WATCH: Tense scenes as Maria Sakkari tries to break her racket in frustration during Charleston Open loss to Zheng Qinwen

Tense scenes unfolded at the 2025 Charleston Open during Maria Sakkari's match against Zheng Qinwen. Sakkari, who was visibly frustrated, was seen attempting to break her racket in a fit of anger.

The Greek kicked off her campaign at the WTA 500 event with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Marina Stakusic but her run ended in the second round when she lost 4-6, 1-6 to third seed Zheng Qinwen. This is the third successive tournament where she lost in her second match.

During her match against Zheng, Sakkari's frustration peaked after losing a point and was seen trying to break her racket by slamming it on the court. However, when that did not work, the Greek resorted to hitting it against her leg in a desperate attempt to break it.

Watch the video of Maria Sakkari trying to break her racket here:

Maria Sakkari has had a disastrous start to the 2025 season, having won just six out of 17 matches so far. As of now, the Greek has not won more than one match in any of the tournaments she has competed in and as a result, she dropped below the Top 50 of the WTA rankings.

Following her exit from the Charleston Open, Sakkari is next scheduled to compete at the Open Capfinances Rouen Metropole, which will commence on April 14.

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After defeating Maria Sakkari, Zheng Qinwen will face Elise Mertens in R3 of the 2025 Charleston Open

Zheng Qinwen during her match against Maria Sakkari at Charleston Open [Image Source: Getty Images]

After her victory over Maria Sakkari, Zheng Qinwen will next take on Elise Mertens in the third round of the Charleston Open. Mertens, who entered the touurnament following a third-round exit in Miami, is seeded 13th, which saw her receive a bye to the second round.

Here, she faced Varvara Gracheva and took the lead after taking the third set 6-3. Mertens cruised to a 5-1 lead in the second but the Frenchwoman won four games on the trot to level things up. However, the Belgian was not to be denied and she won 6-3, 7-5 to book her place in the third round of the Charleston Open.

Zheng and Mertens will lock horns on the WTA Tour for the very first time and whoever out of the two wins, will be up against either sixth seed Diana Shnaider or ninth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 event