Maria Sharapova bows out of tennis tainted by drug ban

Five-times grand-slam champion Maria Sharapova will live long in memory – but not solely for the right reasons.

Maria Sharapova reveals her positive drug test in 2016. Picture: Getty Images

There is a particular moment that stands out from one of the most infamous press conferences in tennis history. After revealing to an assembled group of journalists that she had failed a drugs test only weeks into the 2016 season, Maria Sharapova attempted to lighten the mood by making a reference to the speculation beforehand that she was going to call an end to her career.

“I know many of you thought I was retiring,” the Russian said. “But if I was ever going to announce my retirement, it would probably not be in a downtown Los Angeles hotel with this fairly ugly carpet.”

Almost four years on from that day and at the age of 32, Sharapova has lived up to her word. Early on Thursday she delivered the news of her retirement through an “essay” released simultaneously on the websites of Vogue and Vanity Fair.

“I’m new to this, so please forgive me,” she wrote. “Tennis — I’m saying goodbye.”

There had been a sense on the tour in recent months that the five-times grand-slam champion was heading in this direction.

Struggling with persistent shoulder and forearm injuries, she was a shadow of her former self and in free fall down the rankings to her present position of world No 373.

No grand farewell tour will take place as Sharapova departs with immediate effect. The last match on her professional record will be the tame first-round loss against Donna Vekic, the world No 24 from Croatia, at the Australian Open last month.

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But it was long before this that she realised her time was up, shortly before taking to the court at last year’s US Open for a 6-1, 6-1 hammering by Serena Williams, her nemesis.

“Behind closed doors, 30 minutes before taking the court, I had a procedure to numb my shoulder to get through the match,” Sharapova wrote.

“Shoulder injuries are nothing new for me. Over time my tendons have frayed like a string. I’ve had multiple surgeries — once in 2008; another procedure last year — and spent countless months in physical therapy.

“Just stepping on to the court that day felt like a final victory, when of course it should have been merely the first step toward victory. I share this not to garner pity but to paint my new ­reality: My body had become a distraction.”

Sharapova insists that she is content with what she achieved, and so she should be.

The pinnacle of her career was winning Wimbledon at the age of 17 in 2004, and she followed this by claiming the 2006 US Open and the 2008 Australian Open ­before her first shoulder operation. It is particularly impressive that she recovered from this to win two French Opens, in 2012 and 2014, after previously comparing her ability on clay to a “cow on ice”.

Other notable achievements include an Olympic silver medal at London 2012 and 21 weeks at world No 1, as well as the estimated earnings of almost $500m through prizemoney and endorsements.

And there would have been more trophies to add to her collection had it not been for her ­inability to get the better of Williams in the past 15 years, losing 18 consecutive matches against an opponent for whom she had a mutual dislike off the court.

Sharapova had few friends in the locker room, a combination of her reluctance to build relationships and her cold demeanour. She did, however, command much respect for her fighting ­spirit. She was ferociously intense in everything she did and relentlessly powerful from the baseline.

“She has the mind of a champion, someone that never gives up,” world No 1 Novak Djokovic said. “She’s shown that especially in the last five years.

“She’s had a lot of obstacles and difficulties, especially with her ­injuries and everything that she had to endure to give herself at least another chance to play competitive tennis.”

Ultimately, though, Sharapova’s career is tarnished by the drugs controversy of 2016. She tested positive at the Australian Open for meldonium, a substance that had been added to the banned list at the start of that year because it was believed to have performance-enhancing effects.

Sharapova insisted that she was unaware that it had been outlawed and claimed that she had taken it since 2006 on the advice of a doctor to combat a magnesium deficiency and heart ­problems.

Sharapova’s associates did not handle the fallout with dignity or contrition.

When her initial suspension of two years was reduced to 15 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, there was an ­astonishing air of triumphalism.

Upon her return in April 2017, her long-time agent, Max Eisenbud, ludicrously referred to Caroline Wozniacki as a “journey­man” in response to her under­standable criticism of the decision by some tournaments to gift Sharapova wildcards.

Sharapova never came close to reaching her former heights in the post-meldonium phase of her ­career.

She claimed only one more WTA tour title and reached one quarter-final in nine grand-slam appearances.

Asked at the Australian Open last year if she was struggling to deal with the physical demands of a major tournament now that she could no longer take meldonium, Sharapova dismissively turned ­towards the press conference moderator and asked: “Is there another question?”

Her legacy will be for ever tainted.

THE TIMES