Maria Sakkari holds her head in pride despite crashing out of the WTA Finals 2023 as Elena Rybakina wins a thriller

The Greek tennis player lost with a scoreline of 6-0, 6-7(4), 7-6(2).

Maria Sakkari holds her head in pride despite crashing out of the WTA Finals 2023 as Elena Rybakina wins a thriller

Maria Sakkari (Credits: Tennisnet.com)

Maria Sakkari may have fallen out of the WTA Finals 2023 after losing in a thrilling match against Elena Rybakina, but she still held her head high after her performance.

Throughout the match, Sakkari was noticeably anxious and stressed. The world no.9 was still reeling from the aftermath of her shattering loss of 6-0,6-1 to the world no.1 Aryna Sabalenka. However, she overcame her fear and played some of her greatest tennis in recent months. At one time, she was just a few points away from winning the match, but Rybakina proved too powerful in the end.

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I'd say I was very tense, very stressed. Probably the result of the score in the previous match was a little bit in my head. My biggest win today was that I overcame that fear on the court. I was points away from perhaps winning that match. I thought I was gonna go down not playing good and finishing the season not in a good way. But today’s performance was promising.
Sakkari said after the game

Despite the defeat, Sakkari was happy with her performance and thought she had surmounted a significant mental challenge. 

One side of me was telling me I couldn’t do it. I had 2 creatures fighting within my mind and within myself. I’m happy I managed to overcome this because it was gonna be very, very tough for me losing 2 easy matches. That was my biggest win from today's match. It could’ve been ugly, but I was very close to winning that match.
she further added

During the match, Sakkari said she heard two voices in her brain, one telling her she couldn’t do it and the other telling her she could battle her way through it but in the end, Sakkari’s battling spirit triumphed, and she was able to drive Rybakina all the way to the finish line.

Maria Sakkari gets eliminated from the WTA Finals

Maria Sakkari faced a devastating defeat against Elena Rybakina in the group stages of the WTA Finals. After her loss to Aryna Sabalenka, this was her last chance to stay in the race of the tournament. However, Rybakina managed to eliminate Sakkari from the tournament.

Maria Sakkari
Maria Sakkari (Credits: Yardbarker)

The Greek played abysmally in the first set. She couldn’t even win one game during the whole set and the scoreline indicated a score of 0-6. However, the 8th-seeded player did not lose hope and made a comeback into the game.

Sakkari managed to save three break points early in the second set. After 12 consecutive holds, the match went to a tiebreak. Sakkari started slow as Rybakina gained a 2-0 lead. However, she couldn’t protect her lead as Sakkari took the tiebreak and forced a decider. The thrilling match came to an end as Rybakina played her most aggressive tennis and out-rallied Sakkari. The Greek tennis player lost with a scoreline of 6-0, 6-7(4), 7-6(2).

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