Maria Sharapova officially retires from professional Tennis –
Five-time grand slam champion and former world number one, Maria Sharapova, has officially retired from professional tennis. In a career which spanned 19 years, the Russian based American won 645 matches and lost 171. She won a total of 39 titles, 36 WTA and 4 ITF.
The first time Sharapova was ranked world number one in 2005. She was world number one for 6 weeks after reaching to grand slam finals in quick succession. She could have won more grand slams but sadly, she was always eliminated by the eventual winners. She also suffered two back to back shoulder injuries who kept her out for long periods.
Maria’s comeback from her injuries was not smooth as she struggled to regain the form that got her to the top of the world rankings. She suffered shocking losses but still continued the trend of losing to the eventual champions of the tournament. Sharapova became the world number one again in 2007 after losing at the Australian Open final to Serena Williams.
Between 2008 and 2015, Sharapova battled with injuries as well as falling in an out of the top ten world rankings. After her third shoulder injury, she suffered a left forearm injury which did not allow her to defend her Brisbane International title. Sadly, in 2016, she was suspended by the International Tennis Federation after testing positive for meldonium, a banned substance by the World Anti-Doping Agency
(WADA).
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