Maria Sakkari picks Iga Swiatek as the ‘most stable player’ but defies the idea of ‘BIG 3’ in the women’s tour

Maria Sakkari praised Iga Swiatek while dismissing Big 3 comparisons.


Maria Sakkari picks Iga Swiatek as the ‘most stable player’ but defies the idea of ‘BIG 3’ in the women’s tour

Maria Sakkari and Iga Swiatek (via Imago)

Greece’s Maria Sakkari has been having a great year. But she is going largely unnoticed due to the consistent successes of the top three players, Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina.

Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka have made two successive WTA 1000 finals now in Madrid and Rome. Swiatek has won both these ties and cemented herself at the top of the world rankings. Maria Sakkari, in a recent interview with the Roland Garros press, suggested that the Polish world number one remains the favorite at the French Open, adding that she is the most stable player at the moment. However, she feels everyone on tour is playing great now and the competition is as tough as it gets.

Iga's the most stable player right now but I feel everyone is playing good, and on a good day everyone can beat anyone.
Maria Sakkari said

Recent statistics show a brewing three-way rivalry between the top three, a trend that has been prominent on the men’s side for the last two decades. Sakkari dismissed the comparisons of the Swiatek-Sabalenka-Rybakina rivalry with that of the big 3, saying that there are more than three players who are at the same level now on the WTA tour. 

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I don’t really pay attention to that Big 3 talk cuz I dont think it's only 3 players at that level right now, it’s more than 3.
Maria Sakkari added

On the men’s side, Nadal, Federer and Djokovic were evidently a level above everyone else and this is yet to be seen on the women’s side.

Bold Maria Sakkari shares her main goal for the season

Maria Sakkari has been consistent throughout the last couple of years, spending all but one week inside the top ten since 2021, when she entered that elite group. This year, too, she has made multiple deep runs and gone down mostly only against established players. 

Maria-Sakkari-Miami-Open
Maria Sakkari (Image via Imago)

Coming into the French Open open with a 7-3 win-loss ratio on clay this year, the Greek is yet to show her best tennis on her favorite surface. She is ranked 8 in the world, but not much separates the players between ranks 4 and 10 from one another. 

I just feel like for me, my main goal is to get into that top-three level and then everything for me is possible.
Maria Sakkari said

Sakkari shared her main goal for the upcoming tournaments, and this may not be out of her reach as it can be achieved with a deep run in Roland Garros.

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