Former World No. 1 Maria Sharapova carried the sport in her own glamorous way. When she first emerged on tour, she made quite a statement. To beat Serena Williams at the age of 17 in your first Grand Slam final on Centre Court is unimaginable. Such stories make for a fairytale. 

Sixteen years later, the tennis great put her racquet aside. At the 2020 Australian Open, Sharapova lost to Donna Vekic in the first round of the Australian Open. That defeat marked her last ever match as a professional tennis player. 

Maria Sharapova says she never imagined what retirement would look like

Recently, while speaking about how life has been post-retirement. Maria said, “Very different world to what I’d pictured it back in February. I never sat out during my career. Like I never really knew when the time would come and I never established what it would look like. And when it felt right as to when I committed to that decision. It felt very natural that I was comfortable with, but I definitely had more time to sit and think about it at home.”

Although Sharapova has traveled the globe playing tennis tournaments, she has never really got the chance to experience cultural diversities as much as she would have wished to.

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Reflecting on that aspect, she said, “I made a lot of plans to travel around the world and explore the places that I was keen on exploring. Mostly because I’ve visited the world but never really understood it. I was culturally very curious… I found ways to work on my business, working out too is an essential part of my life.” 

Also Read: Serena Williams Outshines Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka and Others in a Spectacular Stat

Maria has won all four Grand Slams at least once in her life. The French Open happens to be the only Slam she won twice. She has also won 36 career titles overall. Her retirement from the game surely comes as a huge disappointment to many fans over the world.