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Maria Sakkari: WHOOP Dreams at Wimbledon

The World No. 5 is just getting started, but has already built partnerships with brands from WHOOP and Adidas to Rolex and Dior.

Maria Sakkari is helping put Greek tennis on the map, and it seems as if it’s only a matter of time before she becomes the first woman from Greece — perhaps the first Greek tennis player in general — to win a Grand Slam.

Despite having fleeting results on grass and not yet reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon, the World No. 5 told reporters prior to this year’s play at the All England Club:

“I am one of the best players in the world, and I’m here to win Wimbledon.”

She can certainly accomplish this, seeing as she’s a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist and possesses serious weapons which translate on any surface. With that type of talent, she’s risen to the top five in the WTA rankings and is quickly transforming into a household name.

Let’s take a look at just how big her image has grown.

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The Sakkari Brand

Age: 26
Nationality: Greek
Height: 5-foot-8
Career prize money$6.9 million
Estimated net worth: $9 million
Key endorsements: Adidas, Wilson, Rolex, WHOOP, Dior, Nespresso, National Bank of Greece, Cosmote, Green Cola
Twitter followers44.6K
Instagram followers: 366K

Sakkari was with Nike up until 2019 before signing a deal with Adidas. She plays with a Wilson racquet and in Adidas clothes and shoes.

Off the court, she’s partnered on Instagram over the last year with several brands including Dior and Nespresso. She’s also long been an ambassador for the National Bank of Greece.

Importantly for her performance, Sakkari is a partner of WHOOP, a wearable fitness band which recently signed a multi-year deal to become the official wearable of the WTA Tour. Because WHOOP tracks not only active performance, but rest and recovery metrics, it’s become a critical part of Sakkari’s everyday life.

“I would say that majority of the WTA Tour wears it,” Maria Sakkari told Boardroom. “Not only the WTA, but I have also seen a lot of guys using it.”

Sakkari is now competing at Wimbledon as the fifth seed, located in the fourth quarter opposite second-seeded Belinda Bencic. Despite Sakkari gearing up for a long stay, she would disagree that this task is more daunting than any other tournament.

“For me, rest is key on a daily basis, maybe even more in normal Tour events,” she said. “In Slams, at least you have a day off between matches, while on Tour you play back-to-back days much more often. In these circumstances it is very important to be clever about your rest.”

Career Accomplishments

Professional singles record: 390-253
World Ranking: 5
Career-high ranking: 3
Notable Results: 2019 Morocco Open (Won), 2021 French Open (SF), 2021 US Open (SF), 2022 Australian Open (4R), 2020 Australian Open (4R), 2022 Indian Wells (F), 2019 Italian Open (SF)
Additional honors: 2021 Best Female Greek Athlete

Sakkari, as seen above, has exploded on the scene over the last two seasons. She began making a name for herself on the clay in 2019 with two strong finishes in Rome and Morocco, and she transformed into an all-surface player shortly after.

Sakkari has become a mainstay in the second weeks of Grand Slams and reached two semifinals last season, losing to eventual champion Emma Raducanu at the US Open and another champion in Barbora Krejcikova at Roland Garros last year.

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Kenny Ducey