Maria Sakkari feeling confident ahead of showdown with Jasmine Paolini in Madrid - "I feel like my game is back on track"

After a slow start to the 2025 WTA season, Greek tennis star Maria Sakkari seems set to right the ship as she undergoes a resurgence at the 2025 Madrid Open.

The former World No.3 has looked impressive thus far in Madrid, recording two straight set wins as she advances to the third round. Sakkari is set to face sixth-seeded Jasmine Paolini, who cruised past Britain's Katie Boulter in a 6-1, 6-2 victory earlier on Friday.

Seeing her ranking fall from the top 10 to World No.82 was disheartening, but Sakkari believes she is in a better place now than she was during her slump over the past few months.

"I keep saying to people that are around me that I’m happier now, even though I’m 89th in the world (in the live rankings) than I was when I was three,” revealed Sakkari in a press conference after her second round win over Magda Linette in Madrid. “Because I feel like those months that I was away, I worked on myself. I worked on myself on not caring that the other players are in Asia or they’re playing the Finals and I’m not there.
“I’m just super happy to be back on the tour. And that’s going to give me a lot of strength for the next few years. I feel like my game is back on track. Obviously, if I want to beat those players, no matter what round it is, I have to play like today, and even better. I know how they feel playing me, because I’ve been there. I might have a big number next to my name but I know they respect me as a player. So it’s going to be tough both ways.”