Maria Sakkari’s rough start to the 2025 season continues after the Greek tennis star got upset by a wildcard in her opener at the WTA 500 tournament in Merida.
Zeynep Sonmez, who surprised everyone last year by winning her maiden WTA title in Merida, is now ranked at No. 88 in the world and her ranking wasn’t enough for her to enter this year’s tournament directly.
However, the Mexican event organizers came through with a wildcard.
And on Tuesday evening, the wildcard Turk started her Merida title defense by upsetting No. 8 seed Sakkari 7-5 6-2.
Now, Sonmez owns a 6-0 record in Merida.
COME ON, ZEYNEP! 🇹🇷
La campeona defensora se presenta en el #MeridaOpenAKRON derrotando por 7-5 y 6-2 a Maria Sakkari 🇬🇷 en el partido estelar de la primera ronda y deja en claro que no cederá su corona sin luchar hasta el final. pic.twitter.com/4uTv8o8XNn
— WTA Merida Open (@WTAMeridaOpen1) February 26, 2025
In the round-of-16, the 22-year-old will play against Magda Linette.
On the other side, the Greek former world No. 3 has now lost her last three matches and stands at 4-9 in 2025.
How Sonmez overcame Sakkari?
The No. 8 seed started the match with an early 2-0 lead but the Turk responded with back-to-back breaks to go 3-2 up.
In the sixth game, the wildcard got broken back…
