Maria Sharapova Announces Tennis Retirement at 32, Five-Time Grand Slam Winner Bids ‘Goodbye’ to 18-Year Old Illustrious Career
Sharapova first emerged to the scene at the 2004 Wimbledon tournament when she beat a crowd favourite Serena Williams to lift her major title. She was 17-years of age then. Two years later She won the US Open and followed it with an Australian Open title in 2008. Sharapova also won two French Open titles in 2012 and 2014.
Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion, has announced her retirement from tennis at the age of 32. Sharapova, who won her first major at the age of 17, announced her decision to bid adieu to the game in a column for the Vanity Fair magazine. Sharapova, who failed to win any major title ever since returning to tennis following a 15-month suspension for consuming banned substance, wrote an emotional column in the magazine “Tennis—I’m saying goodbye,” wrote the Russian who in her peak years had become one of the most recognisable faces in tennis. “In giving my life to tennis, tennis gave me a life. I’ll miss it everyday.” Rafael Nadal Denies Novak Djokovic’s Claim of Sharing Common WhatsApp Group With Tennis’ ‘Big Three’.
Sharapova first emerged to the scene at the 2004 Wimbledon tournament when she beat a crowd favourite Serena Williams to lift her major title. She was 17-years of age then. Two years later She won the US Open and followed it with an Australian Open title in 2008. Sharapova also won two French Open titles in 2012 and 2014 and was ranked World No 1 in 2005, a position she held for 25 weeks in the course of her career.
But a series of shoulder injuries and the ill-timed tennis ban ruined her surging career. In 2016, following a failed drug test at the Australian Open she was banned for a two-year period by the anti-doping agency for consuming melodium, a banned substance. But the ban was later reduced to 15 months and Sharapova returned to Tennis in 2017. In her last tournament, the Russian was knocked-out from the opening round of 2020 Australian Open in straight sets by Donna Vekic.
“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 realize 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. There are a few simple things I’m really looking forward to: A sense of stillness with my family. Lingering over a morning cup of coffee. Unexpected weekend getaways. Workouts of my choice (hello, dance class!),” she added.
“Tennis showed me the world—and it showed me what I was made of. It’s how I tested myself and how I measured my growth. And so in whatever I might choose for my next chapter, my next mountain, I’ll still be pushing. I’ll still be climbing. I’ll still be growing.” Sharapova won a silver at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, the 2008 Fed Cup with Russia, two WTA finals and three other doubles titles. She retires with a total haul of 36 titles
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