The tennis and sports fashion world would never be the same again as Maria Sharapova finally says her swan song in the sports she loved - tennis. The 32 year-old Russian announced that she is retiring from the competitive tour after struggling for the past few months. Earlier this year at the Australian Open, she suffered here 3rd consecutive 1st round exit at Grand Slam events.
The gorgeous and well loved Russian had a roller-coaster career on tour that is filled with several ups and downs. Considered as one of the fiercest competitors on tour, she began her career in 2001 and just within 4 years she notched the No.1 spot in the women's game. She has stayed at the top of the rankings for a total of 21 weeks during her career. She is one of ten women, and the only Russian, to hold the career Grand Slam. She won five Grand Slam titles — two at the French Open and one each at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open, winning 36 titles in total, including the year-ending WTA Finals in her debut in 2004. Apart from that she is also an Olympic medalist winning silver at the 2012 London Games. She also won three doubles titles.
Her great career was tainted in 2016 after she failed a doping test which saw her slapped with a 2-year suspension for testing positive for meldonium. The suspension was later trimmed down to 15 months as the Court of Arbitration for Sports found that she had committed "no significant fault" and that she had taken the substance "based on a doctor's recommendation" in good faith. But after she returned on tour in 2017 she has never been the same player on court having her best Grand Slam finish at French Open 2018 where she made it into the quarterfinals. She leaves the tennis world with a singles ranking of 373. Fans will surely miss Maria Sharapova.
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