"When it comes to Majors, Maria Sakkari is a fraud"; "Very unfortunate" - Fans react as Greek retires from US Open 1R after falling prey to injury

Maria Sakkari retired from her first-round match at the 2024 US Open against Wang Yafan on Monday, August 26, due to a shoulder injury. The situation has sparked reactions from tennis fans all around the globe.

Sakkari has been struggling with this injury for a while. Before the New York Major, she competed at the Paris Olympics, where she was eliminated in the third round of singles and the first round of both doubles and mixed doubles. She subsequently missed two WTA 1000 tournaments in Canada and Cincinnati.

The Greek stepped into her first match of the year's final Grand Slam against Wang without much recent match experience and lost the opening set 2-6. She decided to withdraw from the match after taking a long medical timeout due to visible shoulder and neck issues and was seen wiping away tears while walking off the court.

Tennis fans have since taken to X (formerly Twitter) to react to Maria Sakkari's withdrawal, with their responses largely mixed. One user wrote:

"Is it OK to say that when it comes to tennis at majors she’s a fraud???"

"Not too surprised at this, missed Canada and Cincy with a shoulder problem and only gets through 1 set at USO," another wrote.

One account posted:

"It's not a curse. She is just bad at tennis lol."

"Very unfortunate for Sakkari. Hope she recovers soon," one user tweeted.

"Feeling sad for her!! Grand slams are not going well for her!!" one account wrote.

Another chimed in:

"I feel bad for her honestly. it seems like she always is in reach of something big happening but then something gets in the way of it."

Maria Sakkari's best outing at US Open has been reaching SF in 2021

Maria Sakkari pictured at the 2024 US Open | Image Source: Getty

The US Open and French Open are among Maria Sakkari's most successful Grand Slams, as she reached the semifinals at both in 2021. However, she was defeated by the eventual champions: Emma Raducanu and Barbora Krejcikova, respectively.

Sakkari faced an opening-round exit in New York last year as well, losing to Rebeka Masarova. She even considered taking a break from the sport after that disappointing result.

"Definitely the two previous defeats played a role, I was very nervous, I don't know what I'm going to do, I really don't know... Maybe I should take a break, I'm suffering on the pitch. I can't make a decision now, it's hard. I don't have a clear mind," the Greek told the media after the loss.

Sakkari has yet to comment on her early exit from the 2024 US Open and will likely focus on preparing for the Guadalajara Open, which starts on September 9, once she has recovered.