Maria Sakkari +19 in WTA Live Rankings as she snaps Iga Swiatek streak in stunning upset
Maria Sakkari pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the 2026 WTA Tour season so far with a significant win over Iga Swiatek at the Qatar Open.
World No 52 Sakkari was a significant underdog heading into the match against Swiatek, who is a three-time champion at the event in Doha, and who was the top seed at the tournament this year.
Six-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek got off to a flying start, though was pegged back by Sakkari in the second set, the Greek recovering from losing a 4-1 lead to break in the tenth game and force a decider.
The Greek’s hopes of victory appeared to fading after spuring a 5-2 lead in the decisive set, though she broke in the final game to claim an impressive 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory — with Swiatek netting a straightforward volley to lose the match.
“I mean, I’m speechless, because it’s been a while since I had a big win like today,” said Sakkari, speaking in her on-court interview.
“You know, when you drop in the rankings and you’re not playing good tennis, you start doubting yourself, you’re thinking that you’re never going to beat those players again.
“It’s a huge process that you have to go through in your head, that you can do it. Last year in the second round here against her [Swiatek], I was not confident, I was not believing in myself.
“This year, it’s different, I have to say. I feel quite a lot better.”
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Victory for Sakkari was her first over the Pole since the 2021 WTA Finals, having lost to Swiatek on four occasions since then — including in Doha in 2022 and 2025.
It is also the joint-biggest win of the Greek’s career in terms of ranking, with this being the fourth time she has beaten a world No 2.
Sakkari is also the first woman to ever beat Swiatek from a set down in a completed WTA 1000 match, with the Pole having previously won all 109 matches at this level in which she had won the first set.
A former world No 3 at the peak of her powers, the 30-year-old was close to falling outside the top 100 of the WTA Rankings during a hugely challenging spell across 2024 and 2025.
However, better form in the closing stages of 2025 and the start of 2026 saw the Greek move back to 52nd in the world ahead of her Qatar Open campaign.
Having now beaten two top-10 players — world No 8 Jasmine Paolini and world No 2 Swiatek — on her way to the semi-final, Sakkari is now set to be back inside the top 40 post-tournament.
She is provisionally up 19 places to world No 33 in the WTA Live Rankings, and will be back inside the top 30 should she win her semi-final on Friday.
Sakkari will face either 14th seed Karolina Muchova or Anna Kalinskaya in the semi-final.
The Greek was a semi-finalist at the tournament in 2022 and 2023, though has not yet reached the final.
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