2021 Roland Garros semifinalist Maria Sakkari has suffered yet another early exit in Paris, falling in the first round of the French Open for the third consecutive year. This time, the Greek star was stunned by French wildcard Elsa Jacquemot, who claimed a 6-3 7-6(4) victory.
A frustrating affair on a rainy and chilly Paris day for Maria Sakkari, who loses her R1 match against Elsa Jacquemot. pic.twitter.com/m5HX7Plgt4
— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) May 27, 2025
The former world No. 3 Sakkari has now failed to reach the second round in seven of her last ten Grand Slam appearances. Her most recent success came at Wimbledon 2024, where she managed to advance to the third round.
In Tuesday’s match at Roland Garros, Sakkari was immediately on the back foot. After dropping serve in back-to-back service games to start the match, she managed to recover one break but couldn’t build on it. The world No. 138 Jacquemot broke again in the ninth game to seal the opening set.
The second set looked like a turning point. Sakkari found rhythm and surged to a 5-2 lead, seemingly poised to force a decider. But what followed was a stunning collapse. The Greek served for the set twice and squandered two set points in separate games. Her missed opportunities came back to haunt her.
In the tiebreak, Jacquemot earned a 6-3 lead before converting her second match point helped by a double fault from Sakkari to secure a spot in the second round of the French Open.
