Home / Sports / Other Sports News / Maria Sharapova wants to be clear: She is retiring, not quitting

Maria Sharapova wants to be clear: She is retiring, not quitting

A 6-foot-2 Russian who punctuated her flat groundstrokes with piercing shrieks, Sharapova made one of the most extraordinary journeys in sports

Premium

Maria Sharapova. Photo: Reuters

4 min read Last Updated : Feb 28 2020 | 9:25 PM IST

To understand why Maria Sharapova is retiring from professional tennis at age 32, it helps to know what she can no longer endure. “I look at photos of myself and of the motion where I’m just about to hit the ball, and I’m in the air or just as I’m making contact,” she said, “and I can’t even look at it because it makes me cringe. I have so much pain.”

The pain has been a near-constant companion over the last two years for Sharapova, a former No 1 player who became one of the richest and most globally recognisable athletes

What you get on BS Premium?

Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app.
Pick your 5 favourite companies, get a daily email with all news updates on them.
Full access to our intuitive epaper - clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006.
Preferential invites to Business Standard events.
Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more.

VIEW ALL FAQs

Need More Information - write to us at assist@bsmail.in