Tom Hill and Maria Sakkari, first bumped into each other in an ice cream shop, in Rome, in May 2018.
When Tom Hill joined the team, later that year, Maria was already ranked #50 in the world.
Maria Sakkari and Tom Hill have been together nearly 5 years and have one of the strongest player coach partnerships on the WTA tour.
Together they have achieved a current career high ranking of #3 in the world.
During the 2019 season, Maria Sakkari and Tom Hill were successful against some of the biggest names in the WTA.
Including:
Tom helped Maria win her first WTA title in Rabat, Morocco in 2019. En route to the title, Maria had wins over Elise Mertens & Johanna Konta. This victory paved the way for Maria to have a breakthrough clay court season where she made the Semi Finals just a few weeks later at the WTA 1000 event in Rome.
The WTA Elite Trophy was an extra tournament rewarded to selected qualifying players. In 2019, it took place in Zhuhai, China. The format was a round robin with 4 groups of 3 players where the top from each group progressed to the knockout stages. Qualification for the WTA Elite Trophy was a major accomplishment for Maria Sakkari who had never competed in it before.
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The Coronavirus pandemic shortened the 2020 season. However, the Sakkari/Hill team still achieved top results in a limited schedule.
An amazing performance saw Maria Sakkari beat Serena Williams at the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati.
Maria made the 4th round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career at the Australian Open & then repeated this feat a few months later on at the US Open.
The Sakkari/Hill team also reached two Semi Finals of WTA 500’s in St. Petersburg & Ostrava. They finished the season ranked #21.
Including:
Maria made the Semi-Finals of both the French Open & the US Open. Helping her push towards breaking into the Top 10.
Maria Sakkari
Maria Sakkari
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were played in 2021.
Competing in the Olympic Games had been a goal since Maria & Tom started working together, so at the time, helping Maria qualify for Tokyo, was a very big accomplishment.
Although the Olympics had to be played behind closed doors, read Tom’s blog to find out what his experience was like staying inside the Athlete Village.
Maria’s stellar season where she made the Semi Finals of both the French Open & the US Open, the Semi Finals of the WTA 1000 Miami Open, the Finals of the WTA 500 in Ostrava and three other WTA 500 Semi Finals in Abu Dhabi, Melbourne & Moscow, deservedly booked her spot in the WTA Finals.
With wins over Iga Swiatek & Aryna Sabalenka in Guadalajara, Maria finished off her season with a Semi Final performance and a career high year end ranking of #6.
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2022 saw Maria Sakkari make the Final of the WTA 1000 event in Indian Wells for the first time in her career.
Wins over Petra Kvitova, Elena Rybakina and Paula Badosa allowed Maria to watch her ranking climb to #3 in the world.
Only a few months after her first WTA 1000 Final in Indian Wells, Maria manages to make another WTA 1000 Final in Guadalajara.
This performance also qualified Maria for the WTA Finals for a second consecutive year.
Maria managed to be one of only three players to qualify for the WTA Finals in both 2021 & 2022.
In Fort Worth, Maria beat Jessica Pegula, Aryna Sabalenka & Ons Jabeur in the group stages, before bowing out in the Semi Finals.
This Semi Final performance meant Maria was able to finish #6 in the world for the second consecutive season.