The Netflix series "Break Point" will premiere its second season on Wednesday, January 10, featuring Maria Sakkari and her challenging 2023 season as stars. The Greek tennis player broke into tears during a press conference after being eliminated in the first round of the US Open, despite being the 8th seed.
In unedited scenes, the series also captures a conversation between Sakkari and former world No. 2 Anett Kontaveit during Wimbledon training shortly before the tournament. Kontaveit retired from professional tennis at the age of 27 due to injuries. Later, Sakkari opens up about her own anxiety, stating, “Tennis is a brutal sport.”
🔴 Maria Sakkari's recent performance in the last 7 Grand Slam tournaments: Roland Garros 2022: Round 2 Wimbledon 2022: Round 3 US Open 2022: Round 2 Australian Open 2023: Round 3 Roland Garros 2023: Round 1 Wimbledon 2023: Round 1 US Open 2023: Round 1 It's understandable why…
“Last year, everything was going great. Getting to No. 3 in the rankings, but then there was a decline. I lost my mind a little bit,” she said. “It came so fast. Just the idea of being that close to being world No. 1. I was not ready for it,” added Maria Sakkari.
Despite finishing 2023 as the world No. 9 with a record of 38-25, Sakkari had an inconsistent year. Multiple losses in early rounds against lower-ranked opponents, along with underperforming in all four Grand Slam events, had her on the verge of dropping out of the top 10: “Then I just started getting all of these panic attacks, and there were just matches that I couldn’t breathe."
“I thought I was going to faint and it wasn’t a pleasant feeling. I was in a dark place for six months. I was just mentally and emotionally empty. I was scared stepping on the court,” she added. “I have all these people saying that when I get to the later stages of a tournament, I’m guaranteed to lose. That gets in your head. Because of this, I’ve had many tough moments.”
The former world No. 3 had only two victories in her four Grand Slam appearances in 2023. At the beginning of the year, she entered the Australian Open as the 6th seed and secured her only wins in a Grand Slam against Yue Yuan and Diana Schnaider. However, she was eliminated in the third round by China's Zhu Lin.
Following that, Sakkari faced a series of setbacks with three first-round exits. At the French Open, Karolina Muchova defeated her, paving the way to the final. In Wimbledon, she also had no luck against the young Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk. The disappointing trend continued at the US Open, where she suffered another first-round defeat, this time against the Spanish player Rebeka Masarova.
