Maria Sharapova says goodbye to tennis at the age of 32
Women’s tennis continues to lose some of its biggest pearls and, following the abandonments of Agniezska Radwanska in 2018, Dominika Cibulkova in 2019 and, more recently Caroline Wozniacki, now it was the turn of the charismatic Russian Maria Sharapova to put an end to her career tennis.
An early talent that never fully imposed itself
The Russian tennis player who soon caught sight of the WTA circuit ended up having a career that many might consider average, given the expectations she created when she arrived at the main circuit.
Maria Sharapova entered the mouths of the world as early as 2004 when at the age of 17 she surprised Serena Williams in the Wimbledon Final, thus winning her first Grand Slam. In the following year, he would confirm his rise by assuming the first place in the world hierarchy.
In 2006, he won the United States Open and reached his second Grand Slam title, confirming that he could become a serious pretender for winning huge titles throughout his career, however, the following years would deny that.
Sharapova would win the Australian Open in 2008 and the Rolando Garros tournament in 2012 and 2014 to complete the career Grand Slam, that is, win all Grand Slam titles on the circuit.
In any case, the achievement of five Grand Slams in 15 years of tennis at the highest level turned out to be a somewhat disappointing balance for many according to the scrolls she quickly achieved in those first three years of incursion on the WTA circuit.
A stain on the curriculum that should be devalued
Maria Sharapova was suspended in 2016 for using a prohibited substance (melonium) that deprived her of the courts for 15 months.
At the time, the athlete denied ignorance about the new law that prohibited this substance that the tennis player took since 2006, so it seems perfectly plausible that it was not exactly an attempt to obtain superior sporting performance compared to its rivals.
Anyway, this was a very media case at the time that certainly will not have contributed to the psychological strength of the Russian tennis player who always seemed highly strong in this aspect, revealing a great tenacity in court and a combative spirit.
Despite this less good moment, the truth is that Maria Sharapova is one of the six tennis players from the ‘Open Era’ to have won all the Grand Slam tournaments on the circuit, which places her among the best players of all time, even if never to approach a Serena Williams, for example.
The rivalry with Serena Williams
One of the reasons why Maria Sharapova ends her career with just five Grand Slam titles is clearly due to the fact that she cohabited on the WTA circuit in the same era as Serena Williams.
The American tennis player had a one-way rivalry with the Russian, because, in addition to the Sharapova triumph in 2004 at Wimbledon when she surprised Serena, this would not be repeated with Williams assuming a great preponderance over the European tennis player .
The final record of head-to-head matches indicates an overwhelming 20-2, with eight of those victories taking place in the Grand Slams, and three of them in the Finals.
In addition, Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova in the grand final of the 2012 Olympic Games, preventing the Russian from writing a gold page for her country, thus settling for a silver medal.
Analyzing the data coldly, we can say that without Serena Williams in action, perhaps Sharapova could have doubled the number of titles he achieved in Grand Slams, but the competition is still so and it is necessary to recognize the merit of the opponents and, in this case, Serena Williams who has been imposing himself for decades as a tennis player of choice in the women’s sector.
New references are needed!
With the recent departures of Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Sharapova, women’s tennis has become poorer with the loss of two references in the sport for much of this millennium, so it is time for new tennis players to emerge.
Serena Williams continues to compete and will try to add a few more titles to her current 23 Grand Slam titles, but Romanian Simona Halep and Spaniard Garbine Muguruza are other tennis players who currently have more solidity and competence to fight regularly for the most important titles the circuit.
Others such as Ash Barty or Sofia Kenin may meddle in these accounts over the next few years with the last one having surprised world tennis by winning the Australian Open at the start of the season at the age of 21.
The American born in Moscow has Maria Sharapova as her idol and will be able to follow in her footsteps by winning several Grand Slams, as she will have enough time to at least try.
