Sakkari reveals Kerber warning prior to 2022 season: "She was like good luck this season, it's gonna be the toughest one"

Maria Sakkari experienced a very tough season in 2022 that ended at the WTA Finals in Forth Worth with a loss in the semi-finals.

The Greek player had a major breakout season last year nearly reaching her first grand slam final at Roland Garros as well as solidifying herself as a top 10 player. She did not win a trophy despite playing some finals and she did a similar thing this year albeit her results were not nearly as consistent as last year.

She revealed that she was warned by Angelique Kerber that it's going to be a tough season as she went through something similar:

“I think when you first break into the top 10 and you first finish your season ended top 10, I think the next season is the toughest one. Kerber went up to Tom [Hill, my coach] because we practiced at the Australian Open, and she was like, ‘Good luck this season. It's gonna be the toughest one’, but in a good way."

Sakkari continued:

“So we had a warning. Obviously I didn't know it was going to be that tough. But again, there are so many things that went wrong this year, but at the same time I managed to get myself in the right direction. And I'm proud that I could finish the year in the top 10 and being one of the best players. We'll see tonight maybe the top five of the tour.”