From a very young age,
Maria Sakkari was surrounded by tennis as her mother was a WTA player and she is accompanying Sakkari to the
WTA Finals.
Maria Sakkari elected to bring her mother to the WTA Finals with her in order to experience the most important event in her career with her. For Sakkari it's very important to have her mother there explaining:
“It's great because I think it's very important for a parent to see their kid being here. It can't get any better, other than winning a Slam or an event like this one."
Sakkari has had an unbelievable year in 2021 and she became the first Greek woman to ever qualify for the WTA Finals. It's something she is extremely proud of noting many times how important it is for her to be a great role model for young girls in Greece. On qualifying in particular she said:
"I’m very proud of myself and my team that we actually made it to the Finals for the first time, and for the first time in the history of Greece for a female tennis player."
She also revealed her motivation to be extremely high:
"It's great to be in that position. I really like the challenge and I really enjoy that I actually have a chance, because, yes, it might sound crazy for someone that has played the finals a couple of times or three or four times, maybe their motivation is not as high as it is for me, because let's be real it's my first time and it's a goal - it's something big for a tennis player, it is one of the best tournaments in the world and it is only eight players that get to play it."