Sharapova calls it a career
Maria Sharapova announced her retirement from tennis on Wednesday morning. The 32-year-old Russian completed her career Grand Slam in 2012 with a French Open title. She won five Grand Slams between 2004 and 2014 — two at the French and one each at the U.S. Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon.
Sharapova wrote about quitting tennis in a Vanity Fair essay. She described a shredded right shoulder as a major factor in her decision. “Over time my tendons have frayed like a string … My body had become a distraction.”
She also cited the death of Kobe Bryant as a reason for her somewhat abrupt retirement. “We were supposed to see each other like three days after the crash,” she told the New York Times in an interview Wednesday.
“I think we all seem at times in our journey like larger than life because of what we do, but everyone at the core is incredibly fragile,” she said. “And if anything it just opens up your eyes to what really matters in life, so that was a moment where I had a really good think about my future as well.”
Sharapova's five Grand Slams tie her for No. 21 alltime. Her career was partly defined by a series of real and ginned-up controversies, like her “rivalry” with Serena Williams. She beat Williams in their first-ever matchup, the 2004 Wimbledon final. (Sharapova was 17 years old.) Williams said that she played at “20%” of what she was capable of, and it was true:
Williams would go 20-1 against Sharapova over the rest of her career.
Williams talked trash about Sharapova's game and personal life; Sharapova returned it. After Williams said “if she wants to be with the guy with a black heart, go for it,” Sharapova said “If she wants to talk about something personal, maybe she should talk about her relationship and her boyfriend that was married.”
Sharapova then wrote in her memoir that she heard second-hand that Williams had said “I'll never lose to that little bitch again” after Wimbledon.
Some of Sharapova's controversies were self-generated. Others were less fair, like her 2016 doping ban. After that year's Australian Open — where she lost to Williams in the quarterfinals — she tested positive for meldonium, a drug that became illegal less than a month before her positive test. After initially giving her a twoyear suspension, anti-doping authorities reduced her suspension to 15 months.
Sharapova struggled after returning in 2017. Her only major quarterfinal between then and retirement came at the 2018 French Open. She was set to play Serena Williams in the fourth round, but Williams pulled out with an injury.
Sharapova was a child prodigy. The 32-year-old repeatedly referred to her “28year” career in her retirement essay, meaning she marks the beginning of her career when she was three or four years old. She moved to the United States at six, then enrolled at Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy at nine.