Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ( , ; rus, Мари́я Ю́рьевна Шара́пова, p=mɐˈrʲijə ʂɐˈrapəvə, a=Maria_sharapova.ogg; born 19 April 1987) is a Russian former
world No. 1 tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
player. She competed on the
WTA Tour
The WTA Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for women organized by the Women's Tennis Association. The second-tier tour is the WTA 125K series, and third-tier is the ITF Women's Circuit. The men's equivalent is the ATP Tour.
WTA Tour tourna ...
from 2001 to 2020 and was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women and was founded to create a better future for women's tenni ...
(WTA) for 21 weeks. She is one of ten women, and the only Russian, to achieve the
career Grand Slam. She is also an
Olympic medalist
This article includes lists of all Olympic medalists since 1896, organized by each Olympic sport or discipline, and also by Olympiad.
Medalist with most medals by sport Summer Olympic sports
Winter Olympic sports
A. Including military patrol e ...
, having won silver in
women's singles at the
2012 London Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
.
Sharapova became the world No. 1 for the first time on 22 August 2005 at the age of 18, becoming the first Russian woman to top the singles rankings, and last held the position for a fifth time for four weeks from 11 June 2012, to 8 July 2012. She won five
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
titles — two at the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...
and one each at the
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...
,
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
, and the
US Open. She won 36 titles in total, including the year-end championships in her debut in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
. She also won three doubles titles. Although she played under the banner of Russia with the WTA, she has lived in and been a
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
permanent resident
Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such ...
since 1994.
Sharapova failed a
drug test
A drug test is a technical analysis of a biological specimen, for example urine, hair, blood, breath, sweat, or oral fluid/saliva—to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites. Major applications of drug ...
at the
2016 Australian Open
The 2016 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park between 18 and 31 January 2016. It was the 104th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The tournament consisted of event ...
, testing positive for
meldonium
Meldonium (INN; trade name Mildronate, among others) is a limited-market pharmaceutical, developed in 1970 by Ivars Kalviņš at the USSR Latvia Institute of Organic Synthesis, and now manufactured by the Latvian pharmaceutical company Grin ...
, a substance that had been banned (effective January 1, 2016) by the
World Anti-Doping Agency
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...
(WADA). On 8 June 2016, she was suspended from playing tennis for two years by the
International Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. As of 2016, there a ...
(ITF).
On 4 October 2016, the suspension was reduced to 15 months, starting from the date of the failed test, as the
Court of Arbitration for Sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its co ...
found that she had committed "no significant fault" and that she had taken the substance "based on a doctor's recommendation… with good faith belief that it was appropriate and compliant with the relevant rules".
She returned to the WTA Tour on 26 April 2017 at the
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
The Stuttgart Open, also known by its sponsored name Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, is a women's tennis tournament held in Stuttgart, Germany (until 2005, in Filderstadt, a southern suburb of Stuttgart). Held since 1978, the tournament is the oldest w ...
.
Sharapova has been featured in a number of modeling assignments, including a feature in the ''
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
The ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue is published annually by American magazine ''Sports Illustrated'' and features female fashion models, celebrities and athletes wearing swimwear in various locales around the world. The highly coveted cov ...
''. She has appeared in many advertisements, including those for Nike, Prince, and Canon, and has been the face of several
fashion house
Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and plac ...
s, most notably
Cole Haan
Cole Haan is an American brand of men's and women's footwear and accessories that serves markets worldwide. The company was founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1928. Cole Haan currently has its headquarters in both New York City and Greenland, New Ham ...
. Since February 2007, she has been a
United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador, concerned specifically with the
Chernobyl Recovery and Development Programme
Chernobyl Recovery and Development Programme (CRDP) is developed by the United Nations Development Programme and aims at ensuring return to normal life as a realistic prospect for people living in regions affected by Chernobyl disaster. The Progra ...
. In June 2011, she was named one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future" by ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' and in March 2012 was named one of the "
100 Greatest of All Time
''100 Greatest of All Time'' was a sports television series of five one-hour episodes, produced and first aired by the Tennis Channel in March 2012. It presented a list of 100 tennis players to be considered the greatest of all time, both men and ...
" by
Tennis Channel
Tennis Channel is an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network owned by the Sinclair Television Group subsidiary of the Sinclair Broadcast Group. It is devoted to events and other programming related to the game of ...
. According to
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
, she has been the highest-paid female athlete in the world for 11 consecutive years and earned 285 million (including prize money) since she turned pro in 2001. In 2018, she launched a new program to mentor women entrepreneurs.
Early life
Maria Sharapova was born on 19 April 1987, in
Nyagan
Nyagan (russian: Нягань) is a town in the northwest of Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located near the Ob River and northwest of Khanty-Mansiysk. It is named after the Nyagan-Yugan River, a tributary of the Ob River. Population: ...
,
Russian SFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
, Soviet Union. Her parents, Yuri Sharapov and Yelena, are from
Gomel
Gomel (russian: Гомель, ) or Homiel ( be, Гомель, ) is the administrative centre of Gomel Region and the second-largest city in Belarus with 526,872 inhabitants (2015 census).
Etymology
There are at least six narratives of the ori ...
,
Byelorussian SSR
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор ...
. Concerned about the regional effects of the 1986
Chernobyl nuclear accident
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 nuclear reactor, reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainia ...
, they left their homeland shortly before Maria was born.
Introduction to tennis
In 1990, when Sharapova was three, the family moved to
Sochi
Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...
,
Krasnodar Krai
Krasnodar Krai (russian: Краснода́рский край, r=Krasnodarsky kray, p=krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and administratively a part of t ...
, Russia. She hit her first tennis ball when she was 4 years old. Her father, Yuri, befriended Aleksandr Kafelnikov, whose son
Yevgeny would go on to win two Grand Slam singles titles and become Russia's first world No. 1 ranked tennis player. Aleksandr gave Sharapova her first tennis racquet in 1991 when she was four, whereupon she began practicing regularly with her father at a local park.
Maria took her first tennis lessons with veteran Russian coach Yuri Yutkin, who was instantly impressed when he saw her play, noting her "exceptional
hand-eye coordination".
Start of professional training
In 1993, at the age of six, Sharapova attended a tennis clinic in Moscow run by
Martina Navratilova
Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...
, who recommended professional training with
Nick Bollettieri
Nicholas James Bollettieri (July 31, 1931 – December 4, 2022) was an American tennis coach. He pioneered the concept of a tennis boarding school, and helped develop many leading tennis players during the past decades, including Andre Agassi, J ...
at the
IMG Academy
IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a board ...
in
Bradenton, Florida
Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698.
History
Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...
, who had previously trained players such as
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time major champion and an Olympic gold medalist, as well as a runner-up in seven other majors.
Agassi is the second of five men to ach ...
,
Monica Seles
Monica Seles (; hu, Széles Mónika, ; sr, Моника Селеш, Monika Seleš; born December 2, 1973) is a retired professional tennis player who represented Yugoslavia and the United States. A former world No. 1, she won nine Grand Slam ...
, and
Anna Kournikova
Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova ( rus, Анна Сергеевна Курникова, p=ˈanːə sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvnə ˈkurnʲɪkəvə, a=Anna_kournikova.ogg; born 7 June 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player and American televisio ...
.
With money tight, Yuri Sharapov borrowed the sum that would enable him and his daughter, neither of whom could speak English, to travel to the United States, which they finally did in 1994.
Visa restrictions prevented Sharapova's mother from joining them for two years.
Arriving in Florida with savings of US$700,
Sharapova's father took various low-paying jobs to fund her lessons until she was old enough to be admitted to the academy. Initially, she trained with Rick Macci. In 1995, however, she was signed by
IMG img or IMG is an abbreviation for image.
img or IMG may also refer to:
* IMG (company), global sports and media business headquartered in New York City but with its main offices in Cleveland, originally known as the "International Management Group ...
, who agreed to pay the annual tuition fee of $35,000 for Sharapova to stay at the academy, allowing her to finally enroll at the age of 9.
Tennis career
Junior and early career
Sharapova first hit tennis fame in November 2000, when she won the Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships in the girls' 16 division at the age of just 13. She was then given a special distinction, the Rising Star Award, which is awarded only to players of exceptional promise. Sharapova made her professional debut in 2001 on her 14th birthday on 19 April, and played her first WTA tournament at the
Pacific Life Open
The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States. The owner is La ...
in 2002, winning a match before losing to
Monica Seles
Monica Seles (; hu, Széles Mónika, ; sr, Моника Селеш, Monika Seleš; born December 2, 1973) is a retired professional tennis player who represented Yugoslavia and the United States. A former world No. 1, she won nine Grand Slam ...
. Due to restrictions on how many professional events she could play, Sharapova went to hone her game in junior tournaments, where she reached the finals of the girls' singles events at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2002. She was the youngest girl ever to reach the final of the Australian Open junior championship at 14 years and 9 months.
Sharapova reached No. 6 in the
ITF junior world singles ranking on 21 October 2002. In all, she won three junior singles tournaments and was runner-up at five, including two junior Grand Slam events. Her win–loss record in junior competition was 47–9. Her best results in the Junior Grand Slam tournaments were the finals of the
2002 Australian Open
The 2002 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at Melbourne Park in Melbourne in Australia. It was the 90th edition of the Australian Open and was held from 14 through 27 January 2002 and attracted an attendance of ...
, finals of the
2002 Wimbledon Championships
The 2002 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom. It was the 116th edition of the Wimbledon Championships and were held fr ...
, third round of the
2002 French Open
The 2002 French Open was the second Grand Slam event of 2002 and the 106th edition of the French Open. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from late May through early June, 2002.
Both Gustavo Kuerten and Jennifer Capriati ...
, and second round of the
2001 US Open.
2003: First tournament titles
From 2003, Sharapova played a full season and made a rapid climb into the top 50 by the end of the year. She made her debuts at both the
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...
and the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...
, but failed to win a match in either. Then, as a wildcard at
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
, she defeated 11th seed
Jelena Dokić
Jelena Dokic ( sr, Јелена Докић, Jelena Dokić; ; born 12 April 1983) is an Australian tennis coach, commentator, writer, and former professional tennis player. Her highest ranking as a tennis player was world No. 4, in August 2002. ...
, her first win over a top-20 player, to reach the fourth round, where she lost in three sets to
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova (born 27 June 1985) is a Russian inactive professional tennis player. She is a two-time major singles champion, winning the 2004 US Open and 2009 French Open, and finishing runner-up at two other majors. I ...
.
By the end of September, Sharapova had already captured her first WTA title at a smaller event, the
Japan Open Tennis Championships
The Japan Open (currently sponsored by Rakuten) is a men's tennis tournament held in Ariake Tennis Forest Park with its center court Ariake Coliseum, located in Koto, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally founded in 1915 as the Japan International Ch ...
, before winning her second in her final tournament of the season, the
Bell Challenge
A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an intern ...
in Quebec City. To cap off her first full season as a professional, she was awarded the
WTA Newcomer of the Year This article lists the WTA Awards given by the Women's Tennis Association to players and coaches for achievements during a season or their careers.
Player of the Year
Doubles Team of the Year
Most Improved Player
Newcomer of the Yea ...
honor.
2004: Wimbledon glory and rise to fame
Sharapova was defeated in the third round of the
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...
by sixth seed
Anastasia Myskina
Anastasia Andreyevna Myskina ( rus, Анастасия Андреевна Мыскина ; born 8 July 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. Myskina won the 2004 French Open singles title, becoming the first Russian woman to wi ...
. She later reached the semifinals at the
Cellular South Cup
Cellular may refer to:
*Cellular automaton, a model in discrete mathematics
*Cell biology, the evaluation of cells work and more
* ''Cellular'' (film), a 2004 movie
*Cellular frequencies, assigned to networks operating in cellular RF bands
*Cellu ...
, where she lost to eventual champion
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Igorevna Zvonareva ( rus, Вера Игоревна Звонарёва, p=ˈvʲɛrə ˈiɡərʲɪvnə zvənɐˈrʲɵvə, a=Vera zvonareva.ogg; born 7 September 1984) is a Russian professional tennis player. She was introduced to tennis at ...
.
During the spring clay-court season, Sharapova entered the top 20 on the WTA world rankings as a result of reaching the third round of the
Qatar Telecom German Open
The German Open (currently known as the Grass Court Championships Berlin or bett1open) is a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women played in West Berlin, West Germany (until 1990), then Berlin, Germany from 1991 to 2008 foll ...
and the
Internazionali BNL d'Italia
The Italian Open ( it, Internazionali d'Italia; literally: ''Italy's Internationals''), originally called the Italian International Championships, is a tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is one of the most important clay tennis tournament ...
, both of which were Tier I events. At the latter event, she defeated a player ranked in the top 10 for the first time with a straight-sets win over world No. 10 and
2004 French Open
The 2004 French Open was the 108th edition of the tournament. Gastón Gaudio became the first men's Open Era Grand Slam title winner to save two match points in the final; the last time that had happened was 70 years earlier. Gaudio also became th ...
finalist
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viacheslavovna Dementieva (, ; born 15 October 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She won the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, having previously won the silver medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. ...
. Later that clay-court season, she went on to make the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time at the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...
, losing there to
Paola Suárez
Paola Suárez (; born 23 June 1976) is a retired tennis player from Argentina. She was one of the most prominent women's doubles players throughout the early and mid-2000s, winning eight Grand Slam titles, all of them with Virginia Ruano Pascual ...
.
![Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon (2004) (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Maria_Sharapova_at_Wimbledon_%282004%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Sharapova won the third title of her career at the
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
warm-up
DFS Classic
The Birmingham Classic (currently sponsored by Rothesay Pensions) is a 250-level women's tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Held at this location since 1982, the tournam ...
, defeating
Tatiana Golovin
Tatiana Golovin ( rus, Татья́на Григóрьевна Головина́, r=Tatyana Grigoryevna Golovina; born 25 January 1988) is a Russian-born French professional tennis player. She won the 2004 French Open mixed-doubles event, partn ...
in the final. Seeded 13th and aged 17 at Wimbledon, she reached her first Grand Slam semifinal by defeating
Ai Sugiyama
is a Japanese former tennis player. She reached the world No. 1 ranking in women's doubles on the WTA Tour and had a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8, achieved on February 9, 2004. In her career, she won six singles and 38 doubles t ...
. There, she defeated fifth seed and former champion
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport Leach (born June 8, 1976) is an American former professional tennis player. Davenport was ranked singles world No. 1 for a total of 98 weeks, and was the year-end singles world No. 1 four times (1998, 2001, 2004, and 2005) ...
. In the final, Sharapova upset top seed and defending champion
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...
to win her first Grand Slam singles title, and become the third-youngest woman to win the Wimbledon title, behind only
Lottie Dod
Charlotte Dod (24 September 1871 – 27 June 1960) was an English multi-sport athlete, best known as a tennis player. She won the Wimbledon Ladies' Singles Championship five times, the first one when she was only 15 in the summer of 1887. She ...
and
Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis (, sk, Martina Hingisová; 30 September 1980) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. Hingis is the first Swiss player, male or female, to win a major title and attain a world No. 1 ranking. She spent a total of 209 weeks a ...
. Sharapova also became the second Russian woman (after
Anastasia Myskina
Anastasia Andreyevna Myskina ( rus, Анастасия Андреевна Мыскина ; born 8 July 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. Myskina won the 2004 French Open singles title, becoming the first Russian woman to wi ...
had won the year's previous major at
Roland Garros) to win a Grand Slam singles title. The victory was hailed by the media as "the most stunning upset in memory", with other writers commenting on her arrival as a serious challenger to the
Williams' dominance at Wimbledon. She entered the top 10 in the rankings for the first time as a result of the win.
Following her Wimbledon win, attention and interest in Sharapova in the media greatly increased, a rise in popularity dubbed "Maria Mania." She won three of six matches in her preparations for the
US Open. At the US Open itself, she reached the third round, before being eliminated by
Mary Pierce
Mary Caroline Pierce (born 15 January 1975) is a retired tennis professional who represented France internationally in team competitions and the Olympics. She was born in Canada to an American father and a French mother, and holds citizenship of ...
. In order to regain confidence, Sharapova played and won consecutive titles in Asia in the fall, the
Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships
The Korea Open is a professional tennis tennis tournament held in Seoul, South Korea. The women's edition started in 2004 as
Women's Tennis Association, WTA International tournament and was played at the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center on outdo ...
and the
Japan Open Tennis Championships
The Japan Open (currently sponsored by Rakuten) is a men's tennis tournament held in Ariake Tennis Forest Park with its center court Ariake Coliseum, located in Koto, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally founded in 1915 as the Japan International Ch ...
.
In October, Sharapova defeated
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player. A former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open. She is ...
en route to making the final of a Tier I event for the first time at the
Zurich Open
The Zurich Open was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, formerly held every winter in Zürich, Switzerland. It was classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament from 1993 until 2007. In its final year, 2008, it was ...
, losing in the final to
Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik (born 27 January 1981) is an Australian former professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 and a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 6.
Molik won a bronze medal in singles for Australi ...
. She then made her debut at the year-ending
WTA Tour Championships WTA may refer to:
Organizations
*Washington Trails Association
*Whatcom Transportation Authority
*Waskahegan Trail Association, the management board for the Waskahegan Trail
*Water Transit Authority, former name of the San Francisco Bay Area Water ...
. There, she won two of her three round-robin matches (including a win over US Open champion
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova (born 27 June 1985) is a Russian inactive professional tennis player. She is a two-time major singles champion, winning the 2004 US Open and 2009 French Open, and finishing runner-up at two other majors. I ...
) in order to advance to the semifinals, where she defeated Myskina. In the final, she defeated an injured Serena Williams, after trailing 4–0 in the final set.
2005: World No. 1
Sharapova started the year at the
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...
, where she defeated fifth seed
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova (born 27 June 1985) is a Russian inactive professional tennis player. She is a two-time major singles champion, winning the 2004 US Open and 2009 French Open, and finishing runner-up at two other majors. I ...
to reach the second Grand Slam semifinal of her career. Sharapova held three match points in the third set of her semifinal match, before losing to eventual champion
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...
. In February, Sharapova won back-to-back tournaments, the
Toray Pan Pacific Open
The Pan Pacific Open ( ja, 東レ パン・パシフィック・オープン・テニストーナメント), currently sponsored by Toray Industries, is a women's outdoor hardcourt tennis tournament held annually in Tokyo, Japan. It is a WTA 500-l ...
and the
Qatar Total Open
The Qatar Ladies Open, currently sponsored by TotalEnergies and called the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, is a women's tennis tournament held in Doha, Qatar. Held since 2001, this WTA Tour event was a Tier I-tournament in 2008, and was played on outdoo ...
, allowing her to reach number 3 in the world rankings for the first time.
In the semifinals of the Tier I
Pacific Life Open
The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States. The owner is La ...
, Sharapova was defeated by
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport Leach (born June 8, 1976) is an American former professional tennis player. Davenport was ranked singles world No. 1 for a total of 98 weeks, and was the year-end singles world No. 1 four times (1998, 2001, 2004, and 2005) ...
, the first time she had failed to win a game in a match. She defeated former world No. 1 players
Justine Henin
Justine Henin (; born 1 June 1982) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. She spent a total of 117 weeks as the world No. 1 and was the year-end No. 1 in 2003, 2006 and 2007. Henin, coming from a country with limited success in te ...
and
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player. A former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open. She is ...
to reach the final at the Tier I
NASDAQ-100 Open
The Miami Open (also known as the Miami Masters, and currently branded as the Miami Open presented by Itaú for sponsorship reasons) is a tennis tournament held at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It is part of the men's ATP Tour Mas ...
, where she lost to
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters (; born 8 June 1983) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. Clijsters reached the world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles, having held both rankings simultaneously in 2003. She won six major titles, ...
.
Sharapova made the semifinals of a clay-court tournament for the first time at the
Italian Open, where she lost to
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder (born 14 December 1978)
Weltwoche, 14. September 2011 is a Swiss reti ...
. Sharapova would have become world No. 1 for the first time had she won the tournament. Sharapova then reached the quarterfinals of the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...
for the second consecutive year, before losing to eventual champion Henin. On grass, Sharapova won her third title of the year when she successfully defended her title at the
DFS Classic
The Birmingham Classic (currently sponsored by Rothesay Pensions) is a 250-level women's tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Held at this location since 1982, the tournam ...
, defeating
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена Јанковић, ; born 28 February 1985) is a Serbian former tennis player. A former world No. 1, Janković reached the top ranking before her career-best major performance, a runner-up finish at the ...
in the final. As the defending champion at
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
, Sharapova reached the semifinals without dropping a set and losing a service game just once, extending her winning streak on grass to 24 matches. However, she was then beaten by eventual champion
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player. A former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open. She is ...
.
Sharapova had far fewer points to defend, and so she became the first Asian and Russian woman to hold the world No. 1 ranking on 22 August 2005.
Her reign lasted only one week, however, as Davenport reclaimed the top ranking after winning the
Pilot Pen Tennis
The Connecticut Open was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was a WTA Premier Tournament on the WTA Tour until its final edition in 2018. From 2005 through 2010 the tournament was also part of the ATP World Tour 2 ...
tournament.
As the top seed at the
US Open, Sharapova lost in the semifinals to
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters (; born 8 June 1983) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. Clijsters reached the world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles, having held both rankings simultaneously in 2003. She won six major titles, ...
, meaning she had lost to the eventual champion in every Grand Slam of the season. However, she once again leapfrogged Davenport to take the world No. 1 ranking on 12 September 2005. She retained it for six weeks, but after playing few tournaments while injured, she again relinquished the ranking to Davenport.
2006: US Open champion
![MariaSharapova (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/MariaSharapova_%28cropped%29.JPG)
Sharapova started 2006 by losing in the semifinals of the
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...
in three sets to Henin, also losing a rematch several weeks later at the
Dubai Tennis Championships
The Dubai Tennis Championships or Dubai Open (also known as the ''Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships'' for sponsorship reasons) (formerly known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships'' and the ''Dubai Duty Free Men's ...
, having defeated former world No. 1
Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis (, sk, Martina Hingisová; 30 September 1980) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. Hingis is the first Swiss player, male or female, to win a major title and attain a world No. 1 ranking. She spent a total of 209 weeks a ...
and world No. 3
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport Leach (born June 8, 1976) is an American former professional tennis player. Davenport was ranked singles world No. 1 for a total of 98 weeks, and was the year-end singles world No. 1 four times (1998, 2001, 2004, and 2005) ...
in earlier rounds of the tournament. Sharapova claimed her first title in nine months at the Tier I tournament in Indian Wells, defeating Hingis in the semifinals and
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viacheslavovna Dementieva (, ; born 15 October 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She won the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, having previously won the silver medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. ...
in the final. She reached the final in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
before losing to Kuznetsova.
Sharapova returned for the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...
. There, after saving match points in defeating
Mashona Washington
Mashona Washington (born May 31, 1976) is a retired tennis player from the United States.
Her career-high singles ranking is No. 50, achieved on November 8, 2004. On July 18, 2005, she peaked at No. 55 in the doubles rankings. Washington retired ...
in the first round, she was eliminated by
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mubinovna Safina (; ; tt-Cyrl, Динара Мөбин кызы Сафина; born April 27, 1986) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis player. Safina was runner-up in singles at the 2008 French Open, 2009 Australian Open, and the ...
in the fourth round. On grass, Sharapova was unsuccessful in her attempt to win in Birmingham for the third consecutive year, losing in the semifinals to
Jamea Jackson
Jamea Jackson ( ; born September 7, 1986) is an American former Women's Tennis Association (WTA) player and current United States Tennis Association (USTA) coach. She reached a singles ranking of 45 in the world at the end of 2006.
Jackson was b ...
. Despite that, she was among the title favorites at
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
, where the eventual champion Mauresmo ended up beating her in the semifinals.
Sharapova claimed her second title of the year at the Tier I
Acura Classic
The Southern California Open currently known as The San Diego Open is an ATP 250 and WTA 500 tournament held at the Barnes Tennis Centre in San Diego, California. The event originated as the Southern California Championships that ran from 18 ...
, defeating Clijsters for the first time in the final. As the third seed at the
US Open, Sharapova defeated top seed Mauresmo for the first time in the semifinals, and then followed up by beating second seed
Justine Henin
Justine Henin (; born 1 June 1982) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. She spent a total of 117 weeks as the world No. 1 and was the year-end No. 1 in 2003, 2006 and 2007. Henin, coming from a country with limited success in te ...
to win her second Grand Slam singles title.
That autumn, Sharapova won titles in back-to-back weeks at the
Zurich Open
The Zurich Open was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, formerly held every winter in Zürich, Switzerland. It was classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament from 1993 until 2007. In its final year, 2008, it was ...
and the
Generali Ladies Linz
The Linz Open, currently sponsored by Generali Gruppe, is a women's tennis tournament held in Linz, Austria. It is played on indoor hardcourts.
The inaugural event took place in 1987 in Wels, Austria and was organized by the ITF as a $10,000 tou ...
. By winning all three of her round-robin matches at the
WTA Tour Championships WTA may refer to:
Organizations
*Washington Trails Association
*Whatcom Transportation Authority
*Waskahegan Trail Association, the management board for the Waskahegan Trail
*Water Transit Authority, former name of the San Francisco Bay Area Water ...
, she extended her win streak to 19 matches, before it was snapped in the semifinals by eventual champion Henin. Sharapova would have finished the season as world No. 1 had she won the event. As it was, she finished ranked world No. 2, her best year-end finish yet.
2007: Return to No. 1, shoulder injury and fall from the Top 5
Sharapova was the top seed at the
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...
due to top-ranked
Justine Henin
Justine Henin (; born 1 June 1982) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. She spent a total of 117 weeks as the world No. 1 and was the year-end No. 1 in 2003, 2006 and 2007. Henin, coming from a country with limited success in te ...
's withdrawal. After being two points away from defeat in the first round against
Camille Pin
Camille Pin (born 25 August 1981) is a French former professional tennis player.
Her 2006 season was rather successful, for a player ranked lower than the top 100 in the WTA Tour. After a second-round loss to Serena Williams in the Australian Op ...
, she went on to reach the final of the tournament for the first time, but was routed there by
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...
who was ranked world No. 81 at the time. After reaching the final, Sharapova recaptured the world No. 1 ranking.
She held it for seven weeks, surrendering it back to Henin after failing to defend her title at the
Pacific Life Open
The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States. The owner is La ...
, instead losing in the fourth round to
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Igorevna Zvonareva ( rus, Вера Игоревна Звонарёва, p=ˈvʲɛrə ˈiɡərʲɪvnə zvənɐˈrʲɵvə, a=Vera zvonareva.ogg; born 7 September 1984) is a Russian professional tennis player. She was introduced to tennis at ...
after struggling with a hamstring injury. The following fortnight, she defeated
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player. A former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open. She is ...
in the third round of the
Sony Ericsson Open
The Miami Open (also known as the Miami Masters, and currently branded as the Miami Open presented by Itaú for sponsorship reasons) is a tennis tournament held at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It is part of the men's ATP Tour Mas ...
, before being beaten again by Serena Williams.
A shoulder injury forced Sharapova to miss most of the clay-court season for the second consecutive year, resulting in her only tune-up for the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...
being the
İstanbul Cup
The İstanbul Cup is a WTA tennis tournament held in Istanbul, Turkey, organised for professional female tennis players. It is classified as an International-level tournament on the WTA Tour. Held annually since May 2005, it was played on outdoo ...
, where she lost in the semifinals to
Aravane Rezaï
Aravane Rezaï (; fa, ارغوان رضایی ''Arghavān-e Rezāyi'' , born 14 March 1987) is an Iranian–French tennis player. She has defeated many top players on the WTA Tour, such as Justine Henin, Venus Williams, Victoria Azarenk ...
. She reached the semifinals of the French Open for the first time in her career, before losing to
Ana Ivanovic
Ana Schweinsteiger ( sr, Ана Швајнштајгер / ''Ana Švajnštajger''; born 6 November 1987), professionally known by her birth name Ana Ivanovic (Ана Ивановић / ''Ana Ivanović'', ), is a Serbian former world No. 1 tenn ...
. On grass, Sharapova was runner-up to
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена Јанковић, ; born 28 February 1985) is a Serbian former tennis player. A former world No. 1, Janković reached the top ranking before her career-best major performance, a runner-up finish at the ...
at the
DFS Classic
The Birmingham Classic (currently sponsored by Rothesay Pensions) is a 250-level women's tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Held at this location since 1982, the tournam ...
. Following that, she experienced her earliest Wimbledon loss since 2003 by losing in the fourth round to eventual champion Venus Williams.
Sharapova clinched the
US Open Series
The US Open Series is the name given by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) to a series of North American professional tennis tournaments leading up to and including the US Open. It is part of the "North American hard court season". Emirat ...
by defending her title at the
Acura Classic
The Southern California Open currently known as The San Diego Open is an ATP 250 and WTA 500 tournament held at the Barnes Tennis Centre in San Diego, California. The event originated as the Southern California Championships that ran from 18 ...
, her only championship of the year, and reaching the semifinals in Los Angeles.
In her
US Open title defense, Sharapova was upset in her third-round match by 30th seed
Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Roma Radwańska (; born 6 March 1989) is a Polish former professional tennis player. She won 20 career singles WTA Tour titles, two doubles titles, and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2 on 9 July 2012. Her achievem ...
,
making it her earliest exit at a Grand Slam singles tournament since the
2004 US Open, where she lost in the same round.
Following the US Open loss, Sharapova did not play again until the
Kremlin Cup
The Kremlin Cup (russian: Кубок Кремля) is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts, which was suspended in 2022. It was part of the ATP Tour 250 series of the ATP Tour and was a Premier Tournament on the WTA ...
in October, where she lost her opening match to
Victoria Azarenka
Victória Fyódarauna Azárenka ( be, Вікторыя Фёдараўна Азаранка; Russian: Виктория Фёдоровна Азаренко; born 31 July 1989) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Azarenka is a former wo ...
. Shortly after this, she fell out of the top 5 in the world rankings for the first time since 2004. She qualified for the eight-woman year-end
Sony Ericsson Championships because of a withdrawal by Venus Williams before the start of the tournament.
Despite having not previously won a match in two months, Sharapova topped her round-robin group at the tournament, after winning all three of her matches, defeating
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova (born 27 June 1985) is a Russian inactive professional tennis player. She is a two-time major singles champion, winning the 2004 US Open and 2009 French Open, and finishing runner-up at two other majors. I ...
, Ana Ivanovic, and
Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová (; born 23 April 1983) is a Slovak tennis commentator and retired player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first WTA Tour title at the Indian Wells Masters, defeating Mar ...
. She then defeated
Anna Chakvetadze
Anna Djambuliovna Chakvetadze ( ; born 5 March 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player.
In her career, Chakvetadze won eight WTA Tour singles titles, the biggest being the 2006 Kremlin Cup. She booked her highest singles ranking o ...
in the semifinals. In the final, she lost to world No. 1 Henin in a match that lasted 3 hours and 24 minutes. Sharapova reached the top 5 again to end the year.
2008: Australian Open champion, No. 1 and second shoulder injury
Sharapova was seeded fifth at the
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...
, but was not considered a favorite. Nevertheless, she defeated former world No. 1
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport Leach (born June 8, 1976) is an American former professional tennis player. Davenport was ranked singles world No. 1 for a total of 98 weeks, and was the year-end singles world No. 1 four times (1998, 2001, 2004, and 2005) ...
in the second round, and then world No. 1 Henin in the quarterfinals, ending the latter's 32-match winning streak. She proceeded to the finals by defeating
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена Јанковић, ; born 28 February 1985) is a Serbian former tennis player. A former world No. 1, Janković reached the top ranking before her career-best major performance, a runner-up finish at the ...
in the semifinals, and defeated
Ana Ivanovic
Ana Schweinsteiger ( sr, Ана Швајнштајгер / ''Ana Švajnštajger''; born 6 November 1987), professionally known by her birth name Ana Ivanovic (Ана Ивановић / ''Ana Ivanović'', ), is a Serbian former world No. 1 tenn ...
in the final to win her third Grand Slam title, having not dropped a set all tournament.
After the Australian Open, Sharapova extended her winning streak to 18 matches. This run encompassed two wins including at the Tier I
Qatar Open. Her winning streak was ended in the semifinals of the
Pacific Life Open
The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States. The owner is La ...
by Kuznetsova. In April, Sharapova won the
Bausch & Lomb Championships
The Amelia Island Championships was a women's tennis tournament held in Amelia Island Plantation and later Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, United States. The Women's Tennis Association event was an International series tournament played on outdoor gr ...
, having survived her longest-ever match, at 3 hours and 26 minutes long, in the third round against
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues (, ; born 31 July 1982) is a Spanish tennis coach and former professional player.
As a player she reached a career-high ranking of world No. 16 in 2020, and won 11 singles and 28 doubles titles, including the 2008 ...
.
The following week, at the
Family Circle Cup
The Credit One Charleston Open, formerly known as the Volvo Car Open and the Family Circle Cup, is a WTA Tour-affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1973. It is the oldest professional all-women's tournament in ...
, she lost in the quarterfinals to
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...
, her fourth consecutive loss to the American.
In May, Sharapova regained the world No. 1 ranking because of Henin's sudden retirement from professional tennis and request to the
WTA that her own ranking be removed immediately. As the top-seeded player at the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...
, Sharapova was within two points of being knocked out by
Evgeniya Rodina
Evgeniya Sergeyevna Rodina (russian: Евгения Сергеевна Родина, born 4 February 1989) is a Russian tennis player. On 6 May 2019, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of 67.
Rodina has won 13 singles titles on the ITF ...
in the first round, before eventually winning. As a result of losing to eventual finalist
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mubinovna Safina (; ; tt-Cyrl, Динара Мөбин кызы Сафина; born April 27, 1986) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis player. Safina was runner-up in singles at the 2008 French Open, 2009 Australian Open, and the ...
in the fourth round (after serving for the match), she relinquished her No. 1 ranking. Her dip in form continued at
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
, where she lost in the second round to world No. 154
Alla Kudryavtseva
Alla Alexandrovna Kudryavtseva (; born 3 November 1987) is a retired Russian tennis player.
Kudryavtseva won one singles title and nine doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as two singles titles and 15 doubles titles on the ITF Women's Cir ...
. This was her earliest loss at Wimbledon, and at any Grand Slam in almost five years.
Sharapova withdrew from the
Rogers Cup
The Canadian Open (french: Tournoi de tennis du Canada), also known as the Canada Masters, and currently branded as the National Bank Open presented by Rogers for sponsorship reasons, is an annual tennis tournament held in Ontario and Quebec. T ...
tournament in August following a shoulder injury. An
MRI
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves ...
scan revealed that she had been suffering from a
rotator cuff tear
A rotator cuff tear is an injury where one or more of the tendons or muscles of the rotator cuff of the shoulder get torn. Symptoms may include shoulder pain, which is often worse with movement, limited range of motion, or weakness. This may limi ...
since April, forcing her out of all tournaments for the rest of the season, including the
Beijing Olympics, the
US Open, and the
WTA Tour Championships WTA may refer to:
Organizations
*Washington Trails Association
*Whatcom Transportation Authority
*Waskahegan Trail Association, the management board for the Waskahegan Trail
*Water Transit Authority, former name of the San Francisco Bay Area Water ...
. In spite of that, she still finished the year ranked world No. 9. In October, after a failed attempt to rehabilitate the shoulder, Sharapova had surgery to repair the tear.
2009–2010: Shoulder surgery, rehabilitation, comeback and struggles with form
Sharapova did not attempt to defend her
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...
title, as she continued to recover from surgery. She returned to the sport in March, in the doubles tournament at the
Indian Wells Open
The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States. The owner is La ...
, but she and partner
Elena Vesnina
Elena Sergeyevna Vesnina (born 1 August 1986) is a Russian former professional tennis player and a former world No. 1 in doubles.
She is a four-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2013 French Open, 2014 US Open, and 2017 Wimbledon Cha ...
lost in the first round. After this, Sharapova withdrew from further singles tournaments, resulting in her standing in the world rankings being severely affected. She dropped out of the top 100 for the first time in six years in May, the nadir being world No. 126.
![Maria Sharapova at 2009 Roland Garros, Paris, France](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Maria_Sharapova_at_2009_Roland_Garros%2C_Paris%2C_France.jpg)
Playing her first singles tournament in nearly ten months, Sharapova made the quarterfinals of the clay-court
Warsaw Open
The Warsaw Open, formerly the J&S Cup, was a women's tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held in Warsaw, Poland. Held since 1995, the tournament was played on outdoor clay courts. The event returned for two years to the WTA Tour in 2009 after a ...
in May, losing to finalist
Alona Bondarenko
Alona Volodymyrivna Bondarenko Dyachok ( uk, Альона Володимирівна Бондаренко; born 13 August 1984) is a Ukrainian former tennis player. Her younger sister Kateryna Bondarenko plays on the WTA Tour.
Her career-high s ...
. The following week, in her first Grand Slam appearance since her surgery, she reached the quarterfinals of the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...
, before her run was ended by
Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková (; born 6 May 1989) is a Slovak former professional tennis player. She is the 2016 WTA Finals champion, becoming the fourth player (after Serena Williams in 2001 WTA Tour Championships, 2001, Maria Sharapova in 2004 WTA Tour ...
.
During the summer grass-court season, Sharapova played in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, losing in the semifinals to Li Na. Sharapova then played at
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
as the 24th seed. She was upset in the second round by
Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko (; born 30 January 1985) is a retired Argentine tennis player. Although she enjoyed modest success in singles, reaching a career-high ranking of world No. 26 and winning four WTA titles, her speciality was doubles, where she achiev ...
in three sets.
Sharapova enjoyed considerable success in the summer months, reaching the quarterfinals at the
Bank of the West Classic
The Silicon Valley Classic, sponsored by Mubadala Investment Company, is a week-long tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held on the campus of San Jose State University in San Jose, California, United States. Started in 1971, the tournament is the ol ...
, the semifinals at the
LA Women's Championships, and finishing runner-up at the
Rogers Cup
The Canadian Open (french: Tournoi de tennis du Canada), also known as the Canada Masters, and currently branded as the National Bank Open presented by Rogers for sponsorship reasons, is an annual tennis tournament held in Ontario and Quebec. T ...
to
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viacheslavovna Dementieva (, ; born 15 October 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She won the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, having previously won the silver medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. ...
. At the
US Open, Sharapova was seeded 29th. She found her way into the third round, defeating
Tsvetana Pironkova
Tsvetana Kirilova Pironkova ( bg, Цветана Кирилова Пиронкова ; born 13 September 1987) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. Considered to be one of the best grass court players of her generation, she has been noted ...
and
Christina McHale
Christina Marietta McHale (born May 11, 1992) is an American former professional tennis player. Her highest-ever WTA rankings were No. 24 in singles and No. 35 in doubles.
Known for an aggressive baseline game, McHale was recognized by ''The New ...
, all in straight sets. She was stunned in the third round by American teenager
Melanie Oudin
Melanie Jennings Oudin (born September 23, 1991) is an American former professional tennis player. The former world junior No. 2 was a member of the American Fed Cup team from 2009 to 2011 and the winner of the 2011 US Open mixed-doubles title ...
. It was the second time in Sharapova's career that she lost to a teenager at a
Grand Slam tournament, having lost to
Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Roma Radwańska (; born 6 March 1989) is a Polish former professional tennis player. She won 20 career singles WTA Tour titles, two doubles titles, and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2 on 9 July 2012. Her achievem ...
during the same event in 2007. The loss made Sharapova's ranking go down to No. 32.
The final stretch of the season brought Sharapova her first title of the year in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, after opponent
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена Јанковић, ; born 28 February 1985) is a Serbian former tennis player. A former world No. 1, Janković reached the top ranking before her career-best major performance, a runner-up finish at the ...
retired after being down 2–5 to Sharapova in the final. By virtue of that result, she was the recipient of a bye at the
China Open, but failed to capitalize on it, losing to
Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai (; born 8 January 1986) is a Chinese retired professional tennis player. In February 2014, she was ranked world No. 1 doubles player by the WTA, becoming the first Chinese tennis player to achieve that ranking (in either single ...
in the third round. She ultimately finished the season at world No. 14, having improved from No. 126 when she started her comeback from injury.
After playing two exhibition tournaments in Asia, Sharapova officially began her season at the
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...
, where she was upset in her first-round match against
Maria Kirilenko
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko ( rus, Мари́я Ю́рьевна Кириле́нко, p=mɐˈrʲijə kʲɪrʲɪˈlʲɛnkə ; born 25 January 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. A junior Grand Slam champion at the 2002 US Open a ...
. The loss meant that for the first time since 2003, Sharapova had lost her opening match at a Grand Slam event. She then rebounded by winning a smaller American event, the
Cellular South Cup
Cellular may refer to:
*Cellular automaton, a model in discrete mathematics
*Cell biology, the evaluation of cells work and more
* ''Cellular'' (film), a 2004 movie
*Cellular frequencies, assigned to networks operating in cellular RF bands
*Cellu ...
, her 21st career WTA title and first of the year.
At the
Indian Wells Open
The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States. The owner is La ...
, Sharapova lost in the third round to
Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie (born 5 July 1983) is a retired tennis player from China. In May 2009, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 15.
Zheng is one of the most successful tennis players from China. She won four WTA singles titles – Ho ...
, aggravating a bruised bone on her right elbow in the process, which resulted in her eventual withdrawal from the
Sony Ericsson Open
The Miami Open (also known as the Miami Masters, and currently branded as the Miami Open presented by Itaú for sponsorship reasons) is a tennis tournament held at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It is part of the men's ATP Tour Mas ...
and the
Family Circle Cup
The Credit One Charleston Open, formerly known as the Volvo Car Open and the Family Circle Cup, is a WTA Tour-affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1973. It is the oldest professional all-women's tournament in ...
.
Returning at the
Madrid Open There are three sporting events known as the Madrid Open:
* Madrid Open (golf)
The Madrid Open was an annual men's golf tournament which was held in and around the Spanish capital Madrid from 1968 to 2007, apart from a seven-year gap from 1994 to ...
, Sharapova lost in the first round to
Lucie Šafářová
Lucie Šafářová (; born 4 February 1987) is a Czech former professional tennis player who was ranked world No. 1 in doubles, and No. 5 in singles.
She is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having won the 2015 Australian Open, 2015 ...
. She continued her French Open preparation at the
Internationaux de Strasbourg
The Internationaux de Strasbourg (formally known as the Strasbourg Grand Prix) is a professional women's tennis tournament held in Strasbourg, France. It is an International-level outdoor event of the WTA Tour played on clay courts. The tournament ...
as a wildcard, advancing to the final, where she beat
Kristina Barrois
Kristina Barrois (born 30 September 1981) is a retired German tennis player.
Barrois won 15 singles and 16 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit in her career. On 9 May 2011, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 57. On 20 February 20 ...
. This was her first title on red clay and 22nd overall title. At the 2010 French Open, French Open, Sharapova's brief clay season culminated with a third-round loss to four-time champion
Justine Henin
Justine Henin (; born 1 June 1982) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. She spent a total of 117 weeks as the world No. 1 and was the year-end No. 1 in 2003, 2006 and 2007. Henin, coming from a country with limited success in te ...
.
Sharapova began her preparations for Wimbledon at the 2010 Aegon Classic, Aegon Classic. She advanced to the final for the fourth time, where she lost to Li Na. As the 16th seed at 2010 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon, Sharapova lost in the fourth round to world No. 1 and eventual champion
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...
, despite having three set points in the opening set. The match was seen as another encouraging performance for Sharapova, with some stating their belief that she was approaching the form that would see her contending for Grand Slams once more, and Sharapova herself stating that she felt that she was "in a much better spot than I was last year."
During the
US Open Series
The US Open Series is the name given by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) to a series of North American professional tennis tournaments leading up to and including the US Open. It is part of the "North American hard court season". Emirat ...
, Sharapova made two straight finals, losing to
Victoria Azarenka
Victória Fyódarauna Azárenka ( be, Вікторыя Фёдараўна Азаранка; Russian: Виктория Фёдоровна Азаренко; born 31 July 1989) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Azarenka is a former wo ...
at the 2010 Bank of the West Classic – Singles, Bank of the West Classic, and to
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters (; born 8 June 1983) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. Clijsters reached the world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles, having held both rankings simultaneously in 2003. She won six major titles, ...
at the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open – Singles, Western & Southern Open. In the latter match, Sharapova held three match points while leading 5–3 on Clijsters's serve late in the second set, but could not convert them. At the 2010 US Open (tennis), US Open, Sharapova was the 14th seed. She made it to the fourth round, where she played top seed and 2009 finalist Caroline Wozniacki and lost.
Sharapova's last two tournaments of the season ended in disappointment. She played in the 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open – Singles, Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, where she was upset in the first round by 39-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm. Her last tournament of the year was the 2010 China Open – Women's singles, China Open, where she lost in the second round to fellow Russian
Elena Vesnina
Elena Sergeyevna Vesnina (born 1 August 1986) is a Russian former professional tennis player and a former world No. 1 in doubles.
She is a four-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2013 French Open, 2014 US Open, and 2017 Wimbledon Cha ...
. She ended the year at number 18 in the world.
2011: Return to the top 10
It was announced that Sharapova would bring in Thomas Högstedt as a coach for the 2011 season, joining Michael Joyce (tennis), Michael Joyce. On 5 December, Sharapova won an exhibition match against world No. 2
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Igorevna Zvonareva ( rus, Вера Игоревна Звонарёва, p=ˈvʲɛrə ˈiɡərʲɪvnə zvənɐˈrʲɵvə, a=Vera zvonareva.ogg; born 7 September 1984) is a Russian professional tennis player. She was introduced to tennis at ...
in Monterrey, Mexico. In Sharapova's first official Australian Open warm-up tournament at the 2011 ASB Classic – Singles, Auckland Open, she was top-seeded. She lost to the Hungarian veteran and eventual champion, Gréta Arn, in the quarterfinals. After that, Sharapova decided to split up with Joyce, ending a successful cooperation that brought her two Grand Slam victories and the world No. 1 ranking.
Sharapova participated in the first Grand Slam of the season at the 2011 Australian Open – Women's singles, Australian Open, where she was the 14th seed, but lost to Andrea Petkovic in the fourth round. She also had to pull out of the Dubai Championships and the Qatar Open because of an ear infection. Sharapova returned to the tour in March by taking part in the 2011 BNP Paribas Open, where she was seeded 16th. She defeated former world No. 1,
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mubinovna Safina (; ; tt-Cyrl, Динара Мөбин кызы Сафина; born April 27, 1986) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis player. Safina was runner-up in singles at the 2008 French Open, 2009 Australian Open, and the ...
, in the fourth round en route to the semifinal, where she lost to world No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki. At 2011 Sony Ericsson Open, Key Biscayne, Sharapova defeated 26th seed Alexandra Dulgheru in the quarterfinals, in a match lasting 3 hours and 28 minutes. In the semifinals, Sharapova took her 2011 Australian Open – Women's singles, Australian Open reprisal on Andrea Petkovic by defeating her. In the final, she was defeated by
Victoria Azarenka
Victória Fyódarauna Azárenka ( be, Вікторыя Фёдараўна Азаранка; Russian: Виктория Фёдоровна Азаренко; born 31 July 1989) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Azarenka is a former wo ...
, despite a late comeback in the second set. With this result, Sharapova returned to the top 10 for the first time since February 2009.
During the clay-court season, Sharapova participated in 2011 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, Madrid Open, where she lost to
Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková (; born 6 May 1989) is a Slovak former professional tennis player. She is the 2016 WTA Finals champion, becoming the fourth player (after Serena Williams in 2001 WTA Tour Championships, 2001, Maria Sharapova in 2004 WTA Tour ...
in the third round, and the 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Italian Open, where she was seeded seventh. She defeated top seed Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals and sixth seed Samantha Stosur in the final to take home the title, marking her biggest clay-court victory to date. At the 2011 French Open, Sharapova was seeded seventh. She defeated French wildcard Caroline Garcia in the second round, despite trailing 3–6, 1–4, before winning the last 11 games of the match. In the quarterfinals, she defeated 15th seed Andrea Petkovic, marking her first Grand Slam semifinal since her comeback from the career-threatening shoulder injury. She then lost to sixth seed and eventual champion, Li Na, in the semifinals, ending her clay season with a win–loss record of 12–2.
At the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon Championships, Sharapova had not dropped a set entering the final, before losing to eighth seed Petra Kvitová, in straight sets. This marked her first final in over three years at a Grand Slam event. Sharapova started her summer hard-court season at the 2011 Bank of the West Classic, Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California. In a highly anticipated match, Sharapova lost to the eventual champion Serena Williams in the quarterfinals. In her next event at the 2011 Rogers Cup – Women's singles, Rogers Cup in Toronto, Sharapova lost to Galina Voskoboeva in the third round, marking her 100th career loss.
![Maria Sharapova 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Maria_Sharapova_2011.jpg)
Sharapova then contested the 2011 Western & Southern Open – Women's singles, Cincinnati Open. As the fourth seed, she received a bye into the second round. On the way to her fourth final of the year, she beat Anastasia Rodionova, 14th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, tenth seed Samantha Stosur, and 2nd seed Vera Zvonareva. In the final, she defeated fellow former world No. 1
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена Јанковић, ; born 28 February 1985) is a Serbian former tennis player. A former world No. 1, Janković reached the top ranking before her career-best major performance, a runner-up finish at the ...
, in 2 hours and 49 minutes, making it the longest WTA tour final of the year. She subsequently moved up to world No. 4, her highest ranking since August 2008 and the highest since her comeback from her shoulder injury.
Sharapova entered the 2011 US Open (tennis), US Open, where she was seeded third. She beat Heather Watson, and Anastasiya Yakimova, to reach the third round. She was then upset by Flavia Pennetta. However, because of the fall of Kim Clijsters and Vera Zvonareva in the rankings, Sharapova climbed to world No. 2. Sharapova's next tournament was the 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open, Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan. As second seed, she received a bye into the second round, where she beat Tamarine Tanasugarn. She then beat 13th seed Julia Görges, before retiring against Petra Kvitová in the quarterfinal, 3–4, after slipping on the baseline, suffering an ankle injury. This also forced her to withdraw from the 2011 China Open (tennis), China Open the following week. Sharapova then flew to Istanbul to prepare for the 2011 WTA Tour Championships, her first time qualifying since 2007. During the WTA Tour Championships, Sharapova withdrew during the round-robin stage after defeats against Samantha Stosur and Li Na, as a result of the ankle injury she had suffered in Tokyo. Sharapova ended the year as No. 4 in the world, her first top-10 finish since 2008 and first top-5 finish since 2007.
2012: Career Grand Slam, back to No. 1 and Olympic silver
Sharapova withdrew from the 2012 Brisbane International because of her ongoing ankle injury. Her first tournament of the season was the 2012 Australian Open, where she was seeded fourth. Sharapova advanced to the final round defeating
Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko (; born 30 January 1985) is a retired Argentine tennis player. Although she enjoyed modest success in singles, reaching a career-high ranking of world No. 26 and winning four WTA titles, her speciality was doubles, where she achiev ...
, Jamie Hampton, 30th seed Angelique Kerber, 14th seed Sabine Lisicki, compatriot Ekaterina Makarova and world No. 2, Petra Kvitová. In a match that decided who would become the new world No. 1, she lost to Victoria Azarenka, in straight sets. As a result, her ranking improved to world No. 3 behind Azarenka and Kvitová. She then played in the 2012 Open GDF Suez, Paris, where she lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Angelique Kerber. As a result, her ranking improved to world No. 2.
![Flickr - Carine06 - Maria Sharapova (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Flickr_-_Carine06_-_Maria_Sharapova_%281%29.jpg)
At the 2012 BNP Paribas Open – Women's singles, Indian Wells Open, after battling for over three hours, Sharapova defeated compatriot Maria Kirilenko to set up a semifinal meeting with Ana Ivanovic. Sharapova advanced to the final after Ivanovic retired due to a hip injury. In the final, she played world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka in a rematch of the Australian Open final, but lost again in straight sets. Sharapova's next tournament was the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open, where she was seeded 2nd and received a bye. In the final, Sharapova lost in straight sets to fifth seed Agnieszka Radwańska. This was her third loss of the year in finals out of four tournaments played so far. In the 2012 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix – Singles, Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Sharapova was seeded second. She had a bye in the first round, and advanced to the third round after Alizé Cornet retired in the second set. She won her first title of the year in Stuttgart after defeating world number one Victoria Azarenka. In doing so, Sharapova defeated three current Grand Slam title holders to win the tournament. Sharapova then played on the 2012 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid Open, a Premier Mandatory event. In the third round, Sharapova's opponent
Lucie Šafářová
Lucie Šafářová (; born 4 February 1987) is a Czech former professional tennis player who was ranked world No. 1 in doubles, and No. 5 in singles.
She is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having won the 2015 Australian Open, 2015 ...
was unable to compete and withdrew from the tournament, earning Sharapova a walkover into the quarterfinals. She was then beaten by eventual champion Serena Williams, in straight sets.
As the defending champion and second seed at the 2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Italian Open, Sharapova had a bye in the first round. In the semifinals, Sharapova defeated Angelique Kerber to advance to the final for the second year in a row. In the final, Sharapova saved match point for a 2-hour 52-minute win over Li Na for her 26th career title. This marked the fourth time Sharapova had successfully defended a title.
Sharapova was seeded second at the 2012 French Open, French Open, where she defeated Alexandra Cadanțu, Ayumi Morita, 28th seed
Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai (; born 8 January 1986) is a Chinese retired professional tennis player. In February 2014, she was ranked world No. 1 doubles player by the WTA, becoming the first Chinese tennis player to achieve that ranking (in either single ...
, Klára Koukalová, Kaia Kanepi and Petra Kvitová on her way to the finals, allowing her to regain the world No. 1 ranking. In the final, she defeated Sara Errani for her fourth career Grand Slam title (her first since 2008) and her first French Open title. Sharapova became only the tenth woman to complete a Career Grand Slam with the French Open victory. During the tournament, Sharapova was asked by the Russian Olympic Committee to bear the flag at the opening ceremony for the 2012 Summer Olympics, becoming the first List of flag bearers for Russia at the Olympics, female Russian athlete to receive this honor.
Sharapova decided not to compete in any of the grass-court warm-up events and instead proceeded straight to the 2012 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles#Section 1, Wimbledon Championships, where she was the top seed at a major event for the first time since the 2008 French Open – Women's singles, 2008 French Open. She breezed through her first three matches over Anastasia Rodionova,
Tsvetana Pironkova
Tsvetana Kirilova Pironkova ( bg, Цветана Кирилова Пиронкова ; born 13 September 1987) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. Considered to be one of the best grass court players of her generation, she has been noted ...
and the crafty Hsieh Su-wei, extended her winning streak to 15 matches. However, she was upset in the fourth round in straight sets by the 15th-seeded Sabine Lisicki, whom she beat in the previous year's semifinals. Due to being unable to defend her finalist points from the year before, she relinquished the world No. 1 ranking back to Azarenka.
She made her Olympic debut at the Tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012 Summer Olympics in London and was seeded third in the singles draw. She easily beat Shahar Pe'er and hometown favorite Laura Robson in straight sets, before avenging her defeat against Lisicki four weeks prior by beating the German in the third round in a tight three-set match. In the quarterfinals, Sharapova defeated fellow former No. 1, Kim Clijsters, to advance to the semifinals, where she faced her compatriot, Maria Kirilenko. Sharapova defeated Kirilenko to reach the Olympic final and guarantee a medal. Facing off against rival Serena Williams, with both players looking for their first Olympic singles gold medal (and a chance to complete a career Golden Slam), Sharapova was thrashed by Williams in what was to be her worst defeat to the American, winning only a single game. Nonetheless, with this performance, Sharapova won an Olympic silver medal and overtook Agnieszka Radwańska as world No. 2.
Sharapova did not compete in any of the summer hard-court warm-up events after the Olympics, pulling out of both 2012 Rogers Cup – Women's singles, Montreal and 2012 Western & Southern Open – Women's singles, Cincinnati (where she was the defending champion) due to a stomach virus. Seeded third at the 2012 US Open – Women's singles, US Open, Sharapova breezed through her first three matches against Melinda Czink, Lourdes Domínguez Lino, and Mallory Burdette, losing a total of just seven games. In the fourth round, compatriot Nadia Petrova took it to a third set and was winning until a rain delay. After the delay, Sharapova came back to win, advancing to the quarterfinals of the US Open for the first time since she won the tournament in 2006. In the quarterfinals, she faced 11th seed Marion Bartoli, who was 4–0 up before a rain delay, which delayed the match a whole day. Sharapova then came back from a set down to win. In the semifinals, Sharapova lost to world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka despite winning the first set.
Sharapova's next tournament was the 2012 Toray Pan Pacific Open – Singles, Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. She made it to the quarterfinals, losing to Samantha Stosur. At the 2012 China Open – Women's singles, China Open she was seeded second. In the finals she was again defeated by Azarenka. Sharapova's next tournament was the 2012 WTA Tour Championships, year-end championships in Istanbul, where she was seeded 2012 WTA Tour Championships – Singles, second. She defeated Sara Errani, Agnieszka Radwańska, and Samantha Stosur in the round-robin matches. In the semifinals, Sharapova beat Azarenka, bringing their head-to-head meetings to 7–5 in Azarenka's favour. Although Sharapova made it to the final, Azarenka clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking with her two round-robin wins. She lost to Serena Williams for the 13th consecutive time in the final and the third time that year, notching her best score line in three matchups with a 4–6, 3–6 defeat.
2013: Third shoulder injury
Sharapova's first scheduled tournament of the 2013 WTA Tour, 2013 season was the 2013 Brisbane International, Brisbane International, where she was seeded second. However, she withdrew from the tournament before it began, citing a collarbone injury. She started her season at the 2013 Australian Open, Australian Open seeded second. She defeated Olga Puchkova and Misaki Doi in the first two rounds without losing a game in either match, the first time a player won in back-to-back double bagels at a Grand Slam tournament since the 1985 Australian Open. Sharapova then defeated Venus Williams, Kirsten Flipkens, and Ekaterina Makarova, where in losing nine games, she overtook
Monica Seles
Monica Seles (; hu, Széles Mónika, ; sr, Моника Селеш, Monika Seleš; born December 2, 1973) is a retired professional tennis player who represented Yugoslavia and the United States. A former world No. 1, she won nine Grand Slam ...
' record of fewest games dropped heading into a Grand Slam semifinal. She lost to Li Na in the semifinals.
![Maria Sharapova - Roland-Garros 2013 - 002](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Maria_Sharapova_-_Roland-Garros_2013_-_002.jpg)
She reached the semifinals at the Qatar Open, losing to Serena Williams for the 10th straight time in her career. Her next tournament was BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, where she was seeded second. She received a bye into the second round and successfully reached the final without dropping a set, where she faced 2011 Indian wells champion and former world No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki. After an hour and twenty-one minutes, Sharapova won the tournament. This was Maria's 28th career title and second at Indian Wells. Her win also made her the No. 2 player in the world behind
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...
.
Maria then competed at the 2013 Sony Open Tennis, Sony Open. Once again she reached the final without dropping a set and faced world No. 1, Serena Williams. Maria started the match strong, winning the first set. However, Serena won the second and dominated the third set. This was Maria's 11th consecutive loss against Serena.
Next, she played at the indoor clay event in Stuttgart, where she was the defending champion. Maria was top seed and had a bye in the first round. Her first three matches were long three-setters: she first beat world No. 25, Lucie Šafářová, dropping the second set on a tiebreak, then Ana Ivanovic, then in the semifinals, she won against third seed Angelique Kerber. In the final, in what was her ninth victory against the Chinese out of 14 matches, she beat second seed world No. 5 Li Na in straight sets to win her 29th career title.
A week later, she competed at the 2013 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid Open, reaching the final, again without dropping a set. She faced Serena Williams for the 15th time, losing for the 12th consecutive time in straight sets.
Next, she played in Rome, where she was seeded second and had a bye in the first round. She beat 16th seed Sloane Stephens in straight sets (with the loss of three games) in the third round, but then did not play her quarterfinal match against seventh seed Sara Errani and retired from the tournament due to a viral illness.
At the 2013 French Open, French Open, Sharapova reached the final again, beating Azarenka in three sets in the semifinals, but there she lost in straight sets to Serena Williams. At 2013 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon she was comprehensively beaten in the second round by qualifier Michelle Larcher de Brito. Sharapova then returned to the tour at the 2013 Western & Southern Open, Western & Southern Open, where she lost her opening match to Sloane Stephens in three sets. A week later Sharapova withdrew from the US Open, citing a shoulder injury, which prematurely ended her season.
2014: Comeback and second French Open title
Sharapova had not played since August 2013 due to a recurring shoulder injury and made her comeback at the 2014 Brisbane International, Brisbane International. She advanced to the semifinals where she was beaten in straight sets by Serena Williams. At the 2014 Australian Open, Australian Open, Sharapova, ranked third, was knocked out of the tournament in the fourth round by the 20th seed, and eventual finalist,
Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková (; born 6 May 1989) is a Slovak former professional tennis player. She is the 2016 WTA Finals champion, becoming the fourth player (after Serena Williams in 2001 WTA Tour Championships, 2001, Maria Sharapova in 2004 WTA Tour ...
. Sharapova lost the match in three sets. She then participated in 2014 Open GDF Suez – Singles, Open GdF Suez where she was upset in the semifinals to fellow Russian and eventual tournament winner Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, in three sets.
In March, playing in the 2014 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells Open, she was beaten by 22-year-old Italian Camila Giorgi in the third round, in three sets. Therefore, due to the WTA ranking system, this would mean another drop in ranking, bringing her to world No. 7. She reached the semifinals in Miami, facing Serena Williams in a rematch of last year's final and lost her 15th consecutive match to Williams. In April, she won Women's Stuttgart Open, Stuttgart Open, her first title of the year and 30th of her career by defeating Ana Ivanovic in three sets. Stuttgart is the only tournament Sharapova won three times. In May, Maria won the 2014 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid Open, her second title of the year and first in Madrid, defeating Simona Halep in three sets. With nine clay titles, she joins Venus Williams as the third most successful active player on the surface. Sharapova then competed in the
Italian Open in Rome, where she made the third round. She lost to Ana Ivanovic in straight sets.
Sharapova was seeded seventh at the French Open and defeated Ksenia Pervak, Tsvetana Pironkova, and Paula Ormaechea in the first three rounds, all in straight sets. In the fourth round she defeated Samantha Stosur, reeling off nine straight games from a set and 3–4 down. This marked her 14th win in 16 meetings with the Australian. In the quarters, she defeated Garbiñe Muguruza, again coming back from a set down, to reach the semifinals at the French for the fourth consecutive year. In the semifinals, she defeated Eugenie Bouchard, once again coming back from a set down, to reach her third consecutive French Open final. In the final, she defeated Simona Halep in three sets to win her second French Open title and fifth overall Major title. This was the first time since 2001 where a third set was contested in the final. The match took just over three hours, and has been described as one of the best women's finals in recent years.
At 2014 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon, Sharapova reached the fourth round, where she lost to Angelique Kerber, the ninth seed, in three sets.
Sharapova then played the 2014 Rogers Cup, Rogers Cup in Montreal where she was the fourth seed. She received a first round bye and faced Garbiñe Muguruza in her opener, she won in three sets. In the following round she lost in three sets to Muguruza's compatriot, Carla Suárez Navarro. At the 2014 Western & Southern Open, Western & Southern Open, Sharapova was seeded fifth and defeated Madison Keys after having a first round bye. She then went on to defeat Pavlyuchenkova and newly crowned world No. 2, Simona Halep, to reach the last four. She faced Ivanovic again but lost in a roller coaster three-setter despite having two match points. Sharapova then travelled to New York for the 2014 US Open (tennis), US Open where she was the 5th seed. She defeated compatriot
Maria Kirilenko
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko ( rus, Мари́я Ю́рьевна Кириле́нко, p=mɐˈrʲijə kʲɪrʲɪˈlʲɛnkə ; born 25 January 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. A junior Grand Slam champion at the 2002 US Open a ...
and Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru before overcoming 26th seeded German Sabine Lisicki in round 3 to set up a clash with Caroline Wozniacki in the round of 16. Sharapova lost to the Dane in three sets.
Sharapova next played the inaugural 2014 Wuhan open where she was seeded fourth. After receiving a first-round bye, she defeated compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova in three sets and next faced Timea Bacsinszky. Although Sharapova won their two previous encounters, she was stunned by Timea in two tight sets, thus ending her campaign at the Premier-5 tournament.
The following week, Sharapova played the China Open in Beijing, a Premier Mandatory-level tournament. Reaching the final without dropping a set, Sharapova defeated world No. 9 Ana Ivanovic in the semis. In the final, Sharapova met reigning Wimbledon champion and world No. 3, Petra Kvitová. Sharapova won the match in 2 hours 30 minutes, defeating the Czech in three sets. By virtue of the win, Sharapova's ranking rose from No. 4 to No. 2 in the world and she secured herself the second seeding for the WTA year-end Championship. Also, Sharapova closed in on the year-end number-one ranking spot, being just 467 points behind Williams.
Maria was ranked No. 2 heading into the WTA Tour Championships, with a chance of overtaking Serena Williams as world No. 1. She was drawn in the white group, with Kvitová, Radwańska and Wozniacki. Her first match was a three set loss to Wozniacki. Maria also lost her second round robin match to Kvitová in straight sets; her first loss to Petra since 2011. Maria still had a chance of making the semifinals, but she needed to beat Radwańska in two sets, and Wozniacki needed to beat Petra in straight sets as well. She ended the year with a win against Radwańska in three sets, finishing third overall in the White Group. She ended the year as world No. 2, behind Serena Williams.
2015: Fourth Australian Open final
Sharapova kicked off her 2015 season at the Brisbane International where she was top seed and received a bye in the first round. Sharapova defeated Yaroslava Shvedova and Carla Suárez Navarro. In the semi finals, Sharapova faced Elina Svitolina, beating her in straight sets. Reaching the final without dropping a set, Sharapova played an intense match against second seed Ana Ivanovic but came through in three sets. This was Sharapova's tenth win over Ivanovic and by winning her 34th title, it meant that Sharapova had won at least one title every year for 13 consecutive years. Also, it was just her second title in Australia so far, and in both finals she beat Ivanovic. Sharapova's next tournament was the 2015 Australian Open, Australian Open, where she beat Petra Martić and fellow countrywoman Alexandra Panova (despite having two match points against her) in the first two rounds, before beating Zarina Diyas and
Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai (; born 8 January 1986) is a Chinese retired professional tennis player. In February 2014, she was ranked world No. 1 doubles player by the WTA, becoming the first Chinese tennis player to achieve that ranking (in either single ...
in straight sets. There, she beat seventh-seeded Eugenie Bouchard and Ekaterina Makarova, in straight sets, to make her fourth Australian Open final, where she lost to Serena Williams in straight sets, worsening her record against her to 2–17. In February, following her participation in the 2015 Fed Cup, Fed Cup, Sharapova played in 2015 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Acapulco, where she beat Shelby Rogers, Mariana Duque Mariño and Magdaléna Rybáriková to advance the semifinals. Sharapova later withdrew from her match against Caroline Garcia, citing a stomach virus. Next, in 2015 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, she beat Yanina Wickmayer and Victoria Azarenka in straight sets, before losing to defending champion Flavia Pennetta in the fourth round in three sets. After receiving a bye in the first round of the 2015 Miami Open, Miami Open, Sharapova lost in the second round to fellow Russian Daria Gavrilova in straight sets, marking her earliest exit from the tournament since her first appearance in Miami in 2003.
Sharapova began her clay season in 2015 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Stuttgart where she was the three-time defending champion. After receiving a first-round bye, she lost in the second round to Angelique Kerber in three sets, snapping Sharapova's win streak at the tournament and marking her first-ever loss at the tournament, having won it three times in a row (2012 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, 2012, 2013 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, 2013, & 2014 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, 2014). The loss also snapped a 64 match win streak on clay where Sharapova won the first set and went on to win the match. The last time Sharapova lost a match on clay, after winning the first set was against
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mubinovna Safina (; ; tt-Cyrl, Динара Мөбин кызы Сафина; born April 27, 1986) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis player. Safina was runner-up in singles at the 2008 French Open, 2009 Australian Open, and the ...
in the fourth round at the 2008 French Open. As a result of the loss Sharapova lost the No. 2 ranking to Simona Halep. Sharapova's next clay court tournament was the Madrid Open where she was the defending champion. She advanced to the semifinals. There, she was beaten by Svetlana Kuznetsova for the first time since 2008. Sharapova's next tournament was the Italian Open in Rome where she was seeded third. She beat Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals in straight sets to set up a re-match with Daria Gavrilova. She beat Gavrilova in straight sets to advance to the final, where she faced Carla Suárez Navarro. After losing the first set, Sharapova managed to claim the next two sets and her third Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Rome title. By winning Rome, Sharapova reclaimed the No. 2 ranking over Halep, until August 24, when Halep went again to world No. 2, due to Sharapova's not playing any match after 2015 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon (where she reached the semifinals but lost to Serena), including US Open, due to injuries.
She then received a wildcard into 2015 Wuhan Open, Wuhan Open and received a bye into the second round. However, she retired in her match against Barbora Strýcová in the 3rd set, citing a left forearm injury. She then withdrew from the 2015 China Open (tennis), China Open, where she was the defending champion, to recover in time for the 2015 WTA Finals, WTA Finals and the 2015 Fed Cup World Group, Fed Cup final. At the 2015 WTA Finals, WTA Finals, she was drawn into the red group, alongside Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwańska and Flavia Pennetta. She then won all three of her round-robin matches, and achieved 1st position in her group. Her win over Pennetta also marked the last match of the Italian's career. Sharapova then played the player who finished 2nd in the White Group, Petra Kvitová. She lost the match in straight sets, despite having a 5–1 lead in the second set.
Sharapova then played in the 2015 Fed Cup World Group, Fed Cup final, winning both of her matches, against Karolína Plíšková and got revenge against Petra Kvitová for her loss in the WTA Finals. However, Russia Fed Cup team, Russia eventually lost 2–3 after falling in a crucial doubles rubber. The Russian ended the season as being the world No. 4, despite not playing the US Open Series and missing most of the Fall Asian Hardcourt season. She had a win–loss record of 39–9 and won two titles, reaching the second week in all of the Grand Slams she played.
2016: More injuries and doping suspension
Sharapova began her 2016 season at the 2016 Brisbane International, Brisbane International where she was the defending champion. She would have faced Ekaterina Makarova in the first round, but withdrew hours before the match, citing a left forearm injury, and was replaced by Margarita Gasparyan.
Due to Agnieszka Radwańska winning the Shenzhen Open, Sharapova was seeded fifth at the 2016 Australian Open, Australian Open. She was drawn to face Nao Hibino in the first round and won in straight sets. She then won her second round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, also in straight sets. Sharapova then lost her first set in the tournament as she defeated Lauren Davis, in three sets. In the fourth round, she then played her first career match against Belinda Bencic and won in two tight sets over two hours of play. Sharapova then faced
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...
in the quarterfinal, a repeat of the previous year's final. Although she started the match brightly, she was defeated in straight sets. She failed to defend her finalist points from the previous year, and fell to sixth in the rankings after the tournament.
After the Australian Open, Sharapova was nominated by team captain
Anastasia Myskina
Anastasia Andreyevna Myskina ( rus, Анастасия Андреевна Мыскина ; born 8 July 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. Myskina won the 2004 French Open singles title, becoming the first Russian woman to wi ...
to play the 2016 Fed Cup World Group, Fed Cup, but she had a forearm injury and was only listed for the doubles match. Russia lost the first three matches and chose Makarova to replace Sharapova for the dead doubles match. In the end, Russia lost 3–1 but by being nominated for the match, Sharapova successfully qualified for the Tennis at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Summer Olympics having played sufficient Fed Cup matches to meet the criteria.
Citing the left forearm injury sustained at the start of the year, Sharapova withdrew from the 2016 Qatar Total Open, Qatar Open, and a week before the 2016 BNP Paribas Open, BNP Paribas Open, she withdrew from that for the same reason.
Following a failed drug test from the
2016 Australian Open
The 2016 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park between 18 and 31 January 2016. It was the 104th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The tournament consisted of event ...
, in which she tested positive for
meldonium
Meldonium (INN; trade name Mildronate, among others) is a limited-market pharmaceutical, developed in 1970 by Ivars Kalviņš at the USSR Latvia Institute of Organic Synthesis, and now manufactured by the Latvian pharmaceutical company Grin ...
, a substance that had been banned, effective January 1, 2016 by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Sharapova was provisionally suspended from competitive tennis with effect from March 12. On June 8 she was banned for two years by the International Tennis Federation. Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko has implied that Sharapova was targeted due to the political crisis in Russian-American relations. In October 2016, Sharapova's ban was reduced from 24 months (2 years) to 15 months, starting from 26 January 2016, the date of the drug test she had failed.
2017: Return from suspension, first WTA title in two years
Sharapova returned to the WTA Tour in April 2017. She was given wildcards to compete in the following three WTA tournaments: Women's Stuttgart Open, Madrid Open (tennis), Madrid Open and
Italian Open. She played her first match of her comeback on April 26 at the 2017 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Porsche Grand Prix, a tournament that she had previously won on three occasions. Her first-round opponent was Italian Roberta Vinci, who she went on to defeat in straight sets to advance to the second round, making it her first victory since her return.
In her on-court interview Sharapova said, "The first few seconds before you enter the arena – it's been a stage of mine since I was a young girl – I've been waiting for this moment for a long time."
She followed it up with another straight sets victory over Ekaterina Makarova in the second round. In the quarterfinals, she defeated qualifier Anett Kontaveit in straight sets, before losing to Kristina Mladenovic in the semifinals.
Sharapova then took part in the 2017 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid Open where she beat Mirjana Lučić-Baroni in three sets. Sharapova played a second round encounter with Eugenie Bouchard which after three sets Sharapova lost. In the 2017 Internazionali BNL d'Italia opening match she defeated
Christina McHale
Christina Marietta McHale (born May 11, 1992) is an American former professional tennis player. Her highest-ever WTA rankings were No. 24 in singles and No. 35 in doubles.
Known for an aggressive baseline game, McHale was recognized by ''The New ...
in straight sets. In her next match, she again faced the 16th seed Mirjana Lučić-Baroni in a rematch of their encounter in Madrid. At one set apiece, Sharapova needed a medical timeout for her thigh, which ultimately forced her to retire in the third set. Just before the players came on court, French Federation president Bernard Giudicelli announced that Sharapova would not be receiving a wildcard in the main draw or the qualifying draw, preventing her from playing in the 2017 French Open – Women's singles, 2017 French Open.
Sharapova then received a wildcard to play 2017 Aegon Classic Birmingham, Birmingham Classic. However, the same thigh injury at the 2017 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Italian Open forced her to withdraw from the entire grass season, including the Wimbledon qualifying rounds. Sharapova was given another wildcard at the 2017 Bank of the West Classic, Stanford Classic, her first hard court tournament since the
2016 Australian Open
The 2016 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park between 18 and 31 January 2016. It was the 104th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The tournament consisted of event ...
. Her first round opponent was Jennifer Brady (tennis), Jennifer Brady, whom she defeated in three sets. The win also pushed Sharapova back inside the top 150. Sharapova withdrew from the next round with a left arm injury. She was set to make a return at the 2017 Rogers Cup, Canadian Open, where she had received a wildcard, but ultimately withdraw due to a left arm injury. She was set to play the 2017 Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati Open as a wildcard but pulled out to be fully fit for the 2017 US Open (tennis), US Open, which had also granted Sharapova a wildcard entry. She opened the US Open against world No. 2, Simona Halep, and won in three sets, her first US Open win since the 2014 US Open (tennis), 2014 US Open. In second round she defeated Tímea Babos, coming from a set down to win in three. In the third round, she played the American wildcard Sofia Kenin, an 18-year-old who was making her first main draw appearance in a major. Sharapova defeated the teenager in tight straight sets to advance to the second week of the 2017 US Open (tennis), US Open. She was defeated by 16th seed Anastasija Sevastova in the fourth round.
Sharapova received and accepted wildcards to enter the 2017 China Open – Women's singles, China Open and 2017 Tianjin Open – Singles, Tianjin Open, both held in China. In her opening match at the China Open, Sharapova once again faced Sevastova, this time prevailing in a three-hour, three-set match. In the second round, Sharapova defeated Ekaterina Makarova, seeing her move back into the top 100 for the first time since before her suspension. In the third round, Sharapova lost to Simona Halep in straight sets, marking her first loss to the Romanian after seven consecutive victories. Sharapova then remained in China for the Tianjin Open, which was her first appearance at the tournament. Sharapova went on to win the tournament, marking her first WTA title since 2015, without dropping a set, including coming back from 1–4 down in the first set and 1–5 down in the second set against 19-year-old Aryna Sabalenka in the final. The result saw her eventually climb the rankings into the top 60, and she later received another wildcard to enter the 2017 Kremlin Cup – Women's singles, Kremlin Cup. Sharapova recorded her first opening round loss since 2013, with a straight-sets loss to eighth seed Magdaléna Rybáriková.
2018: Return to top 25 and French Open quarterfinal
Sharapova began her 2018 season at the 2018 WTA Shenzhen Open, Shenzhen Open. She defeated Mihaela Buzarnescu, Alison Riske and Zarina Diyas to advance to the semifinals, where she fell to defending champion Kateřina Siniaková. Sharapova then returned to the 2018 Australian Open, Australian Open for the first time since her suspension, defeating Tatjana Maria and Anastasija Sevastova in the opening two rounds, before losing to Angelique Kerber in straight sets in the third round. Sharapova received a wildcard to enter the Qatar Ladies Open, Qatar Open, losing in three sets to Monica Niculescu in the opening round. Sharapova pulled out of the
Dubai Tennis Championships
The Dubai Tennis Championships or Dubai Open (also known as the ''Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships'' for sponsorship reasons) (formerly known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships'' and the ''Dubai Duty Free Men's ...
due to citing a forearm strain. Sharapova played the Indian Wells Masters, Indian Wells Open falling in the opening round to Naomi Osaka in straight sets. Sharapova was set to play the Miami Open (tennis), Miami Open but withdrew due to a forearm injury.
Sharapova started her clay court season at the 2018 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Sharapova faced sixth seed Caroline Garcia in the opening round but lost in three tight sets. This was her fourth consecutive loss, marking her fall out of the top 50. Sharapova ended her losing streak with a straight sets win over Mihaela Buzărnescu at the Madrid Open (tennis), Madrid Open. Sharapova defeated Irina-Camelia Begu, and Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets to advance to quarterfinals. Sharapova fell to Kiki Bertens in three sets, despite the loss, she climbed back inside the top 40. Sharapova began her
Italian Open campaign with a three set win over 16th seed Ashleigh Barty. In the second round, Sharapova defeated Dominika Cibulková in three sets, following it up with a straight sets victory over Daria Gavrilova in the third round. From a set down, she went on to defeat world No. 5 Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinals. Despite taking the opening set in the semifinals, Sharapova's run in Rome ended with a three set loss to world No. 1, Simona Halep. Despite the loss, her performance improved her ranking inside the top 30 and being seeded for the first time since her suspension at the
2016 Australian Open
The 2016 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park between 18 and 31 January 2016. It was the 104th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The tournament consisted of event ...
. Sharapova began her 2018 French Open campaign with a three set win over Richèl Hogenkamp and continued with a straight sets win over Croatia's Donna Vekic in the second round. In the third round, she defeated world No. 6, Karolína Plíšková in straight sets to advance to the second week of the French Open. In the fourth round, Sharapova was set to play Serena Williams, but Williams withdrew due to injury, giving Sharapova a walkover into her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since the
2016 Australian Open
The 2016 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park between 18 and 31 January 2016. It was the 104th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The tournament consisted of event ...
. Sharapova's run ended with a straight sets loss to world No. 3 Garbiñe Muguruza in the quarterfinals.
Sharapova was set to play the Birmingham Classic (tennis), Birmingham Classic but withdrew to fully recover ahead of
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
. Sharapova played two exhibition matches, losing her debut to Greece's Maria Sakkari but defeating Natalia Vikhlyantseva. Sharapova exited
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
with a three set lost to Vitalia Diatchenko despite being up a set and serving for the match. This marked her worst Grand Slam result since the 2010 Australian Open and her first ever opening round loss at
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
. Sharapova was set to play at the Silicon Valley Classic but withdrew due to a change in her schedule. Sharapova played at the Rogers Cup and recorded straight sets wins over Sesil Karatantcheva and Daria Kasatkina. Sharapova fell in the third round with a straight sets loss to world No. 6, Caroline Garcia. Sharapova was set to play at the Western & Southern Open but withdrew before the tournament started. Sharapova began her 2018 US Open (tennis), US Open campaign in the opening round, with a straight set win over
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder (born 14 December 1978)
Weltwoche, 14. September 2011 is a Swiss reti ...
. Sharapova continued her run with straight set wins over Sorana Cîrstea and Jelena Ostapenko. In the fourth round, Sharapova's run ended with a straight sets loss to Carla Suárez Navarro. This marked the first time Sharapova had lost in the night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium, previously having a 22–0 record. Sharapova ended her season with withdraws at the China Open, Tianjin Open and Kremlin Cup with a right shoulder injury. Sharapova ended the season inside the top 30, ranked 29.
2019: 800th match and more injuries
Sharapova began her 2019 season at the 2019 WTA Shenzhen Open, Shenzhen Open. In the opening round, she defeated Timea Bacsinszky in straight sets which was also her 800th career singles match. In the second round, Sharapova defeated Wang Xinyu after Wang retired in the second set. In the quarterfinals, Sharapova lost to Aryna Sabalenka after she retired in the second set. Sharapova started her 2019 Australian Open, Australian Open campaign without the loss of a game in a win over Harriet Dart. Sharapova followed up with a straight set win over Rebecca Peterson and a three set victory over defending champion Caroline Wozniacki. Sharapova's run ended with a three set loss to Ashleigh Barty in the fourth round. Sharapova recorded her first win in Russia in thirteen years with a straight sets win over Daria Gavrilova at the 2019 St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy. Sharapova withdrew from her second round match against Daria Kasatkina. Sharapova was set to play at the Indian Wells Masters, Indian Wells Open and Miami Open (tennis), Miami Open but withdrew before the tournaments started due to a shoulder injury for which she stated she was to have minor surgery to repair a fraying tendon and a labrum tear. Sharapova later withdrew from the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Madrid Open (tennis), Madrid Open,
Italian Open and
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...
due to not being able to compete at her highest level because of her lingering shoulder injury.
Sharapova made a return after being away for over four months, in the grasscourt season at the Mallorca Open where she received a wild card. In the opening round, Sharapova defeated Viktória Kužmová in straight sets and recorded her first grasscourt win since 2015. Sharapova's run ended in the second round with a straight sets lost to Angelique Kerber. In the opening round at
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
, Sharapova retired in the third set against Pauline Parmentier, despite being up a set and a break during the second set. Sharapova lost in the opening round of the Rogers Cup to Anett Kontaveit in three sets. Sharapova ended her three match losing streak with a straight sets win over Alison Riske in the opening round of the Western & Southern Open. In the second round, Sharapova was defeated by Ashleigh Barty in straight sets. Sharapova fell in the opening round of the 2019 US Open (tennis), US Open to eventual finalist Serena Williams in straight sets, it was also her final match of the year. She ended the year ranked No. 131, her lowest year-end ranking since 2002.
2020: Retirement
Sharapova began her 2020 season at an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, where she defeated Ajla Tomljanović in straight sets. Although she was scheduled to play exhibition at the Hawaii Open a week later, she pulled out of the tournament because she was unprepared. Sharapova received a wildcard at the Brisbane International and fell in the opening round to Jennifer Brady (tennis), Jennifer Brady in three sets. Sharapova participated at the Kooyong Classic, where her opening match against Laura Siegemund was stopped after the second set due to heavy smoke from wildfires, before being defeated by Tomljanović in the second round. As a wildcard at the 2020 Australian Open – Women's singles, 2020 Australian Open, Sharapova was defeated in straight sets by Donna Vekić in the first round. This marked her third consecutive first-round loss at a Grand Slam tournament and, following the tournament, her ranking fell to no. 369, her lowest ranking since August 2002.
That defeat to Vekic in Melbourne would prove to be Sharapova's final match of her career, as on 26 February 2020, Sharapova announced her retirement from tennis. In an essay in Vanity Fair (magazine), Vanity Fair, Sharapova wrote: "I'm new to this, so please forgive me. Tennis – I'm saying goodbye. But as I embark on my next chapter, I want anyone who dreams of excelling in anything to know that doubt and judgement are inevitable. You will fail hundreds of times and the world will watch you. Accept it. Trust yourself. I promise you that you will prevail."
WADA substance controversy
On 7 March 2016, Sharapova revealed that she had failed a
drug test
A drug test is a technical analysis of a biological specimen, for example urine, hair, blood, breath, sweat, or oral fluid/saliva—to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites. Major applications of drug ...
at the
2016 Australian Open
The 2016 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park between 18 and 31 January 2016. It was the 104th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The tournament consisted of event ...
, which she described as the result of an oversight.
Sharapova admitted to testing positive for
meldonium
Meldonium (INN; trade name Mildronate, among others) is a limited-market pharmaceutical, developed in 1970 by Ivars Kalviņš at the USSR Latvia Institute of Organic Synthesis, and now manufactured by the Latvian pharmaceutical company Grin ...
, an ischemia, anti-ischemic drug usually prescribed for heart conditions that was added to the
World Anti-Doping Agency
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...
(WADA)'s banned substances list on 1 January 2016. Sharapova was provisionally suspended by the
International Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. As of 2016, there a ...
(ITF) from playing tennis effective from March 12, 2016. She later released a statement regarding the test and explaining her use of the medicine:
I received a letter from the ITF that I failed a drugs test at the Australian Open. I take full responsibility for it. For the past ten years I have been given a medicine called mildronate by my family doctor and a few days ago after I received the ITF letter I found out that it also has another name of meldonium which I did not know. It is very important for you to understand that for ten years this medicine was not on WADA's banned list and I had legally been taking the medicine for the past ten years. But on January 1st [2016] the rules had changed and meldonium became a prohibited substance which I had not known. I was given this medicine by my doctor for several health issues that I was having in 2006.
Meldonium is not approved for use in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, Sharapova's country of residence;
however, it is legal to use in Russia, the country that Sharapova represents in tennis.
The drug's inventor Ivars Kalviņš said that he did not think taking it should be construed as "doping",
but he also said that it "is very popular among athletes" and was used by the Soviet military for "optimizing the use of oxygen" and that it "allows athletes to train under maximum strain".
Don Catlin, a long-time anti-doping expert and the scientific director of the Banned Substances Control Group (BSCG) stated that "There's really no evidence that there's any performance enhancement from meldonium – Zero percent."
Sharapova said that she had been taking the drug to treat magnesium deficiency, an irregular EKG and family history of diabetes,
and indicated that she had not read an email informing her that meldonium had been banned for use in tennis. Meldonium's addition was outlined on a WADA and United States Anti-Doping Agency summary document and it has been reported that all tennis players were warned five times that it was due to be banned.
On March 11, 2016, Sharapova denied reports about the five missed warnings via Facebook:
That's a distortion of the actual "communications" which were provided or simply posted onto a webpage. I make no excuses for not knowing about the ban. The other "communications"? They were buried in newsletters, websites, or handouts (many of them technical, in small print). I didn't take the medicine every day. I took it the way my doctor recommended I take it and I took it in the low doses recommended. I'm proud of how I have played the game. I have been honest and upfront. I won't pretend to be injured so I can hide the truth about my testing.
Most fellow tennis players reacted to Sharapova's announcement with little support or sympathy. John McEnroe and Pat Cash said they found it hard to believe her. Jennifer Capriati posted on Twitter that she should be stripped of her 35 professional titles.
Chris Evert expressed her surprise at the lack of support in tennis for Sharapova, noting that she "[had] always isolated herself from the rest of the tennis world, from the players".
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...
expressed surprise at Sharapova's announcement but commended her for being "upfront with what she had done". Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray all publicly condemned Sharapova and argued that she deserved to be punished on the basis that she failed the doping test,
with Murray adding that "Taking a drug you don't necessarily need because it's legal is wrong" and Federer stating that "Whether it's intentional or not, I don't see too much difference. You must be 100 percent about what you are taking". Sharapova's case prompted Federer to urge the tennis federation to conduct more anti-doping tests. Novak Djokovic said that he felt sorry for her, but that she must still be ready for punishment. The Russian Tennis Federation strongly defended Sharapova, describing the positive drug test as "nonsense" and adding that they expected Sharapova to be available for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
As a result of the failed drug test, Nike, Inc., Nike and TAG Heuer suspended their relationships with Sharapova, while Porsche postponed promotional work.
Racquet manufacturer Head (company), HEAD stood by Sharapova, saying, "We look forward to working with her", and announced that they intended to extend their contract. They also suggested that WADA should prove scientifically why the drug should be banned. The United Nations Development Programme suspended Sharapova from her role as a goodwill ambassador on March 16, while expressing thanks for her support of their work over the previous nine years.
On 12 April, WADA intimated that athletes who tested positive for meldonium before March 1 could avoid bans, but the International Tennis Federation said that Sharapova's case would proceed. On June 8, the ITF announced that Sharapova would be suspended for two years. Sharapova indicated she would appeal the ban.
Following a hearing on 7 and 8 September 2016, the
Court of Arbitration for Sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its co ...
(CAS) panel found that Sharapova had a reduced perception of the risk that she took while using Mildronate, because (a) she had used Mildronate for around ten years without any anti-doping issue, (b) she did not mask or hide her use of mildronate and was infact open about it to many in her entrouge (c) she had consulted the Russian doctor who prescribed the Mildronate for medical reasons, not to enhance her performance, and (d) she had received no specific warning about the change in status of meldonium from WADA, the ITF, or the WTA. However, the CAS panel also noted Sharapova's failure to disclose her use of meldonium on her doping control forms and that she was at fault for (a) failing to give her agent adequate instructions as to how to carry out the important task of checking the Prohibited List, and (b) failing to supervise and control the actions of her agent in carrying out that task (specifically the lack of any procedure for reporting or follow-up verification to make sure that her agent had actually discharged his duty).
On 4 October, the CAS reduced the sanction imposed on Sharapova by an Independent Tribunal from 24 months to 15 months.
CAS released a statement on its official website stating:
Ms. Sharapova committed an anti-doping rule violation and that while it was with "no significant fault", she bore some degree of fault, for which a sanction of 15 months is appropriate.
Fed Cup participation
Sharapova has lived in the United States since moving there at the age of seven, but retains her Russian citizenship, and is therefore eligible to play in the Fed Cup for Russia.
However, the behavior of Sharapova's father during her matches on the WTA Tour, combined with a perceived lack of commitment by her to the Fed Cup, made her selection for the Russia Fed Cup team, Russian Fed Cup team controversial in the past.
After Sharapova had beaten fellow Russian
Anastasia Myskina
Anastasia Andreyevna Myskina ( rus, Анастасия Андреевна Мыскина ; born 8 July 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. Myskina won the 2004 French Open singles title, becoming the first Russian woman to wi ...
at the 2004 WTA Tour Championships, Myskina criticized Sharapova's father, saying: "He was just yelling and screaming instructions to her and I thought he just might jump right on the court at one point in the match." At the Fed Cup semifinals two weeks later, Myskina stated she would stop playing for Russia if Sharapova joined the Russian team the following season: "If she joins our team next season you won't see me there for sure. His behaviour is totally incorrect, simply rude. I don't want to be around people like him." Larisa Neiland, assistant to Russia Fed Cup captain Shamil Tarpishchev, added: "Her father's behaviour (at the WTA Tour Championships) was simply outrageous. I just don't see how he could work with the rest of us." However, Tarpishchev himself played down the problem, insisting: "I feel that things will calm down soon and we'll have Myskina, Sharapova, Kuznetsova and everyone else playing for Russia."
At the end of 2005, Sharapova stated she was now keen to make her Fed Cup debut and was set to play against Belgium in April 2006, but withdrew.
She later withdrew from ties against Spain in April 2007
and against the United States in July 2007 because of injuries.
The latter withdrawal led to Russia's captain saying she would be "ineligible for selection" for the Fed Cup final in September.
However, Sharapova attended the final, cheering from the sidelines and acting as a "hitting partner" in practices, resulting in some of her Russian teammates implying that she was attending only to enable her to play at the Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2008 Beijing Olympics (rules state that players must have "shown commitment" to Fed Cup in order to play).
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova (born 27 June 1985) is a Russian inactive professional tennis player. She is a two-time major singles champion, winning the 2004 US Open and 2009 French Open, and finishing runner-up at two other majors. I ...
said, "She said she wanted to be our practice partner but if you can't play how then can you practice?"
Sharapova finally made her Fed Cup debut in February 2008, in Russia's quarterfinal tie against Israel Fed Cup team, Israel.
She won both her singles rubbers, against Tzipora Obziler and Shahar Pe'er, helping Russia to a 4–1 victory. For the semifinals, she was given permission to skip the tie, with Tarpishchev announcing that she will be on the team for the final.
However, the date of the final coincided with the lay-off from her shoulder injury, and thus she did not play.
In the 2011 first-round tie, Sharapova played Virginie Razzano of France and lost. Sharapova was supposed to play Alizé Cornet but she was suffering from a viral illness. Teammate Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova played and defeated Cornet to secure the 3–2 win for Russia against France. Sharapova continued to participate in 2012 and helped Russia to a 3–2 win against Spain in the first-round tie. Sharapova defeated Silvia Soler Espinosa in the first rubber, but was unable to play her second rubber due to illness. In 2015, Sharapova helped Russia earn a place in the semifinals after beating Pole Urszula Radwańska in the first tie and her sister
Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Roma Radwańska (; born 6 March 1989) is a Polish former professional tennis player. She won 20 career singles WTA Tour titles, two doubles titles, and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2 on 9 July 2012. Her achievem ...
in the second tie. Sharapova was scheduled to play the semi-final against Germany Fed Cup team, Germany, however, she withdrew days before the competition. She then joined the team for the final against Czech Republic Fed Cup team, Czech Republic and won both of her matches, against Petra Kvitová and Karolína Plíšková. Despite the 2 wins by Sharapova, Russia still lost 3–2 after losing the decisive doubles rubber.
Playing style
![Maria Sharapova at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships 12 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Maria_Sharapova_at_the_2009_Wimbledon_Championships_12_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Sharapova was an Tennis strategy#Offensive baseliner, aggressive baseliner, whose game was centered around her powerful serve and groundstokes. She hit her shots with relentless speed, power, and depth, and could generate sharp, acute angles with both her forehand and backhand.
[Jeff Cooper]
Maria Sharapova – Tennis Game Profile
About.com. Retrieved July 23, 2008. Her aggressive, high-risk playing style meant that she typically generated high numbers of both winners and unforced errors. Sharapova's greatest weapon was her backhand, which was described upon her retirement as "among the best in tennis". Her crosscourt backhand was her greatest shot, although she was also adept at hitting her backhand down-the-line; she was able to hit winners with her backhand from any position on the court. Her forehand was also strong, with her being capable of dominating opponents with her flat, powerful forehand. She was one of the few players on the WTA Tour who often used the reverse forehand, also known as the 'buggy whip' forehand; her forehand technique allowed her to hit winners from defensive positions. This shot excelled on fast grass, hard, and carpet courts; it has been speculated, however, that her reliance upon this shot may have contributed to her worsening shoulder injury. From 2010 onwards, when she returned after shoulder surgery, Sharapova began to hit her forehand with a more conventional swing, with increased amounts of topspin. This alteration allowed her to excel on clay courts, but affected her game on faster hard and grass courts. Instead of using a traditional volley (tennis), volley or overhead Smash (tennis), smash, she preferred to hit powerful "swinging" volleys when approaching the net or attacking Lob (tennis), lobs. Later in her career, Sharapova added both a drop shot and a sliced backhand to her repertoire, making for a more unpredictable playing style; whilst her drop shot was highly telegraphed, her exceptional execution allowed her to end points, or induce unforced errors from opponents. Upon her return from her doping suspension, Sharapova began to attack the net more, and showed improved feel when volleying, being able to hit delicate volleys with increased regularity; this tactic was considered by some to compensate for her decreased power at the baseline as a result of her shoulder injury.
Early in her career, Sharapova's first and second serves were regarded as powerful,
and she was believed to possess one of the best deliveries on the WTA Tour.
Since the beginning of 2007, however, problems with her shoulder reduced the effectiveness of her serve.
Her shoulder injury resulted in not only inconsistent first serves, but also led to Sharapova hitting high numbers of double faults. Two-time US Open singles champion Tracy Austin stated that Sharapova often lost confidence in the rest of her game when she experienced problems with her serve, and consequently produced more unforced errors and generally played more tentatively,
whilst tennis writer Joel Drucker remarked that her serve was the "catalyst for her entire game", and that her struggles with it left her "unmasked."
In her return from an injury layoff in 2008 to 2009, she used an abbreviated motion, which, whilst producing aces, was somewhat less powerful, and also gave a very high number of double faults. From 2010, Sharapova returned to a more elongated motion, similar to her pre-surgery serve. She was able to produce speeds greater than before, including a 121 mph (195 km/h) serve hit at the Birmingham tournament in 2010 – the fastest serve of her career. Continuing shoulder injuries affected her serve, and, by the end of her career, her serve was a major liability, with Sharapova serving many double faults per match. Sharapova was thought to have good speed around the court, especially considering her height, although her footwork, speed, and court coverage were always considered the major weaknesses in her game. These improved throughout her career, allowing her to execute a more defensive playing style effectively, counterpunching until she could create the opportunity to hit a winner.
Throughout her career, Sharapova's greatest asset was considered to be her mental toughness and competitive spirit, with Nick Bollettieri stating that she is "tough as nails"; Bollettieri later described her mental strength as "unbelieveable". Hall-of-famer John McEnroe said of Sharapova, "she's one of the best competitors in the history of the sport." Upon her retirement, she was described as "the ultimate competitor", who was set apart from her peers by her mental strength, and was lauded as an "unyielding character". American player
Christina McHale
Christina Marietta McHale (born May 11, 1992) is an American former professional tennis player. Her highest-ever WTA rankings were No. 24 in singles and No. 35 in doubles.
Known for an aggressive baseline game, McHale was recognized by ''The New ...
described playing Sharapova as "intimidating" due to her mental fortitude, competitive spirit, and composure under pressure. Sharapova was known for on-court "grunting in tennis, grunting", which reached a recorded 101 decibels during a match at 2005 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon in 2005;
Sharapova described her grunting as "a natural instinct." When questioned by the media about her grunting, Sharapova urged the media to "just watch the match."
Because she predicated her game on power and aggression, Sharapova's preferred surfaces early in her career were fast hard, grass, and carpet courts. Sharapova initially was not as well-suited to slower clay courts, admitting in 2007 that she was not as comfortable with her movement on clay compared with other court surfaces; she once described herself as like a "cow on ice" on clay due to her inability to slide.
[Barry Flatman]
Sharapova: a cow on ice?
''The Times'', May 31, 2007. Retrieved July 23, 2008. As her career developed, she began to improve on the surface, winning her first red clay title at the 2009 Internationaux de Strasbourg, with her clay-court prowess culminating with Sharapova winning two titles at French Open, Roland-Garros; as of 2014, she led the WTA Tour as regards the highest winning percentage on clay among active players, with an 84.25% winning rate.
Coaches
Sharapova had multiple coaches throughout her career including Robert Lansdorp, Yuri Sharapov, Michael Joyce (tennis), Michael Joyce in 2004–11, Jimmy Connors in 2013, Sven Groeneveld in 2013–18, Thomas Högstedt in 2010–13, 2018–19, and Riccardo Piatti in 2019–20.
Personal life
Relationships
In 2011, Sharapova was engaged to Slovenian professional basketball player Sasha Vujačić, with whom she had been in a relationship since 2009. On 31 August 2012, Sharapova confirmed that the pair had ended the engagement and separated earlier that year. Between 2012 and 2015, Sharapova dated Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov.
Since 2018, Sharapova has been in a relationship with British businessman Alexander Gilkes. In December 2020, Sharapova and Gilkes revealed they are engaged. In April 2022, Sharapova announced that they are expecting their first child. On July 1, 2022, she gave birth to a son.
Public profile
Sharapova has lived in the United States since moving there at the age of seven. Besides a home in Bradenton, Florida, she also has a residence in Manhattan Beach, California.
From 2005 to 2011, Sharapova was named to the Forbes Celebrity 100, which attempts to compile the top 100 most powerful celebrities of that year.
Sharapova made varying remarks on how long she intends to maintain her tennis career. Following the retirement of 25-year-old
Justine Henin
Justine Henin (; born 1 June 1982) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. She spent a total of 117 weeks as the world No. 1 and was the year-end No. 1 in 2003, 2006 and 2007. Henin, coming from a country with limited success in te ...
in 2008, Sharapova said, "If I [were] 25, and I'd won so many Grand Slams, I'd quit too."
In an interview after the 2008 Australian Open, she balked at the idea of playing for another ten years, saying that she hoped to have a "nice husband and a few kids" by then. However, in an interview before her 2012 Australian Open semifinal, Sharapova changed her stance, saying she intended to continue playing tennis for as long as she enjoyed playing the game. Sharapova stated, "I'm sure when I was 17 years old and someone said, you'll be playing for another eight years, it would be like, you're not going to see me at a press conference at 25 years old. But years go on. I missed a year in my career—I didn't play that year. I've said this, just before the tournament, a few weeks before, I woke up, and I was just so happy to be going back on the court. I felt so fresh, full of energy, just with a really good perspective. Times change, obviously. I see myself playing this sport for many more years because it's something that gives me the most pleasure in my life. I think it helps when you know you're good at something, and you can always improve it. It obviously helps with the encouragement."
Citizenship
Although a Lawful permanent residents (United States), United States resident since 1994, Sharapova still prefers Russian citizenship. Sharapova has stated the reason she prefers to keep Russian citizenship is because "it is about the family environment, it is about the rich culture. Just life experiences that I look back to and I know that for so many years I was shaped into the individual I was from those experiences. And not necessarily simply the country, but the people, the mentality and the toughness and that never giving up attitude".
Charity work
The Maria Sharapova Foundation is committed to helping children around the world achieve their dreams. Sharapova has donated $100,000 to Chernobyl-related projects. In partnership with the UNDP, she launched a $210,000 scholarship program for students from Chernobyl-affected areas of Belarus that will award five-year scholarships to 12 students at the Belarusian State Academy of Arts and the Belarusian State University. At the
2004 US Open, Sharapova, along with several other Russian female tennis players, wore a black ribbon in observance of the tragedy after the Beslan school hostage crisis, which took place only days before.
In 2005, she donated around US$50,000 to those affected by the crisis.
On February 14, 2007, Sharapova was appointed a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador, Goodwill Ambassador for the UNDP, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and donated US$210,000 to Chernobyl Recovery and Development Programme (CRDP), UNDP Chernobyl-recovery projects. She stated at the time that she was planning to travel back to the area after Wimbledon in 2008,
though it didn't happen since she had to travel back to the US because of her shoulder injury.
She fulfilled the trip in late June/early July 2010. Sharapova helped to promote the 2014 Winter Olympics in
Sochi
Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...
, Russia, and was the first torch bearer in the torch-lighting ceremony during the opening festivities. In addition, with Angela Haynes,
Maria Kirilenko
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko ( rus, Мари́я Ю́рьевна Кириле́нко, p=mɐˈrʲijə kʲɪrʲɪˈlʲɛnkə ; born 25 January 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. A junior Grand Slam champion at the 2002 US Open a ...
, Nicole Vaidišová, Rennae Stubbs, Governor Jeb Bush, and Jennifer Capriati, Sharapova participated in an exhibition in Tampa in December 2004, raising money for the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund. In July 2008, Sharapova sent a message on DVD to the memorial service of cancer victim Emily Bailes, who had performed the coin toss ahead of the 2004 Wimbledon Championships, 2004 Wimbledon final that Sharapova had gone on to win.
Autobiography
Sharapova's autobiography, ''Unstoppable. My Life So Far'' was published on 12 September 2017, by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Sarah Crichton Books.
Endorsements
![Maria Sharapova, December 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Maria_Sharapova%2C_December_2008.jpg)
Sharapova's tennis success and appearance have enabled her to secure commercial endorsements that greatly exceed the value of her tournament winnings.
[Marc Ganis, the president of SportsCorp Ltd., a sports-industry consultant in Chicago, said, "Never underestimate the importance of physical beauty to an athlete's endorsement opportunities. Other than performance on the court, it may be the single most important asset." ''The New York Times'']
Serving Their Clients
September 7, 2006["It does not hurt that Sharapova is regarded as one of the most beautiful athletes in the world.]
Harvard Business School Lessons from the classroom, Sara Jane Gilbert, October 29, 2007. Retrieved on June 1, 2008. In March 2006, Forbes magazine listed her as the highest-paid female athlete in the world, with annual earnings of over US$18 million, the majority of which was from endorsements and sponsorships. She topped that list every year until 2016, even after her 2007 shoulder injury. In 2011, ''Forbes'' listed Sharapova as No. 29 in their list of 50 top-paid athletes, the only woman on the list. In 2012, she was listed as No. 15, and was joined in the top 20 by Li Na at No. 16 and
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...
at No. 17. In April 2005, ''People (magazine), People'' named her one of the 50 most beautiful celebrities in the world. In 2006, ''Maxim (magazine), Maxim'' ranked Sharapova the hottest athlete in the world for the fourth consecutive year. She posed in a six-page bikini photoshoot spread in the 2006 Valentine's Day issue of the ''
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
The ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue is published annually by American magazine ''Sports Illustrated'' and features female fashion models, celebrities and athletes wearing swimwear in various locales around the world. The highly coveted cov ...
'', alongside 25 supermodels. In a poll run by Britain's ''FHM'' magazine, she was voted the FHM's 100 Sexiest Women (UK)#Most Eligible Bachelorettes, seventh most eligible bachelorette,
based on both "wealth and looks."
Immediately after her win at the 2004 Wimbledon Championship, mobile phone company Motorola signed Sharapova to endorse their mobile phone line.
[ Additionally, she appeared in commercials for Land Rover and Canon (company), Canon, as well as approved of namesake items by watch brand Tag Heuer and jeweller Tiffany & Co., Tiffany.][ Tiffany also provides Sharapova with earrings from the "Tiffany for Maria Sharapova" collection at the four major events, that are also retailed globally. She also starred in an award-winning campaign for the sports clothing brand Nike, "Pretty (advertisement), Pretty", in the summer of 2006. She signed a sponsorship deal in January 2007 with Gatorade and Tropicana Products, Tropicana, which ended in 2009. In 2007, Sharapova was featured in a number of Canon USA's commercials for the PowerShot. Sharapova has also been depicted in many tennis-related video games. Some of the titles include the ''Top Spin (video game), Top Spin series'', ''Virtua Tennis'' series, and ''Grand Slam Tennis'' series. During the layoff due to her shoulder surgery, sensing the fleeting nature of a professional athlete's career, Sharapova decided to focus on developing her name as a brand, beginning with meeting with her sponsors more extensively to further her brand.][ In January 2010, it was announced that Sharapova had renewed her contract with Nike, signing an 8-year deal for $70 million. This is the most lucrative deal ever for a sportswoman, dwarfing the previous record, which was Venus Williams' $43 million deal with Reebok.]
Following in the footsteps of tennis players who started clothing lines such as Fred Perry and René Lacoste, Sharapova launched her own tennis apparel line, the Nike Maria Sharapova Collection, in 2010. The collection includes dresses that she designed for all the major tournaments, in collaboration with Nike and Cole Haan
Cole Haan is an American brand of men's and women's footwear and accessories that serves markets worldwide. The company was founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1928. Cole Haan currently has its headquarters in both New York City and Greenland, New Ham ...
. She had previously found that the outfits given to her by Nike did not suit her frame and were worn by too many other players.[ She comes up with design ideas and sketches in a process that begins 18 months before the event][ and receives royalties from the sale of the collection, of which the corresponding dresses are coordinated to be available simultaneously with the corresponding major tournament.][ The collection is worn by other WTA players, including Sofia Arvidsson, Eugenie Bouchard, Kai-Chen Chang, Andrea Hlaváčková, Madison Keys, Anastasia Pivovarova as well as junior players such as Indy de Vroome.][ Sharapova had earlier collaborated with Nike on the little black dress that she wore for her night matches at the 2006 US Open.][ The dress featured a round crystal studded collar and was inspired by Audrey Hepburn.] The dress was well publicized and received but was not mass-produced.[ Additionally, she designs shoes and handbags for Cole Haan, for which her signature ballerina flats are one of the biggest sellers of the entire brand.][
Sharapova used the Prince Sports, Prince Triple Threat Hornet for part of 2003 and then used several different Prince racquets until the US Open. She gave the racquet she used in the 2004 Wimbledon final to Regis Philbin when taping ''Live with Regis and Kelly''. Sharapova began using the Prince Shark OS at that tournament specially designed for her. She then switched to the Prince O3 White racquet in January 2006. She switched to the Prince O3 Speedport Black in July 2008. After being with Prince for ten years, Sharapova began endorsing Head (company), Head racquets in 2011 and uses the Head YOUTEK IG Instinct. Sharapova signed a three-year deal to be brand ambassador for Porsche in 2013.
]
Career statistics
Grand Slam tournament performance timeline
''Current through the 2020 Australian Open – Women's singles, 2020 Australian Open.''
Singles finals: 10 (5 titles, 5 runner-ups)
WTA Tour Championships
Finals: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)
Awards
;2003
*Russian Cup (tennis), Russian Cup Newcomer of the Year
*Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Newcomer of the Year
;2004
*WTA Player of the Year
*WTA Most Improved Player of the Year
;2005
*ESPY Awards, ESPY Best Female Tennis Player
*Prix de Citron Roland Garros
*Russian Cup Female Tennis Player of the Year
;2006
*Russian Cup Female Tennis Player of the Year
*Whirlpool 6th Sense Player of the Year
;2007
*ESPY Best Female Tennis Player
*ESPY Best International Female Athlete
;2008
*ESPY Best Female Tennis Player
*Russian Cup Team of the Year (as part of the Russia Fed Cup team, Fed Cup team)
;2010
*WTA Fan Favorite Singles Player
*WTA Humanitarian of the Year
*WTA Most Fashionable Player (On Court)
*WTA Most Fashionable Player (Off Court)
*WTA Most Dramatic Expression
;2012
*ESPY Best Female Tennis Player
*Order of Merit for the Fatherland#Medal of the Order For Merit to the Fatherland, Medal of the Order For Merit to the Fatherland 2nd Class (April 28, 2012) – ''for her philanthropic activity''
*Order of Merit for the Fatherland#Medal of the Order For Merit to the Fatherland, Medal of the Order For Merit to the Fatherland 1st Class (August 13, 2012) – ''for her outstanding contribution to the development of physical cultures and sports at the XXX Olympic Games in 2012 in London (Great Britain)''
*Russian Cup Female Tennis Player of the Year
;2016
*Order For Merit to the Fatherland (February 5, 2016)
Filmography
See also
*ATP World Tour records
*WTA Tour records
*List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players
*List of female tennis players
*List of tennis rivalries
*Tennis records of the Open Era – Women's singles
References
General
*
Specific
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharapova, Maria
Maria Sharapova,
1987 births
Living people
Ambassadors of supra-national bodies
Australian Open (tennis) champions
Expatriate sportspeople in the United States
French Open champions
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles
Olympic medalists in tennis
Olympic silver medalists for Russia
Olympic tennis players of Russia
Sportspeople from Bradenton, Florida
People from Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug
Russian people of Belarusian descent
Russian expatriates in the United States
Russian female models
Russian female tennis players
Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Russian officials of the United Nations
US Open (tennis) champions
Wimbledon champions
Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Recipients of the Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" I class
Recipients of the Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" II class
Russian sportspeople in doping cases
Doping cases in tennis
WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players