The ‘Shakira’ of Tennis, Maria Sakkari is a Greek professional female tennis player. She initially reached the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) World No. 3 ranking on March 21, 2022, making her, along with Stefanos Tsitsipas, the highest-ranked Greek player in history. The highest doubles position of her career was 169th in the world on September 9, 2019.
Sakkari is renowned for her all-court, aggressive style of play, which is based on her potent groundstrokes and excellent serve. When she eliminated Naomi Osaka from the Miami Open in 2021, the Greek tennis prodigy garnered attention on a global level.
At the 2021 Roland-Garros Championships, Maria Sakkari advanced to her maiden major semifinal but lost. She lost to Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic after having a match point at 5-3 in the final set. A few months later, she defeated three top-10 seeds to advance to the 2021 US Open semi-final, where she lost to eventual champion Raducanu.
Maria Sakkari’s family, and why is she called “Shakira”
Maria Sakkari revealed to Michael Kosta, host of Tennis Channel’s “Warm and Fuzzy,” that she frequently gets referred to as Shakira because her last name sounds somewhat similar. “Some people call me Shakira, like the singer,” Sakkari explained. The Greek said that “Magnificent” by U2 is her all-time favorite song.
She was born in Athens on July 25, 1995, to father Konstantinos Sakkari and mother Angelik Kanellopolou, a former top-50 tennis player. Brother Yannis and sister Amanda are her two siblings.
Professional tennis player Dimitris Kanellopoulos was her grandfather. At age 6, her parents introduced her to tennis. When she was 18, she relocated to Barcelona to pursue her tennis career.
Who is Maria Sakkari dating?
The 28-year-old Greek is dating the son of the Prime Minister of Greece. She started dating Konstantinos Mitsotakis the previous year, and they are still together now. Konstantinos is a pretty simple guy, she reportedly said in 2021, according to the Greek publication Alpha.
They are believed to have been together exclusively since 2020. Although Sakkari is a tennis professional, Mitsotakis has proven to be a capable player as well. He has a good serve, Sakkari said in her 2021 interview with Alpha, adding, “We will play many times, I think he likes to play together.”
Sakkari and her profession have a lot of backing from Mitsotakis. In her conversation with Alpha in 2021, she acknowledged Mitsotakis for supporting and helping her with success.
View this post on Instagram
Mitsotakis hails from a politically prominent and well-known family. The position of prime minister of Greece is currently held by his father, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which was previously held by his grandfather, Konstantinos Mitsotakis.
One of the most promising players in women’s tennis, Sakkari has progressed through the ranks as she keeps leaving her imprint on the tennis community.