Sakkari seeks to stretch goals on fitness journey

Greek superstar Maria Sakkari has already been the definition of fitness goals three weeks into 2021, maxing out her two weeks in Melbourne quarantine by unveiling a workout series entitled "Sparring with a Spartan."

Armed with boundless energy, the world No. 22 isn't opposed to pushing herself even farther off the court this season, but don't sign her up for a marathon just yet.

"I think what Caroline Wozniacki did was unreal," she tells Baseline of the former No. 1 who famously ran the New York City Marathon in 2014. "She was, and still is, a very good athlete. I could never do what she did. It must have taken so much time out of her schedule and require a lot of running during a tournament. I think she was already fit, so that obviously helped a lot."

Sakkari, who prefers bodyweight and flexibility exercises, is yet to find her runner's high, which is bad news for her given her fitness coach George Panagiotopoulos is a former track and field athlete.

"When I’m in Greece, I end up running a lot, which I don’t like, to be honest," she says. "It’s so tough, and I had to do so much of it in the off-season, and again during the lockdown last spring. At first, I did some flexibility and mobility workouts, and then we started exercising more intensely in the parks and places like that. It was a lot of running after that."

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What keeps the 25-year-old on the move? To paraphrase Elle Woods, it all comes down those happy-making endorphins.

"It's something that not only makes my body feel nice, but also my soul," she says. "I feel very good both during and after a workout, which is the most important thing."

Sakkari enjoyed a major breakthrough at the 2020 Australian Open when she reached the second week of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. Already a semifinalist to start the new season in Abu Dhabi, she will begin in Melbourne at the Grampians Trophy WTA 500, a tournament exclusively for hard quarantined players.