Maria Sakkari shatters the Iga Swiatek invincibility shield
The statistic was so lopsided it felt more like a clerical error than a professional sports record: 109-0.
Since Iga Swiatek began her ascent to the summit of the women’s game, a simple law of physics seemed to govern the WTA 1000 circuit. If the Pole takes the first set, the match is over.
For 109 consecutive matches, opponents had tried to solve that riddle. All 109 had failed. They had been ground down by her heavy topspin, demoralized by her sliding defense, and eventually ushered off the court in straight sets or a lopsided decider.
On a humid Thursday evening in Doha, Maria Sakkari stepped onto the court to face the World No. 2 as a massive underdog. Ranked 52nd and still searching for the form that once made her a mainstay in the Top 5, Sakkari watched the first set slip away in a familiar 6-2 blur.
To the thousands watching, it was another inevitable chapter in the Swiatek book of dominance. But Sakkari had decided she was no longer interested in reading from that script.
“It’s not like you have an advantage with Iga and with those players,” Sakkari reflected after the match, still buzzing from the 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 triumph. “You always, you’re always the underdog with playing against the No. 2 in the world, especially where I’m coming from.”
What followed was a masterclass in psychological warfare and tactical bravery.
Sakkari, reuniting with longtime coach Tom Hill, didn’t panic when the first set vanished in 33 minutes. Instead, she leaned into a high-risk, high-reward strategy that targeted the tiny margins of Swiatek’s game. She refused to let the “unbeatable” tag dictate her movement.
“I honestly don’t feel like I was playing bad in that first,” Sakkari said, pinpointing a net cord at 2-all that shifted the opening set’s momentum. “I know it’s a small detail, but with those players it’s one or two points per set that can really change everything.”
By the second set, the change was palpable. Sakkari began taking the ball earlier, swinging with a ferocity that pushed the three-time Doha champion behind the baseline.
The heavy ball that usually keeps opponents at bay was being redirected with interest. Sakkari wasn’t just surviving, she was hunting. When she leveled the match at a set apiece, the 109-0 streak caught fire.
The third set was a microcosm of Sakkari’s entire career. A gritty, emotional rollercoaster that tested every fiber of her resolve. She raced to a 5-2 lead, standing on the precipice of history, only to watch Swiatek — the ultimate competitor — claw back to 5-all.
In years past, this is where the Sakkari narrative usually took a dark turn. But the woman who stood on the Doha hardcourt in 2026 was different.
“I’m just very happy that I managed to overcome myself in those last two games and come up with some great tennis, and some brave tennis, I would say,” Sakkari admitted.
The breakthrough came at 5-5. Sakkari held her nerve, held her serve, and then broke the most formidable defense in tennis one last time.
When the final ball sailed long, Sakkari became the first person in history to beat Iga Swiatek from a set down at a WTA 1000 event. The “1” in the 109-1 column was finally etched into the books.
This win was a loud, defiant declaration that the hierarchy of the tour remains vulnerable to those willing to be “brave.” Sakkari, who has spent the last year battling a dip in form and a plummeting ranking, used the press conference to remind the world that her return to the elite is no longer a “maybe.”
“I feel like I’ve had something special all those years,” Sakkari said. “I just had to remind myself that I belong there, and that I’ve been putting the work, a lot of work inside the court, in the gym… I’m just very happy that I see that the things that we’ve been working on the last few months with Tom, almost close to a year, paid off today and this week.”
