As everyone in the tennis world has heard by now, Maria Sharapova has officially retired from professional tennis.
Amassing hundreds of millions of dollars in endorsement money, it’s safe to say that between that, her tennis earnings and her countless sponsorships and businesses will make the Renaissance sportswoman set for life. Not only from a financial standpoint - she’s also proven herself as being an intellectual powerhouse as well as a businesswoman in her own right. The statistic might still hold true, where (at least at one point in time) she collectively made more money annually than any other female athlete - ever. She was breaking barriers; she always held her head high and never showed anger while competing on the tennis court - only strength, at least that’s how she carried herself and projected her image to the stands. It’s hard to believe that a 5-time singles Grand Slam Champion, someone who has built her entire life around tennis and succeeded no doubt, would hang up the rackets for good.
During ESPN’s coverage of the Australian Open when Sharapova was losing in the first round; the graphic’s headline that ran during her match was “The Struggle is real.” Then, after the commercial break, and despite the fact that the tides of the match had not turned in the Russian beauty’s favor, ESPN reversed their story line and balanced out their previous statement by showcasing all of Maria’s accomplishments which are second to…Serena! Man, now that was a rivalry that everyone wanted, but never could get - maybe in the locker room they shared some words with each other, one could only imagine.
It is my theory, and one that has not been explored just yet, that Maria Sharapova is retiring from the game only temporarily and will be back sooner than her previous suspension allowed. Sharapova penned exclusive essays published in Vanity Fair and Vogue regarding her big announce, one that many in tennis predicted would happen sooner rather than later. That announcement, which coincided with a viral Instagram post of her as a lil’ baby tennis player in training that was broadcast on Sharapova’s personal Instagram page, occurred on a special day: Ash Wednesday.
Traditionally, many Catholics who observe that holiday give up something for 40 days, sometimes meat, sometimes…well, sometimes something else - it’s your call. Now what if, in theory, Sharapova’s retirement from tennis was really her saying that she wants to give up playing her favorite sport of tennis, not indefinitely but just for 40 days in change?
Hear me out, here. Come Easter, the candy superstar could stage a comeback to the game she loves by hosting an Easter egg hunt. All of the candies inside of her eggs would contain Sugarpova candies - sure, maybe the cliche sour tennis ball candies or even better than that would be branded tennis balls that read “Comeback craving” [insert alternative catchy ad phrase here]. I’d participate in said Easter Egg hunt, wouldn’t you? T
Sharapova’s not the only world No. 1 to announce her retirement in the past few months. 2018 Australian Open Champion Caroline Wozniacki, who was arguably playing some of her best tennis in recent months, stepped away from the game after nearly 15 straight years on tour. It was at the 2004 Wimbledon Championships, the year that 17-year-old Sharapova triumphed over Serena Williams in the final, that Caroline and I practiced on the grass for the first time. Even back then as a bright-eyed 14-year-old prodigy, you could clearly tell that she had something special about her on and off the court.
Jokes aside, I think it’s a distinct possibility for Sharapova to come back to the tour. Although, it’s rare; the only former world No. 1 players in the past 20 years who have come back from retirement and/or a hiatus from the game were Lindsay Davenport and Kim Clijsters, who both won titles as moms, with Kim famously winning the 2009 US Open women’s singles title during prime time against Caroline Wozniacki; Serena Williams just won her first tournament title since coming back from maternity leave - that was in Auckland, where she paired up with her BFF Caroline to advance far in the doubles tournament as well. Former top-ranked Azarenka has been playing on the tour since giving birth to her son, although she hasn’t cracked the top 10 since then - maybe that’ll change soon.
What’s going to happen for women’s tennis now that two former world No. 1s are out of the game (for good, or not)? I’m thinking that there’s more room for Clijsters to make her second comeback now - how will she do in Indian Wells? I bet Sharapova will be watching and itching to get back out there, so long as she’s healthy again and injury-free.