that are sick... parents are losing their children, people that lose their siblings... I can name things that are so much worse than losing a tennis match. Coco is actually very right. I couldn't agree with her more," she said.
The 28-year-old also praised Gauff's mindset, calling her 'mature' and 'a nice person.'
"She's very mature, she's a very nice person. She has her feet on the ground, so she knows what's happening in life. She’s right... it’s just that everyone focuses on their own problem. For us, losing a match is big. But compared to the outside, it’s something very small," Sakkari continued.
