Back in Rome: Maria Sakkari earns main draw spot after qualifying wins

Maria Sakkari returns to the main draw of the Rome Open after coming through qualifying, defeating Maja Chwalinska for a spot in the main draw. The former world No. 3 is going through a difficult period that caused a massive drop in her ranking to world No. 81, where she appeared this Monday in the WTA Ranking.

The 29-year-old Greek player is seeking to rediscover her best form in this clay-court swing, after staying within the world's best for the past five seasons. Sakkari had won the WTA 1000 title at the Guadalajara Open and has two other final appearances and five semifinals in WTA 1000 tournaments, including the semifinals in Rome back in 2023, where she was defeated by Aryna Sabalenka.

Sakkari arrived at the tournament with a poor 10-14 record this season, although last week she seemed to regain some confidence at the Madrid Open after reaching the Round of 16, achieving three consecutive wins for the first time since the Adelaide International in the first week of January.

Along the way in Madrid, she defeated rivals like Magda Linette (29th seed) and Jasmine Paolini (6th seed), in what was her first win against a top-10 player since March 2024.

This time, in a new ranking position, she was forced to compete in the qualifying of a WTA 1000 for the first time since 2019. In qualifying, Sakkari defeated Chloe Paquet (No. 138) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 and the Polish player Maja Chwalinska (No. 124), again coming back from a set down, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Sakkari will join the main draw of the tournament, waiting to find out her opponent. Potential first-round rivals include players like Emma Raducanu (No. 49) and Belinda Bencic (No. 39).

Sakkari is defending 90 ranking points from her 2024 participation, where she defeated Donna Vekic and Sloane Stephens to reach the round of 16, where she fell to Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia. The Greek player could drop a significant number of positions in the ranking if she doesn't advance several rounds, while she currently sits at No. 91 in the live ranking.