‘I want to catch them’ – How Maria Sakkari is aiming to be ‘one of the best players again’ after Indian Wells run

“I’m just very happy that I’m finding form again and finding myself again.”

Welcome back, Maria Sakkari.

“You never want to lose and leave the tournament as a loser,” said Sakkari. “But at the same time, there are so many good things that happened the last two weeks that I cannot just ignore. I think I’ll get this one day.”

Sakkari came into Indian Wells desperate for a positive run.

She had lost four of her last five matches before the tournament and a month earlier had split with coach Tom Hill after six years together. Stretching further back, Sakkari’s form had been patchy since the start of 2023.

She decided against that and a month later had the bright spot in her season with a title run in Guadalajara as she won her first WTA 1000 trophy. But Sakkari still finished the year with her lowest win rate (60 per cent) since 2019, when she was outside the top 20.

If it felt like Sakkari was falling away from those at the very top, she herself admits it felt like her career was stagnating.

“A little bit, I would say,” she said at Indian Wells last week. “Not blaming anyone, of course, blaming only myself. I just feel like just trying new things and trying to be better and improve. I really believe I have a good chance on just getting back to that level and giving myself the best chance to become, you know, one of the best players again.”

Sakkari’s move to try and freshen things up was to end things with Hill and hire David Witt, who recently split with Jessica Pegula.

Witt was named WTA Coach of the Year in 2022 and helped Pegula reach No. 3 in the world and become a regular at the latter stages of Grand Slams.

“There are a couple of girls that have made an extra step in their careers, and I just want to try, and you know, catch them,” said Sakkari about the move. “By working with David, I think I can do that. I just feel like I have the athletic abilities…It’s just that I need to add a couple of things.”

Among the changes Sakkari is aiming to make with Witt is being more aggressive.

“Just being brave, basically. Not playing to lose; playing to win. It has really helped me this week.”

Indian Wells was Sakkari’s first tournament with Witt in her corner, which might have been a smart move given Sakkari’s liking for the conditions. She has now made two finals and one semi-final in the last three years at Indian Wells and has played some of her best tennis at the tournament.

The Miami Open has not been so favourable, with Sakkari not winning a match in her last two appearances. However, she did make the semis in 2021 and she will be hoping to continue her momentum from Indian Wells to make another positive impression.