Maria Sakkari makes her debut in Linz - early bird discount until 24 December!
Linz, 19/12/2022 - Maria Sakkari! One of the most colourful personalities in the tennis world celebrates her premiere at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz! Tournament Director Sandra Reichel is convinced that the 27-year-old Greek will captivate tennis fans at the WTA tournament at the Linz Design Center (5 to 12 February 2023). "Because Maria is a player who gets under the fans' skin, she has a very special charisma," says Reichel about the current world number six, who is not only making headlines on centre court.
When Sandra Reichel talks about the Upper Austria Ladies Linz she always emphasises: "We are more than just a tennis tournament." A sporting and social highlight in Upper Austria, the flair of which Maria Sakkari only knows from hearsay. "I can hardly wait to finally make my debut at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz to give! I've heard so many good things about the history and the unique atmosphere in Linz! And the city looks beautiful too. These traditional indoor tournaments in Europe have a special charm and I hope to see many Greek-Austrian fans in the arena!" Speaking of charm: Athens-born Maria Sakkari is not only a public figure in her home country as a tennis star, but also because her charm has not gone unnoticed even by a famous Greek - the world-class player is in a relationship with Konstantinos Mitsotakis, the son of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis!
Maria Sakkari was born with the tennis gene: Her mother Angeliki Kanellopoulou made it into the top 50 of the world rankings, and her grandfather was also an avid tennis player! Maria has already made it to other spheres, winning her first (and so far only) WTA tournament in Rabat in May 2019 with a victory over Brit Johanna Konta in the final. In 2021, the Greek player reached the semi-finals at two Grand Slam tournaments. Sakkari lost to Barbora Krejcikova at the French Open and Emma Raducanu at the US Open. Sakkari experienced her career highlight on 21 March 2022 as number three in the WTA rankings.
In 2022, Maria Sakkari enjoyed an emotional experience of a special kind: the 27-year-old won the "Jerry Diamond Aces Award" from the women's tour organisation WTA at the end of the season. This honour is given to players who represent the sport of tennis in a special way. The laudation said: "This year's award goes to a true leader on and off the court. It is a special recognition for a player who is constantly leading the way in popularising women's tennis with fans, the media and the local public." Maria Sakkari is in good company as an award winner, as Gabriela Sabatini, Ana Ivanovic, Martina Hingis and Victoria Azarenka are among those who have won this award before her.
The early bird discount of 10 per cent still applies until 24 December!
If you want to see Maria Sakkari and other top stars live in Linz, you can now secure an early booking discount of 10 per cent until 24 December. There is also a Online ticket shop Gift vouchers - also available at short notice as a Christmas present to print out yourself! Tickets are available via the tournament homepage www.ladieslinz.at, at all oeticket advance booking offices and (within Austria) via the ticket hotline 0900 94 96 096*. For the first time, special "After Work" tickets will be available during the week. "We want to give tennis fans the opportunity to watch the main matches of the day in the afternoon after work at an attractive price," says Sandra Reichel, explaining the background to this promotion.