‘It feels like it was a century ago’: Sakkari recounts 2017 Wuhan breakthrough – USFTB

WUHAN — Nine years ago, Maria Sakkari arrived in Wuhan as a World No. 80 qualifier and had a breakthrough week, beating Caroline Wozniacki, Elena Vesnina and Alizé Cornet before falling to Caroline Garcia in the semifinals. Now back at the 2026 Dongfeng Voyah Wuhan Open, she still reflects on that run.

“That’s when I cracked the top 50 for the first time,” Sakkari said Tuesday. “It is a special place in my heart because I had my first big wins against Wozniacki, Vesnina, Cornet back in the day. Some great names that I managed [beat] to back to back.

“It feels like it was a century ago. Sometimes I look in pictures — nowadays, I feel very young, but back then I was even younger, so I just feel like now I have obviously a lot more experience, more maturity. Back then, I was just a little bit fearless, and I didn’t really think about too much. The more you grow up, the more you think about other things. It’s been almost 10 years since that run, and I’m still producing some very good tennis.”

Sakkari hadn’t played singles in Wuhan since 2018, though she did play doubles last year.

Tuesday, she upset No. 8 seed Marta Kostyuk in a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 comeback win to become the first player to reach the third round. In the first round, she defeated Donna Vekic in straight sets, and Thursday, she’ll face wild card Mia Pohankova for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Should Sakkari advance, she’d be into her first WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes Benz 1000 quarterfinal since Doha in February and her first quarterfinal overall since Athens this summer. 

“[Marta’s] been playing some amazing tennis this year so I knew coming in I had to produce some very good level,” Sakkari said. “Last week against [Elina] Svitolina, I think that I was playing good. I was just not brave enough to take those break points.

“All I’m thinking is I have the chance to try and do something different than last week. The base of my game is there. It’s just that [I need to] try to be a little bit more brave in the big moments.”

Sakkari said last week in Beijing that she finds the final stretch of tournaments as a good chance to push herself. 

She recognizes that every player has traveled all year, but whoever handles the fatigue the best will be in a strong spot for the beginning of 2027 — Sakkari was ranked in the mid 50s this time last season, but now sits at No. 35.