Fixture: (3) Barbora Krejcikova vs (4) Maria Sakkari
Date: July 19, 2026
Tournament: Vanda Pharmaceuticals Athens Open
Round: Final
Venue: Athens Olympic Tennis Centre, Stadion Sports Center, Athens, Greece
Category: WTA 250
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $283,347
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - BBC, Sky Sports, Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN, Sportsnet, WTA TV, TVA Sports | India - Tennis Channel
Third seed Barbora Krejcikova will face off against fourth seed Maria Sakkari in the final of the 2026 Athens Open on Sunday.
Krejcikova reached the Athens Open final by beating Clara Tauson 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in the semifinals, rallying after dropping the second set to close it out on the strength of her return game. It's a strong run for the two-time Grand Slam champion, who has spoken about how much this stretch means given the injuries that have limited her over the past year.
Sakkari secured her spot in the final in more dominant fashion, beating Alina Korneeva 6-1, 7-5 in front of a home crowd chasing the title. It continues an encouraging stretch for the Greek, who's shown signs of recovering the form that once had her among the tour's top players, and she'll now try to complete that comeback story on home soil.
Krejcikova leads their head-to-head 3-0, including a win on hard courts. This will be their fourth career meeting.
(Odds via BetMGM)
Sakkari has the crowd and the emotion on her side, chasing a home title in a week that's doubled as a personal comeback story. She's looked sharper and more assured with each round, closing out her semifinal against Korneeva in largely comfortable fashion, and there's real weight behind the idea that this could be the moment her recent form finally converts into a trophy.
Krejcikova, though, carries the receipts. A clean 3-0 head-to-head isn't nothing, and it suggests her mix of slice, net play, and variety has consistently been a bad matchup for Sakkari's more direct, first-strike game. Her path to the final wasn't perfect, needing three sets and a mid-match letdown against Tauson to get through, but she's proven all season that she can grind out results even when her form dips within a match.
The physical picture is worth watching too. Krejcikova has dealt with recurring injury issues over the past year, and a third straight three-set battle would be a real question mark heading into a final against a fresher opponent. If Sakkari can push this deep and make Krejcikova cover the court for long stretches, the home crowd's energy could end up mattering as much as any tactical edge.
Pick: Krejcikova to win in three sets.
Tip 1: The match will have at least 25 games.
Tip 2: Sakkari to win at least one set with a score of 7-5 or better.
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