Greek tennis star Maria Sakkari’s recent remarks linking her compatriot and United Cup teammate Stefanos Tsitsipas with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have left several tennis fans puzzled. Sakkari said she was confident that both she and Tsitsipas could break into the top 10 in 2026, and even suggested she sees her compatriot operating at the same level as Alcaraz and Sinner.
Fans Question Maria Sakkari’s ‘Strange’ Take As Stefanos Tsitsipas Tipped to Match Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz
Both Sakkari and Tsitsipas have been central figures for Greece at the ongoing United Cup in Australia. After a challenging 2025 season, Tsitsipas opened his 2026 campaign on a positive note on Friday in Perth, helping Greece to a confident opening win over Japan. Sakkari set the tone earlier with a commanding straight-sets victory over Naomi Osaka.
Tsitsipas then extended Greece’s dominance with a composed 6–3, 6–4 win over Shintaro Mochizuki, sealing the tie. The mixed doubles rubber became a formality, with Tsitsipas and Sakkari combining for a 6–2, 6–3 victory over Yasutaka Uchiyama and Nao Hibino to complete a 3–0 sweep.
While the flawless display caught plenty of attention on court, Sakkari also made headlines off it earlier with her remarks during the pre-tournament press conference. When asked whether she and Tsitsipas could break into the top 10 in 2026, she responded:
“I’m very, very confident for both of us. If I’m being deadly honest, I feel like Stefanos is one of the best players I’ve ever seen in my life. He deserves to be up there with Jannik and Carlos. I feel like now that he’s healthy, he has a great chance to come back. I have full belief in him,” she said.
Several fans reacted to her remarks on Reddit, with one user arguing that a player cannot reach the top level in tennis without consistently winning.
“I always find the word “deserve” to be strange in the context of sport. IMO, there is no deserve. There’s only “earn”. You win or you don’t,” they wrote
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“I know it’s still early, but this is one of the dumbest takes of the year,” another said.
“Sakkari being fed the Tsitsipas nonsense,” one noted.
It is worth noting that Alcaraz holds a massive 6-0 head-to-head advantage against Tsitsipas, and one fan highlighted the same.
“Not with a 0-6 H2H against Alcaraz…,” they commented.
“No, but at least Tsitsipas can brag in the future about about having a very competitive h2h against the GOAT (assuming Sinner ends up becoming the GOAT),” another chimed in.
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“Deserves when he is good enough,” a fan said.
It is worth noting that much of the pushback perhaps stems from Tsitsipas’ recent form and ongoing physical concerns. While his 2025 season featured a high point with a title run at the ATP 500 event in Dubai, he was unable to sustain that momentum due to a recurring back injury.
MORE: A Day After Shocking Admission, Stefanos Tsitsipas Has No Complaints About His Back Following United Cup Opener
The issue forced a walkover at Wimbledon and resurfaced more severely at the US Open following his second-round loss to Daniel Altmaier. Tsitsipas did not compete for the remainder of the season, with his ranking subsequently sliding sharply to No. 36.
All of this comes at a time when Alcaraz and Sinner continue to dominate the scene. The pair combined for 14 titles in 2025, eight for Alcaraz and six for Sinner, while sharing all four Grand Slam trophies between them. Alcaraz currently sits atop the rankings at No. 1, with Sinner close behind at No. 2.
That said, Tsitsipas still possesses the tools to return to the top, provided he can rediscover his best form in 2026. The former World No. 3 owns 12 ATP Tour titles, highlighted by the 2019 ATP Finals and three Masters 1000 crowns, and has reached two Grand Slam finals, the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open.
