After playing the sport since she was four years old, women's tennis star Maria Sharapova is hanging up her tennis racket.
The 32-year-old Sharapova announced her retirement from tennis in a farewell essay published Wednesday in Vanity Fair, citing injuries. Throughout her career, Sharapova dealt with various shoulder problems, and she said she realized one U.S. Open match last August that she couldn't realistically compete at the level she need to anymore. "I share this not to garner pity, but to paint my new reality: My body had become a distraction," she wrote.
It wasn't easy to say goodbye to the sport, she said, noting that "tennis gave me a life" and she'll "miss it everyday." But she also said her career prepared her well for whatever she does next. "And so in whatever I might choose for my next chapter, my next mountain, I'll still be pushing," she wrote.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Over the span of her career, Sharapova emerged as one of the defining players of her generation, capturing five Grand Slam singles titles, including a Wimbledon victory over top-ranked Serena Williams in 2004 when Sharapova was just 17 years old. She was also a recognizable figure off the court where she was the world's highest-earning women's athlete for 11 straight years thanks in part to endorsements from companies like Nike and Evian. Read Sharapova's essay at Vanity Fair and more about her career at The New York Times.
-
5 ballsy cartoons about the new White House ballroomCartoons Artists take on the White House Disneyland, a menu for the elites, and more
-
‘Congratulations on your house, but maybe try a greyhound instead’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
How climate change poses a national security threatThe explainer A global problem causing more global problems
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
