Maria Sharapova has announced her retirement from the game of tennis at age 32.
The former world No1 and five-time Grand Slam winner, who was arguably better known for her endorsements and activity off the court in her final injury-laden years, aptly announced her decision to quit in a first-person article published by both Vogue and Vanity Fair.
She said: “Tennis – I’m saying goodbye. I’ll miss it every day. I’ll miss the training and my daily routine. I’ll miss my team, my coaches, I’ll miss the moments sitting with my father… the handshakes – win or lose and the athletes, whether they knew it or not, who pushed me to be my best.
Maria Sharapova was a transcendent star in tennis from the time she was a teenager, someone whose grit and groundstrokes earned her a career Grand Slam and whose off-court success included millions of dollars more in endorsement deals than prize money.
And yet, Sharapova walked away from her sport rather quietly Wednesday at the age of 32, ending a career that featured five major championships, time at No. 1 in the WTA rankings, a 15-month doping ban and plenty of problems with her right shoulder.
There was no goodbye tournament, no last moment in the spotlight, for someone so used to garnering so much attention for so long, with or without a racket in hand.
