In sports, athletes not only have to navigate around the physical challenges but also the relentless glare of the public eye. It is a world where every move and vulnerability is exposed to millions. This is the reality for players like Maria Sakkari, who face a high level of scrutiny during almost every match. Talking about this, she explained how an athlete has to “show up every day” no matter what the situation is.

Maria Sakkari, who is currently making headlines in Rome and has qualified for the round of 16, sat down for an interview with WTA Insider Podcast. During a conversation with Courtney Nguyen, Sakkari discussed the realities of life as a tennis professional. She began by saying, “thing is that athletes, not just tennis players. In general, like when you’re in a popular sport, you just have to show up every day.”

Maria Sakkari further added, “And you’re like, acting or playing or performing in front of millions of people. So if you have a bad day, then you’re exposed to, you know, X amount of people.” As she pointed out, tennis can indeed induce controversies and expose players to heavy backlash. It has been true for Sakkari as well in the past. While playing in the Indian Wells tournament last year, Sakkari became inadvertently entangled in a controversial incident. Her opponent, Karolina Pliskova was almost on the verge of losing the third set. But then it took a dramatic turn. 

She accused Sakkari of cheating! This happened when Sakkari’s racquet touched the ball before landing out of court, and the umpire gave Sakkari the point. This led to a heated argument and concluded with Pliskova refusing to look Sakkari in the eyes during the handshake after the match. 

The clip of the match went viral on the internet and received a lot of scrutiny from fans worldwide. Having firsthand experience of this, Sakkari further added that such types of incidents are rare in other sectors of work. “But if you make a mistake, or if you’re having a bad day, which can happen to everyone, the difference is that person is not exposed to millions of people,” she concluded. However, the Indian Wells controversy was not the only one where she faced a tough time on-court. It happened at the Canadian Open as well.

The time when Danielle Collins asked Maria Sakkari to “shut her mouth”

Maria Sakkari, known for her competitive spirit on court, found herself involved in a clash against Danielle Collins at the Canadian Open in 2023. The match progressed smoothly in the first set, with Collins in the lead. But during the second set, Sakkari’s first serve was called a fault, creating a brief interruption in the flow. And this frustrated Sakkari and she hit a ball onto the floor. But then the ball bounced off the court and reached the crowd. 

In a clear display of discomfort, Collins and Sakkari engaged in a drawn-out argument. Collins went up to the chair umpire before telling the Greek player to “shut her mouth”. Although the match ended with Collins defeating Sakkari, the incident received a lot of criticism from the tennis community. As a result, her reflections on the constant pressure and scrutiny of millions of people make sense to all of us. It reminds us that although the taste of victory is sweet, it indeed comes with a ton of challenges.