"Being nice to yourself is always important" says Maria Sakkari

2021 has been an eventful year for Maria Sakkari who finally broke through in the way she always deemed herself capable. She played in her first grand slam semifinal almost reaching the final while also ending up in the top 10 at the end of the year as well as playing at the WTA Finals. Sakkari wrote:

"Reaching my first two Grand Slam semi-finals in one season has been incredible and ending the season in Guadalajara at the WTA Finals really was a dream come true. But it did not happen by mistake..."

She continued:

"Before this year, I would say that sometimes I was a little too hard and negative on myself. This season, with the help of surrounding myself with the right people, I’ve concentrated on making my mindset much more positive by manifesting kinder thoughts. I think my results have benefited from that, so I would definitely say that being nice to yourself is always a good idea.

That is what we’ve mostly been focussing on and adjusting my attitude has definitely led to gradual improvement, but there was one particular moment at Roland Garros that I think was the big turning point - not just in my season but also in my career. I remember feeling good with my game in Paris, but my match against Elise Mertens was key. It was probably one of the best of my season and winning it gave me a lot of confidence."

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"My ranking is a reflection of that - I broke into the Top 10 when I was 26 and I think having a breakthrough at this age requires having a different sort of mentality. When you are young and at the early stages of your career, you’re fearless - you don’t think and you just play. At 26, you are a lot more mature, a lot more aware and you have to handle things differently. So that’s why this milestone felt even more special for me. Of course, being the first Greek female tennis player to ever achieve this made it even better. It’s a big thing for myself, my family and my country, and with Stefanos [Tsitsipas] in the Top 10 for guys too, it’s just a very nice thing for Greece.

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Growing up in Greece, we didn’t have many tennis players so it wasn’t that easy to replicate a pathway to the top. However, having my mum as a former tennis player was something that really inspired me and it made me believe that I could achieve my goals. She’s been by my side since I started playing tennis when I was six years old, which has helped a lot and I owe a lot to her in terms of getting me to where I am right now."

She finished with:

"During the off-season, my plan is simply to rest and basically do nothing! I don’t want to travel anywhere - I just want to take this opportunity to rest and then plan my next season. I don’t have specific goals in mind because this year has shown me that anything is possible. Becoming a better version of my existing self is probably my biggest intention."