Former tennis star Maria Sharapova once revealed the real reason she refused to retire after suffering a career-threatening shoulder injury in 2008. Speaking to The Guardian in 2010, the five-time Grand Slam champion said she continued playing because of her deep love for the sport and the sacrifices her family made to help her succeed.
Sharapova’s career took a huge hit in 2008 when she tore her rotator cuff, forcing her to miss several major tournaments, including the Beijing Olympics, US Open, and WTA Finals. The injury required surgery and sidelined her for nearly ten months, causing her world ranking to plummet outside the top 100.
Maria Sharapova’s determined comeback
Despite doubts about her future, Sharapova made her return in March 2009 at Indian Wells, initially playing doubles to test her recovery. She gradually regained form, reaching the quarterfinals in Warsaw and Paris before capturing her first post-surgery title at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. By the end of that year, she had impressively climbed from No. 126 to No. 14 in the world rankings.
Reflecting on that period, she admitted she had plenty of reasons to walk away:
“I had so many excuses to stop. I could have said no one ever came back from this kind of injury. I could have said I’d earned enough money. But it wasn’t like I had a famous boyfriend who made my career. We built everything from scratch,” Sharapova said.
During her recovery, she often looked at old match photos to remind herself of how it felt to compete, using those memories as motivation to return to the court.
Family sacrifices that fueled her passion
Sharapova’s resilience stemmed from the sacrifices her family made during her early years. She began playing tennis at just four years old, and on the advice of tennis legend Martina Navratilova, her father Yuri moved with her to Florida to train at Nick Bollettieri’s Tennis Academy. Her mother Yelena had to stay behind in Russia, separated from her daughter for two years.
“I didn’t see my mom for two years. Back then, there were no cell phones or emails. I used to write letters that took a month to arrive,” Sharapova recalled.
When Yelena finally joined them in the U.S., she discarded the old hand-me-down clothes Maria had received from fellow Russian player Anna Kournikova, marking a new chapter in their journey.
These sacrifices and her family’s unwavering support became the foundation of Sharapova’s relentless drive. Despite facing one of the toughest injuries in tennis, her passion and determination pushed her to rebuild her career and return stronger than ever.
