The Missing Piece in Maria Sakkari

Maria Sakkari’s career is a paradox. Physically, she’s an elite athlete, powerful, fast, and supremely fit. Technically, she has the weapons to beat anyone on the WTA Tour. She’s been a fixture in the world’s Top 10, even climbing as high as No. 3.

And yet, her journey has been marked by recurring heartbreak in decisive moments. Time and again, Sakkari has found herself on the cusp of a breakthrough, a Grand Slam semifinal, a championship match, only to falter with victory in sight. This pattern raises a pressing question:

What is missing for Maria Sakkari?

The Mental Hurdle Holding Her Back.

Sakkari’s repeated stumbles in late-stage matches point to a psychological barrier. It’s the invisible weight of expectations, pressure, and doubt that accumulates over time. Imagine reaching over twenty tour semifinals and numerous finals, yet walking away without the trophy more often than not. That kind of history can etch a narrative into any athlete’s mind:

“So close, yet so far, again.”

For Maria, each high-profile loss in a big moment has added another layer of mental scar tissue. In one Grand Slam semifinal, she was literally a point away from the final before the match slipped away. In other tournaments, she’s steamrolled through early rounds only to find herself tightening up with the finish line in sight. These experiences have a way of chipping away at confidence and feeding the very doubt that causes the next stumble.

Sakkari has openly admitted that the chatter about her “always falling short in the late stages” started to get in her head.

Breaking this cycle is absolutely possible. The key lies in addressing the mental game as proactively and seriously as the physical game. From a mental performance coach’s viewpoint, Maria Sakkari needs a new mindset.

Confidence Shaken by Expectations

One pillar is confidence, not the basic confidence of a good practice session, but an unshakeable self-belief under the brightest lights. Sakkari’s ascent up the rankings brought soaring expectations from outside and within. In her case, reaching the upper echelons so quickly (being on the verge of world No.1 at one point) actually rattled her sense of security. Suddenly, every match carried the weight of “I must prove I belong here.” When she stumbled, critics and even fans voiced doubts, which can echo in an athlete’s mind: “Maybe I’m not as good as my ranking.”

Rebuilding Sakkari’s confidence means helping her remember, on a deep level, that her game is good enough. She has earned her place among the elite through years of hard work and many big wins. A mental coach would guide her to draw strength from past successes.

Emotional Release: Freeing Herself from Fear

The next focus is on emotional release, freeing Sakkari from the fear and anxiety that have been undermining her in big moments. We often hear that athletes need to be mentally tough, but an overlooked aspect of toughness is the ability to feel and release intense emotions so they don’t fester. Maria has faced bouts of anxiety and even panic on court, especially when the stakes are high. The fear of failing, of disappointing herself, her team, or the fans can be paralyzing.

For Sakkari, learning to release these emotional burdens is paramount. This means acknowledging the pressure and fear she feels in those moments, and then letting them go instead of letting them dictate her play.

Rewriting the Internal Narrative

Perhaps the most profound work Sakkari needs is redefining her internal narrative. Over the years, a story has taken hold around Maria: “She’s incredibly talented but can’t deliver in the clutch.” Unfortunately, it’s a narrative she might have started to believe herself. She mentioned hearing people predict her downfall in later rounds, and how it “gets in your head.”

When an athlete internalizes a negative story, “I choke in finals” or “I’m not mentally strong when it counts” it can become a self-sabotaging script that plays subconsciously at the worst times.

Changing this narrative begins with awareness. A mental performance coach would work with Maria to identify those recurring thoughts and beliefs that undermine her. Every time she catches herself thinking, “Here it comes again, I always mess up at the finish line,” she needs to challenge and replace that thought.

Believing in the Big Moments

The final piece of the puzzle is recovering her belief in the most critical moments essentially, cultivating a clutch mindset. This is the ability to stay composed and convinced of success when the score is tight and the finish line is near. In those moments, even a sliver of doubt can make the hand shake and the legs heavy. We’ve seen Sakkari come so close to marquee victories, only to tighten up as victory nears. It’s as if a little voice whispers, “What if it happens again? What if I blow this?” Belief at crunch time means silencing that voice and replacing it.

Ultimately, believing in the big moments means staying process-focused. Instead of thinking about lifting the trophy or the what-ifs of losing, Sakkari should train herself to lock onto the next point, the next task. Champions often say they play each point the same, whether it’s 1–1 or match point. That level of equanimity is tough to achieve, but it’s trainable. With time, Maria can learn to treat a 5–5 point with the same calm as a 1–1 point, by focusing on her tactics, her breath, and trusting her body’s muscle memory. If she can do that, the critical points will start tilting in her favor. Clutch belief isn’t magic; it’s the product of preparation and mindset. Sakkari must prepare her mind to embrace those defining points, rather than fear them.

Unleashing the Champion Within

Maria Sakkari stands at a crossroads in her career. All the raw ingredients of a champion are within her, the athleticism, the skills, the work ethic, the experience. What’s missing is that final mental breakthrough to bind it all together when it counts most. The encouraging news is that this missing piece is trainable. Through dedicated mental performance work, Sakkari can transform her perceived weaknesses into newfound strengths.

Maria’s question of “what’s missing?” is one that many elite athletes face at some point. The answer lies in fortifying the mind to match the body. By committing to this inner work, Sakkari can step onto the court liberated from past baggage, confident in her ability, and excited for the fight rather than dreading a familiar ending. She has already begun to address these areas, showing glimpses of a freer, happier competitor in recent times. With continued focus on her mental game, those glimpses can become her dominant reality.

In the end, mental freedom and unwavering belief are the keys that can unlock Maria Sakkari’s true potential. She doesn’t need to reinvent her tennis, she needs to rediscover the champion mindset that’s been waiting inside her all along.

If she does, we could soon see her not just reaching big stages, but conquering them.