Maria Sakkari solves Iga Swiatek despite double-bounce controversy in Doha

DOHA, Qatar—Maria Sakkari clinched a tense ending to her Doha Qatar TotalEnergies Open quarterfinal on Thursday, edging past top-seeded rival Iga Swiatek, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.

“You're always the underdog with playing against the No. 2 in the world, especially where I'm coming from,” said Sakkari, a former world No. 2 currently ranked 52nd. “But I kept telling myself, even after the first set, that I was playing good tennis, and that I had to stick to my game plan and the way I was playing. I was aggressive, I was brave, and it worked out really well.”

In a match that drew fans and fellow players to watch its thrilling conclusion, Sakkari not only snapped a four-match losing streak to the former world No. 1, but she also became the first to defeat Swiatek from a set down at a WTA 1000 tournament. Coming into the match, Swiatek was 109-0 when winning the first set at this level.

“I honestly don't feel like I was playing bad in that first,” said Sakkari. “I was unlucky with that net cord in the 2-All game. It was going to be 3-2 up for me. I know it's a small detail, but with those players it's one or two points per set that can really change everything. It's different going 3-2 up than 3-2 down a break.”

The 30-year-old has been rebuilding her ranking since a drop to No. 90 last spring. Reuniting with longtime coach Tom Hill, Sakkari has earned two Top 10 victories this week—defeating Jasmine Paolini in the second round—to make her first WTA 1000 semifinal since the 2024 BNP Paribas Open.

“I kept telling myself that I'm playing good,” Sakkari said. “Tom kept reminding that I was playing really well. Just kept doing the same thing. I feel like you have to be very aggressive, but at the same time very solid with those players, and it worked out really well today.”

The match was not without controversy. Serving for the match at 5-3, Sakkari invoked the video review system to determine a double-bounce from Swiatek.

“It's great that we have it, because imagine if we didn't have it today,” Sakkari said. “I feel like it's, you know, it's very tough also for the umpire to see because you don't know how they put the racquet. And they're not, you know, robots, they're human beings, and they can lose the balance with their vision. It's the first time I've used it, and I'm happy that it exists.”

Swiatek, who won a similar point at the 2025 Australian Open against Emma Navarro, denied knowing the ball had hit the court a second time before touching her racquet.

“I didn't know if I, I mean, from the physics, how the ball went,” Swiatek insisted in her post-match press conference. “It was either from the floor or I framed it. So, I wasn't sure, honestly.”

Asked if she can tell when a ball has bounced twice, Sakkari gave a nuanced answer.

It's very normal, actually, to get a little bit tight and a little bit stressed, especially when I haven't witnessed those moments in a long time, and haven't had the chance to close out matches like the one today. Maria Sakkari

“I feel like you do,” she said. “Sometimes maybe you're confused. I'm not saying that she knew or anything, of course, but sometimes I feel like you know. But you can also, you know, be a little bit, ‘I'm not so sure, I'm unsure about how the bounce was.’”

Swiatek went on to win the game regardless and saved a match point in the following game with an ace, leveling the match at five games apiece.

Having led 5-2 in the decider after being five points from defeat in the second set, Sakkari was able to shake off the disappointment to lock in for the match’s final two games, breaking for the match when Swiatek netted a volley.

“I'm not the first and I'm not the last that is going to be in that position,” she told me in her post-match press conference. “A lot of times I tell that to myself that, you know, it's something that happens every day on a tennis tournament. And it really calms me down, because I know I'm not abnormal, just losing a break in that third set. It's very normal, actually, to get a little bit tight and a little bit stressed, especially when I haven't witnessed those moments in a long time, and haven't had the chance to close out matches like the one today.

“I'm just very happy that I managed to overcome myself in those last two games and come up with some great tennis, and some brave tennis, I would say.”

Sakkari will need more of that bravery against whoever she plays in the last four, awaiting the winner of the quarterfinal between No. 14 seed Karolina Muchova and Anna Kalinskaya.