Former world number three has just fallen to outside the top 80 in the WTA rankings but hits back at critics

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There have been some big movements in the WTA rankings in recent weeks after the sunshine double of Indian Wells and the Miami Open.

This included Mirra Andreeva climbing to a career-high ranking after winning the biggest title of her career at Indian Wells.

Another player to triumph in recent weeks is Aryna Sabalenka, who extended her lead over Iga Swiatek after winning the Miami Open.

While Andreeva and Sabalenka are likely to be happy with their ranking movements, other WTA players are less satisfied.

Maria Sakkari hits back after she is confirmed to exit the top 80 of the WTA rankings

Maria Sakkari is a former world number three, which she first achieved in March 2022, and was part of the WTA top 10 until September last year.

However, since then the Greek has dropped down the rankings, with Sakkari struggling with a shoulder injury and a drop in form.

After cutting the end of her 2024 season short, Sakkari returned with a point to prove in January.

This has not been come to fruition yet, with Sakkari winning only six of her 11 matches so far in 2025, and has not claimed back-to-back wins since July 2024.

Her most recent loss came in the second round of the Charleston Open to Qinwen Zheng, meaning that Sakkari will now drop outside the top 80 for the first time since 2017.

When this was reported on social media, a tennis journalist suggested that he did not think Sakkari would be able to return to the top 10 again in her career.

However, Sakkari was not willing to take this lying down and quickly responded by pointing out that many other players have been in similar situations when coming back from injuries.

“Am I the first or the last that’s coming back from an injury and is dropping points?” Sakkari questioned on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Can Maria Sakkari make her way back up the WTA rankings?

Sakkari currently has a live ranking of world number 81, and will have a total of 821 ranking points following the conclusion of the Charleston Open.

The clay court season is where Sakkari has most of her points to defend this year, with 250 coming off her ranking in the coming weeks.

Despite reaching two semi-finals in 2021, Grand Slams have been a particular weakness of Sakkari’s in recent years, after winning only three of her last 11 matches at majors.

The last time that Sakkari surpassed the third round of a major tournament was at the 2022 Australian Open, giving the 29-year-old an opportunity to gain points at the biggest events this year.

Sakkari will look to make her way back up the rankings, as she will return to action in two weeks for the WTA 250 tournament on the indoor clay courts of Rouen.