Olympus, the Parthenon and tennis. The panorama of Greece in the world is changing thanks to two characters: Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who promote the image of their country thanks to the excellence they have acquired in recent years in the game of rackets.
One of the highlights came at the end of this year, when Sakkari was confirmed as the first Greek to qualify for a WTA Finals in the 49-year history of the tournament. She was also assumed as the first representative of her country to enter the top 10 of the ranking, in which she is currently sixth, a contrast to 2020, in which her best position had been number 20.
“It is probably the greatest tennis moment in the history of Greece, with two players at the top of the top 10, two of the best players in the world. It’s actually very, very good for my country’s tennis ”, Sakkari mentioned to El Economista after starting the WTA Finals with a victory (6-2, 6-4) over the Polish Iga Swiatek in the round robin.
Originally from Athens and skilled in tennis, Sakkari highlights within this moment his compatriot, Tsitsipas, who at 23 years old has just ascended to the ranking 3 of the world in the men’s branch, only behind the legend of Novak Djokovic and the Russian Daniil Medvedev.
Tennis is growing very fast in Greece, it is a sport that everyone loves regardless of their age. I think both of us, both Stefanos and I, are very proud to have achieved it. Tennis in Greece has been so great in the last two years because of us, I would say that it is already the number three sport in our country after soccer and basketball, it is already quite popular ”, highlighted the number 6 in the world to this newspaper .
According to the international ranking of the website Most Popular Sports, which analyzes metrics from various media to define the most popular sports in each country, in Greece tennis oscillates between third and fourth place competing with motorsport, while soccer and basketball occupy the first positions.
2021 has been the best sporting year for Maria Sakkari, reaching the semifinals of two Grand Slams (Roland Garros and US Open) and also in the Masters 1000 in Miami. He did not win a title, but was 67% effective in 18 tournaments of the season, surpassing the 65% he achieved in all of 2020 (which had been his best year in terms of performance).
In the Guadalajara Finals, Sakkari competes in the Chichén Itzá Group, along with the Spanish Paula Badosa, the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka and the Polish Swiatek, whom she defeated in her debut match. It should be noted that their qualification to this tournament came after having obtained the fifth highest number of points of the season (3,341), only below Ashleigh Barty, Sabalenka, Barbora Krejcikova and Karolina Pliskova.
Mental health, a key tool for Sakkari
In that first duel of the WTA Finals, the Greek ended the meeting with an emotional hug towards her Polish rival, putting into practice her philosophy that “before we are tennis players, we are human beings”, in addition to the years in which her career has been accompanied by psychology.
“I have been working with a psychologist for years and with a sports psychologist for the last year, I have invested a lot in that. It’s probably the best gift I’ve ever given myself. On and off the pitch, he has made me a better person, it is probably the best decision I have ever made ”.
After episodes like that of Naomi Osaka At Roland Garros, withdrawing due to the pressure of the tournament, psychology has resounded in the questions about the preparation of the tennis players, which is why Sakkari emphasizes this activity.
“Obviously I can’t say much about what I work with with my psychologist, but it’s just finding ways to be kind to myself, really just finding the right way to be positive and putting less weight on all the negative thoughts around tennis. That’s the way I’ve been working and it’s really helped me a lot. “
On the particular episode with Swiatek, he commented: “I saw that she was struggling and that was not a pleasant thing to see from the other side of the network. She is a very, very nice girl. I mean, we always have great practices and great talks. In addition, he is only 20 years old, he will have many more opportunities than me in the future because it is only the beginning of his career ”.
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Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx