Sakkari, Seeking Confidence, Could Drop Out of Top 100 After Wimbledon
Maria Sakkari’s ranking situation is not improving. Now the 85th-ranked player in the world, the Greek continues to slide week after week. Still in the top 30 at the start of the year and in the top 10 last September, Sakkari has failed to defend her points. A quarterfinalist in Miami last year, she fell in the third round this year against Coco Gauff.
Apart from a round of 16 appearance in Madrid a few weeks later—including a clean and convincing win over Jasmine Paolini—the 29-year-old has not shined in 2025, with only a quarterfinal in Linz in February, where she lost to Dayana Yastremska. After her first-round exit at Roland-Garros against Elsa Jacquemot, Sakkari began her grass-court campaign in 's-Hertogenbosch.
Following a straight-sets win over Anouk Koevermans, the 2021 Roland-Garros semifinalist was defeated by Elise Mertens. Entering the Berlin qualifying draw, Sakkari now faces immediate pressure to deliver results and will need to perform well before Wimbledon if she wants to avoid dropping out of the top 100.
Indeed, as reported by *Tennis Up To Date*, the Greek will need a strong grass-court season to maintain her place in the top 100. Sakkari, who faces Rebeka Masarova in the first round of Berlin WTA 500 qualifying, could then meet Anna Kalinskaya for a spot in the main draw.
If she fails to qualify, she will lose points compared to last year, when she fell in the first round of the main draw before suffering another early exit in Bad Homburg.
Thus, if she doesn’t clear the qualifying hurdle in the German capital, her top 100 position would be more threatened than ever, and she would need to bring her best tennis to Wimbledon.
After reaching the third round at Wimbledon last year, she would now need to at least make the second week in London to avoid being ejected from the top 100. This would be a first for the former world No. 3 since September 2016.
Wimbledon