Maria Sakkari has just achieved a major milestone in the WTA Rankings as she reaches her 100th consecutive week in the Top 10.
World No. 8 Sakkari first entered the Top 10 on September 27, 2021, when she went up two places from twelfth to reach No. 10, moving past Belinda Bencic and Petra Kvitova.
This came after the Greek player reached the final of the 2021 Ostrava Open, following a deep run to the semi-finals of the US Open earlier in the same month that had seen her break into the Top 15.
Sakkari's time as world No. 3
The 28-year-old's highest rank so far has been world No. 3. Sakkari achieved this after her results at the 2022 Indian Wells Open, where she reached the final, defeating the likes of Kvitova and Elena Rybakina along the way.
In the semi-finals of the event, she won against defending champion Paula Badosa 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, but suffered a straight-sets loss to world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the final. Nevertheless, this result was good enough for Sakkari to break into the Top 3.
Despite her success, Sakkari has only one WTA title to her name so far, which she won at the Morocco Open back in 2019. However, she has sustained a level of consistency that has helped her to remain in the Top 10 for almost a year and a half.
Fans react to milestone on social media
Fans have reacted to Sakkari's major milestone on social media. Tennis posted the following on X, formerly known as Twitter:
"100 STRAIGHT WEEKS IN THE TOP 10!
@mariasakkari kicks off her milestone 100th consecutive week in the Top 10 today.
Sakkari, the first Greek woman to reach the Top 10 in WTA rankings history, first broke into the elite on September 27th, 2021 and hasn't left since."
Meanwhile, another expressed their hope that the player will go on to win a Grand Slam in the future.
"hope she wins a grand slam someday," they wrote.