bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Five-time grand slam winner Maria Sharapova, one of the world’s most recognisable sportswomen, on Wednesday announced her retirement at the age of 32.
“Tennis – I’m saying goodbye,” Sharapova said in an article for Vogue and Vanity Fair magazines.
“After 28 years and five grand slam titles, though, I’m ready to scale another mountain – to compete on a different type of terrain.”
Sharapova burst onto the scene as a supremely gifted teenager and won her grand slams before serving a 15-month ban for failing a drugs test at the 2016 Australian Open.
The Russian former world number one’s ranking is currently 373rd.

Former World No. 1️⃣@AustralianOpen @rolandgarros @Wimbledon @usopen
3️⃣6️⃣ singles titles
We'll #MissYouMaria@MariaSharapova has announced her retirement from tennis -->https://t.co/BqE5pA9nGO pic.twitter.com/Z55MHC1t5q
— WTA (@WTA) February 26, 2020

Sharapova has hardly played in the past year because of long-standing shoulder problems.
When she did play she lost as many matches as she won and was dumped out in the first rounds at Wimbledon, the US Open and, most recently, the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Table tennis worlds in Busan suspended after hike in South Korean virus cases
Sharapova shot to fame as a giggly 17-year-old Wimbledon winner in 2004, the third-youngest player to conquer the All England Club’s hallowed grass courts.
She became world number one in 2005 and won the US Open the next year.
“One of the keys to my success was that I never looked back and I never looked forward,” Sharapova said on Wednesday.
“I believed that if I kept grinding and grinding, I could push myself to an incredible place.”

But in 2007 Sharapova began her long on-off battle with shoulder trouble.
She would win the 2008 Australian Open before a second shoulder injury kept her off tour for the second half of the season, missing the US Open and Beijing Olympics.
Retired tennis star Li Na donates 3 million yuan to help fight epidemic
In 2012, the Siberian-born Sharapova captured the French Open to become the 10th woman to complete a career grand slam. She added Olympic silver to her resume that year.
Her 2014 French Open title was another high after a dispiriting injury low.

Always a fighter – the seven-year-old Maria and father Yuri left for the US in 1994 with just a borrowed US$700 to their names – Sharapova returned to the sport in 2017.
“In giving my life to tennis, tennis gave me a life,” Sharapova said in her retirement missive.
“I’ll miss it everyday. I’ll miss the training and my daily routine: Waking up at dawn, lacing my left shoe before my right, and closing the court’s gate before I hit my first ball of the day.
“I’ll miss my team, my coaches. I’ll miss the moments sitting with my father on the practice court bench. The handshakes – win or lose – and the athletes, whether they knew it or not, who pushed me to be my best.
“Looking back now, I realise that tennis has been my mountain. My path has been filled with valleys and detours, but the views from its peak were incredible.”


Meet Shabana Azeez, who plays Dr Victoria Javadi in The Pitt

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie review: Nintendo sequel looks great but lacks laughs

Netflix movie review: Humint – dynamic Korean spy thriller from Ryoo Seung-wan

Why is US reality TV star Kris Jenner all over Chinese social media?

Fame and celebrity

Goodbye tennis: Maria Sharapova announces retirement

Maria Sharapova is calling time on her tennis playing days. Photo: Reuters

FILE - In this Jan. 30, 2019, file photo, Maria Sharapova of Russia attends a meeting with her fans at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy-2019 tennis tournament match in St.Petersburg, Russia. Sharapova is retiring from professional tennis at the age of 32 after five Grand Slam titles and time ranked No. 1. She has been dealing with shoulder problems for years. In an essay written for Vanity Fair and Vogue about her decision to walk away from the sport, posted online Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020, Sharapova asks: “How do you leave behind the only life you’ve ever known?” (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2020, file photo, Maria Sharapova makes a forehand return to Donna Vekic during their first round singles match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia. Sharapova is retiring from professional tennis at the age of 32 after five Grand Slam titles and time ranked No. 1. She has been dealing with shoulder problems for years. In an essay written for Vanity Fair and Vogue about her decision to walk away from the sport, posted online Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020, Sharapova asks: “How do you leave behind the only life you’ve ever known?”(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

Coronavirus: world table tennis championships in Busan suspended after hike in South Korean cases

Wong Chun-ting and his mixed doubles partner Doo Hoi-kem aim to challenge for a medal for Hong Kong at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. They won the Hungarian Open in February. Photo: ITTF

Ng Pak-nam listens to coach Leung Chu-yan for advice.

Hong Kong women's table tennis team members with masks on their return from the World Team Qualification tournament in Portugal. Fr left: Doo Hoi-kem, Lee Ho-ching, Minnie Soo Wai-yam

Gondomar. 26.01.2020.Teams - Men's Teams - finals at the World Team Qualification Tournament for Tokyo 2020, Gondomar, 22-26 January 2020

Coronavirus: retired tennis star Li Na donates 3 million yuan to support hometown fight against epidemic

Li Na kisses the championship trophy after winning the 2014 Australian Open, her second grand slam title. Photo: AP

Football Soccer - China v South Korea - 2018 World Cup Qualifiers - Changsha, China - 23/3/17 - Hao Junmin of China and Nam Taehee of South Korea in action. REUTERS/Stringer ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA.

Retired Chinese tennis star Li Na speaks during the opening ceremony on the first day of action at the Wuhan Open tennis tournament in Wuhan on September 22, 2019. (Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP)

(190626) -- MONTPELLIER, June 26, 2019 (Xinhua) -- (From L to R) China's head coach Jia Xiuquan, players Wu Haiyan, Han Peng, Wang Shuang and Wang Shanshan cheer before the round of 16 match between China and Italy at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in Montpellier, France, June 25, 2019. China lost 0-2. (Xinhua/Ding Xu)

Australian Open: Petra Kvitova beats Maria Sakkari to make quarter-finals in Melbourne

Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova made it safely through to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. Photo: AFP

Australian Open: Serena Williams dumped out by Wang Qiang in Melbourne

Serena Williams was knocked out of the Australian Open in round three by China’s Wang Qiang. Photo: AFP

Sport

Tennis


Russian makes the announcement in Vogue and Vanity Fair magazines
The five-time grand slam winner is one of the world’s most recognisable sportswomen



Russian makes the announcement in Vogue and Vanity Fair magazines.


WTA (Women's Tennis Association)

Goodbye tennis: Maria Sharapova announces retirement

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Russian makes the announcement in Vogue and Vanity Fair magazines The five-time grand slam winner is one of the world’s most recognisable sportswomen

Russian makes the announcement in Vogue and Vanity Fair magazines

The five-time grand slam winner is one of the world’s most recognisable sportswomen