MADRID — Maria Sakkari caused an upset at the Mutua Madrid Open, defeating No. 6 seed Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the Round of 16.
Paolini was one of two Top 10 seeds eliminated by unseeded players on Sunday. Later in the day, No. 3 Jessica Pegula was defeated 6-3, 6-2 by Moyuka Uchijima. This victory marked Uchijima`s first career win against a Top 10 opponent after six previous attempts, and her first against a Top 25 player, ending a streak of nine losses.
Similarly, Sakkari`s win ended her own difficult run against Top 10 players (0-8) dating back to last year`s BNP Paribas Open. Her record against these elite players on clay courts is now balanced at 6-6.
“I was clear on what I had to do on the court,” Sakkari said afterward. “Just went out and executed it perfectly. I didn’t give her any room to breathe. That was my goal — that is the goal against the very good players. I think it was pretty good, I have to say.”
In what has been a challenging season for the former Top 10 player, this win against Paolini was Sakkari’s best victory by ranking this year. It is her first time reaching the Round of 16 at a WTA 1000 event since the Internazionali BNL d`Italia in Rome last year.
“It feels pretty good because it’s been a while since I had, let’s call it a statement win for myself,” Sakkari said. “It wasn’t easy all this time. But at the same time, I knew that I had to trust, as we say, the process. Trusting that it’s going to come. It’s a good step forward and I want to stay humble with my expectations. I feel like the pieces are coming together. Still a long way to go, though.”
Sakkari has recently resumed working with coach Tom Hill, following his nearly year-long coaching stint with Peyton Stearns.
“We’re two people with the same ambitions, the same goal,” Sakkari said. “We believe in each other. Just feels very comfortable and he knows my game like no one else. He just came in without drastically changing my game just put the pieces back together and it’s working quite well so far.”
Having now secured three consecutive victories, Sakkari is set to face No. 17 seed Elina Svitolina in the Round of 16. Their career head-to-head record stands level at 2-2, and this upcoming match will be their first meeting on clay.
Paolini had been aiming to reach the fourth round in her fifth consecutive WTA 1000 tournament of the 2025 season.
In her dominant performance, Sakkari hit six aces and conceded her serve only once. Conversely, she broke Paolini’s serve six times during the match.
Pegula entered her match with a strong recent record on clay, having won seven of her last eight matches, including a title in Charleston. She was also looking to achieve her 28th win of the season, which would have placed her atop the WTA Tour for total wins. However, her initial encounter with Uchijima did not unfold as anticipated.
Uchijima was effective in breaking Pegula`s serve five times while successfully defending five out of the seven break points she faced. Uchijima`s next opponent on Tuesday will be the winner of the match between No. 14 Daria Kasatkina and No. 21 Ekaterina Alexandrova.
