Maria Sakkari exited the world's Top 10 very recently, and that didn't please some people, especially on social media.
In a story of parallels, Sakkari exited the Top 10 at the same time fellow Greek and ATP player Stefanos Tsitsipas also left that group in the ATP rankings. Sakkari and Tsitsipas are widely considered the best Greek tennis players representing the two tours.
After a run of three straight defeats, she called time on her association with coach Tom Hill, who had been in her box for six years.
Meanwhile, Tsitsipas lost her spot in the Top 10 after an early exit at the Australian Open. It also ended the streak of at least one player, with one-handed backhand being ranked in the Top 10 since 1973.
One fan account on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) with the handle Tennis24gr termed the rankings slide by both players as a "historic low" for Greek tennis. Sakkari's dismal start to the year saw her dip to 11th in the new rankings this week, the same position as Tsitsipas.
The tweet read (translated in English), "A historic low for Greece in the men's and women's rankings in the last two and a half years. @steftsitsipas and @mariasakkari dropped out of the top 10 both occupying 11th place in #ATPRankings and #WTARankings respectively as of today."
However, the Athenian has since seen the tweet and responded. Sakkari's words reverberated echos of disdain. The Guadalajara Open champion believes such reactions hinder any progress within the Greek tennis fraternity.
"Did you give this much thought before writing it? Because of this, tennis will not go forward in our country. You are laughable!"
Sakkari is currently in action at this week's Dubai Championships. She snapped her three-match losing run by beating Emma Navarro in the second round, 6-2, 6-4.
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