Sharapova bids a poignant farewell to game of tennis
Maria Sharapova used Vogue and Vanity Fair to announce her retirement, writing in an essay: “Tennis – I’m saying goodbye.”
The five-time grand slam champion and former world No 1 has struggled with chronic shoulder problems and had slumped to No 373 in the world rankings.
The 32-year-old wrote: “How do you leave behind the only life you’ve ever known? How do you walk away from the courts you’ve trained on since you were a little girl, the game that you love – one which brought you untold tears and unspeakable joys – a sport where you found a family, along with fans who rallied behind you for more than 28 years?
“I’m new to this, so please forgive me. Tennis – I’m saying goodbye.”
Sharapova will go down as one of the greats of the era – only Serena and Venus Williams have won more slam singles titles among current players. But her impact on court was trumped by her profile off it, with the Russian the world’s highest-earning female athlete for much of her career.
She made herself a global star by winning Wimbledon aged 17 in 2004 and added the US Open title in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008 before twice lifting the trophy at Roland Garros, in 2012 and 2014.
Then in 2016 came the bombshell announcement that she had failed a doping test for the cardiac drug Meldonium, which had been added to the banned list at the start of that year. Sharapova was banned for two years, reduced to 15 months on appeal.
She returned to action in April 2017 but was unable to reach her previous heights, peaking at a high of 21 in the rankings and reaching just one more grand slam quarter-final.
Sharapova was restricted to eight tournaments last year and struck a pessimistic note about her future prospects after losing to Donna Vekic in the first round of the Australian Open in January in what turned out to be the final match of her career.
Sharapova cited last August’s US Open, when she lost heavily to Serena Williams in the opening round, as a “final signal”. She wrote: “Behind closed doors, 30 minutes before taking the court, I had a procedure to numb my shoulder to get through the match.
“Shoulder injuries are nothing new for me – over time my tendons have frayed like a string. I’ve had multiple surgeries and spent countless months in physical therapy.
“Just stepping onto the court that day felt like a final victory, when of course it should have been merely the first step toward victory. I share this not to garner pity, but to paint my new reality: my body had become a distraction.”
Sharapova first picked up a racket at the age of four before moving with her father to the United States to train, not seeing her mother for two years.
Her formative experiences forged a competitive hardness that was the defining characteristic of her career.
“I’ve never really felt compelled to speak about work, or effort, or grit – every athlete understands the unspoken sacrifices they must make to succeed,” she wrote.
Sharapova already has a busy life outside of tennis with a number of business interests, including her sweet company, Sugarpova. Reflecting on her career, she added: “In giving my life to tennis, 2 Maria Sharapova holds the famous Venus Rosewater Dish aloft after beating Serena Williams to win the Wimbledon women’s singles in 2004, aged just 17. tennis gave me a life. I’ll miss it every day. I’ll miss the training and my daily routine: waking up at dawn, lacing my left shoe before my right, and closing the court’s gate before I hit my first ball of the day.
“I’ll miss my team, my coaches. I’ll miss the moments sitting with my father on the practice court bench. The handshakes – win or lose – and the athletes, whether they knew it or not, who pushed me to be my best.
“Looking back now, I realise that tennis has been my mountain. My path has been filled with valleys and detours, but the views from its peak were incredible. After 28 years and five grand slam titles, though, I’m ready to scale another mountain – to compete on a different type of terrain.”
“Tennis has been my mountain… After 28 years and five grand slam titles, though, I’m ready to scale another mountain – to compete on a different type of terrain”
MARIA SHARAPOVA