Maria Sakkari news
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The gist
Maria Sakkari beat Mia Pohánková 6-1, 6-4 to reach the Wuhan Open quarterfinals.
The run revives memories of her 2017 breakthrough at the same event.
Background
Maria Sakkari is a Greek tennis player who first broke into the top-50 at the 2017 Wuhan Open, where as a 22-year-old ranked No. 80 she won two qualifying matches and beat Yulia Putintseva, Caroline Wozniacki, Elena Vesnina and Alize Cornet before losing in the semifinal to Caroline Garcia. Wuhan hosts the last WTA 1000 tournament of the season, and Sakkari returned to the event eight years after that run, having lost to Wang Qiang in the first round there in 2018.
How it unfolded
- Sep 25, 2026Sakkari lost to Talia Gibson 1-6, 6-4, 2-6 in the Singapore Tennis Open quarter-final.
- Oct 3, 2026After a first-round bye, Sakkari beat Storm Sanders 6-2, 6-2 in the China Open second round.
- Oct 5, 2026Sakkari lost to Elina Svitolina 4-6, 5-7 in the China Open third round.
- Oct 12, 2026Sakkari beat Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-2 in the Wuhan Open first round in 1h39min on hard court, coming from 4-2 down in the opening set.
- Oct 13, 2026Sakkari upset No. 8 seed Marta Kostyuk 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to become the first player to reach the third round.
- Oct 15, 2026Sakkari beat Mia Pohánková 6-1, 6-4 in 1 hour 23 minutes to advance to the Wuhan Open quarterfinals.
Who’s saying what
- Player
- Sakkari said her 2017 Wuhan run was when she cracked the top-50 for the first time and called the event a special place in her heart.
- Player
- Sakkari said of that run, "It feels like it was a century ago," adding that she now has more experience and maturity but was "a little bit fearless" back then.
- Player
- Sakkari said after beating Kostyuk that she knew she had to produce a very good level and that she needs to be "a little bit more brave in the big moments."