Maria Sharapova made herself known to the tennis world during the 2004 edition of the Wimbledon tournament, when, as a 17 years-old, she beat the number one seed and title holder Serena Williams in the final, with a score of 6-1 6- 4.
The same year she also triumphed at the WTA Finals in Los Angeles, once again defeating the younger of the Williams sisters in what was the last Russian victory over the stars and stripes champion.
Maria finished her career with a total of five Grand Slam trophies, a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics and the first position in the WTA rankings held for 21 weeks.
The Russian beauty decided to leave the world of professional tennis during the last Australian Open, after her two-set defeat to Donna Vekic.
What did Maria say? The Russian said to EssentiallySports: “In the last couple of months I haven’t done it, because I stayed home. But of course I’ll do it when things calm down a little and there is more flexibility. Tennis is a sport that I love very much and I will certainly be back on the court soon.”
Maria said she was aware that the sensations will not be the same as before, since she is no longer a professional tennis player: “It will be a bit strange and bizarre, but that’s okay. I’ve always been a person who accepts a feeling or a feeling even when I don’t know it completely or don’t feel great, I like to find a solution.
So I will also address this feeling when I try it.” Some days ago, the Russian, speaking to the microphones of Inc., revealed that she had wondered several times during her career if the time had come to retire. Sharapova, who has also worked as a model, says that listening to your body and mind is key to moving forward.
Sharapova said: “It’s a question I’ve addressed several times over the past few months before announcing my retirement. You have to search within yourself and what you feel, what your body tells you and also what your mind is saying.”
Her latest success on Maria’s Tour came in October 2017, when she overtook the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka on hard courts in Tianjin, China. Shortly before retiring, she had dropped beyond the 370th position in the women’s world ranking.
