Maria Sakkari Announces Heartbreaking News After Unhappy Ending at US Open

Maria Sakkari has received more bad news after a disappointing US Open campaign, as the Greek tennis star will be unable to defend her title in Guadalajara this month due to her persistent shoulder injury.

After missing the WTA 1000 tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati at the start of the North American hard-court season, the former world number 3 still went to Flushing Meadows to at least try to play the last Grand Slam of the season. But after just one set and a 2-6 loss to world number 80 Wang Yafan, the 29-year-old retired from the match.

She will now also miss Guadalajara, a venue where she won her first and only WTA 1000 title last year.

“Unfortunately I won’t be able to play @glopen (starting September 17) this year. I’m still recovering from a shoulder injury and need more time to heal. Last year I had one of the best times of my career there and it’s one of my favorite tournaments. To all my fans in Mexico, I hope to see you soon and thank you for your continued support!” the world number 9 wrote in a message posted on her Instagram story.

Why was Guadalajara more than just a victory for Sakkari last year?

Twelve months ago, the Greek suffered a shock first-round defeat at the US Open to Rebeka Masarova, extending her run of poor results at Grand Slam level. Shortly after the match, the 29-year-old broke down in tears at her press conference and admitted she was struggling and suggested she might even take a break from tennis.

But after a few days of thinking about what had happened next, the former world number 3 decided to continue playing. A few weeks later, she managed to travel to Mexico without dropping a single set in her five matches there – this triumph ended her streak of six consecutive defeats in the WTA Finals.

Afterwards, Sakkari became emotional and stressed that the victory meant a lot to her because of everything that happened at the US Open and also because she wanted to silence her critics and doubters.