"He's like a brother to me" - Maria Sakkari pleased to have ex-coach Tom Hill back in her corner

After a poor start to the 2025 WTA season, Greek tennis star Maria Sakkari is hoping to right the ship at the Madrid Open, having reunited with former coach Tom Hill prior to the event.

The 29-year old holds a 7-12 win/loss match record this season, with her best outing being a quarterfinal appearance at the Linz Open. Sakkari suffered several opening round upset losses during the year, which has seen her ranking fall to World No.82.

Following her opening round win over China's Xinyu Wang, Sakkari stopped by The Tennis Channel to discuss her thought's on reuniting with Tom Hill (prior to the start of the Madrid Open), who aided Sakkari in her rise to World No.3 before the duo split up a year ago.

""You know, I'm super excited," said Sakkari. "I'm so happy to be back with him. And just, I think he's the same.
"As you know, I've been struggling. Getting to know people and becoming comfortable with other coaches. And I feel like Tom knows me better than anyone else. He's like a brother to me, so you know, we have a great relationship.
"I feel like that one year apart was great for us because we really got to mature and see other things. And we're both just so happy."

Sakkari will take on 29th seeded-Pole Magda Linette in the second round on Friday.