World No. 21 Maria Sakkari arrived in the U.S. with a little taste of what tour life is like today, after taking part in the WTA’s reopening at Palermo a little more than two weeks ago.
After soaking up the sun for a cover shoot with ELLE Greece, Sakkari didn’t quite get what she was hoping for in Sicily after losing her opener to Kristyna Pliskova. TENNIS.com caught up with the 25-year-old ahead of her intriguing first-round match with Coco Gauff at the Western & Southern Open, hosted this year as part of a two-tournament bubble at Flushing Meadows.
Tell us a little about “Bubble Life” so far in New York.
To be honest, it’s really nice. I have no complaints at all. Food has been great. The whole atmosphere is nice, you’re surrounded by all the players and coaches. I’m loving it so far. I don’t think I’ll change my mind in a month.
Congrats on being featured on the cover of ELLE Greece! Did that shoot take place before or during the pandemic? Give us the details on what went into that.
The shooting was a day before I went to Palermo. It was maybe the nicest shoot I’ve had so far. They all got tested before coming. I also did, of course. We were all wearing masks and we had to be careful. It was a tough one, because it was pretty hot in Athens and it was outdoors. It’s something I’m proud of outside of the tennis court.
How much does it help you mentally to have gone through the experience of this new normal once, plus getting a WTA match under your belt before a big stretch like this?
One match is better than nothing of course, but it wasn’t enough for me to feel that I’m back in action and back in that competition mood. It was nice to get one match and see how it feels to compete. It’s going to be tough in the beginning but it’s the same for everyone.
Now that you’ve gone through flying a few times in these circumstances, does it feel normalized? And does anything still surprise you about it?
The first time I flew after the lockdown, it was feeling pretty weird and strange. We were extremely careful, cleaning everything, not touching anything, not going to the toilet on the airplane. We got used to it. Even now, when we were coming here, it was already much better.
You’ve worked with Tom Hill for more than two years now. How much effort has he put into picking up some Greek along the way?
I think Greek is a really tough language to learn. I’m not helping much, because I’m obviously speaking English, so it doesn’t help him. He does know a few words. His accent is pretty good, which is also impressive. But I don’t think he’s anywhere near learning Greek for now.
