by Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
While most of the pre-Roland Garros hype in women’s professional tennis has been focused on the two tournament favorites Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka, one should not forget that the unexpected is usually expected on the red brick clay courts of Paris.
One of those who may make one of these annual surprise runs at the French Championships in 2024 is Maria Sakkari.
With new Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) coach David Witt now in her corner, Sakkari could one of those Roland Garros surprises in 2024.
Only three years ago, Sakkari had a match point against eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova in the Roland Garros semifinals (and would have been favored to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the final). She then was favored against the teenage qualifier Emma Raducanu in the U.S. Open semifinals (And would have been favored to be Leylah Fernandez in the final). Both times, she could not get over the hump into her first major final.
Since these two near misses, Sakkari hasn’t been past the fourth round at a major and ended 2023 losing in the first round in Paris, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. She started 2024 by bowing out in the second round of the Australian Open, so the 28-year-old Greek turned to Witt as her coach. Witt was best known for his long-time work with Venus Williams and also helping Jessica Pegula become a regular top 10 player. When they formalized their coach-player relationship in March of 2024, the chemistry was instant – as were the results.
In their first tournament as a team, Sakkari rallied all the way to the final of the BNP Paribas Open, defeating U.S. Open champ Coco Gauff en route before losing to Swiatek. It was immediately apparent that Witt was the secret sauce that Sakkari needed to dip into to add a new robust flavor to her tennis career.
“He’s just very relaxed and very laid back,” Sakkari said in March of Witt. “That’s what I need, because I’m very hard on myself. So I just need someone that doesn’t stress me, and that’s what David does really well. Obviously has incredible experience on the tennis side. But, on the mental side, I just feel like he’s just very, very relaxed. That’s what I really like. He’s so funny that I just enjoy my time with him on and off the court.”
Witt is a Level 2 PTR coach and has been PTR certified since 1998.
In Indian Wells, Sakkari told reporters that Witt has told her to tweek a few things on her serve and return of serve specifically.
“We’ve worked a little bit on the serve, just on my toss,” she said in Indian Wells. “And then on my returns, stepping in a little bit more, because that was something I used to do really well, maybe two, three years ago, and then for some reasons I stopped.”
