Maria Sharapova

In 1989, when Sharapova was three, the family moved to Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia. She hit her first tennis ball when she was 4 years old. Her father, Yuri, befriended Aleksandr Kafelnikov, whose son Yevgeny would go on to win two Grand Slam singles titles and become Russia's first world No. 1 ranked tennis player. Aleksandr gave Sharapova her first tennis racquet in 1991 when she was four, whereupon she began practicing regularly with her father at a local park.[21] Maria took her first tennis lessons with veteran Russian coach Yuri Yutkin, who was instantly impressed when he saw her play, noting her "exceptional hand-eye coordination".[22]

In 1993, at the age of six, Sharapova attended a tennis clinic in Moscow run by Martina Navratilova, who recommended professional training with Nick Bollettieri at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, who had previously trained players such as Andre Agassi, Monica Seles, and Anna Kournikova.[21] With money tight, Yuri Sharapov borrowed the sum that would enable him and his daughter, neither of whom could speak English, to travel to the United States, which they finally did in 1994.[22] Visa restrictions prevented Sharapova's mother from joining them for two years.[20] Arriving in Florida with savings of US$700,[22] Sharapova's father took various low-paying jobs to fund her lessons until she was old enough to be admitted to the academy. Initially, she trained with Rick Macci. In 1995, however, she was signed by IMG, who agreed to pay the annual tuition fee of $35,000 for Sharapova to stay at the Academy, allowing her to finally enroll at the age of 9.[21]

Sharapova first hit the tennis scene in November 2000, when she won the Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships in the girls' 16 division at the age of just 13.[23] She was then given a special distinction, the Rising Star Award, which is awarded only to players of exceptional promise.[24] Sharapova made her professional debut in 2001 on her 14th birthday on 19 April, and played her first WTA tournament at the Pacific Life Open in 2002, winning a match before losing to Monica Seles. Due to restrictions on how many professional events she could play, Sharapova went to hone her game in junior tournaments, where she reached the finals of the girls' singles events at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2002. She was the youngest girl ever to reach the final of the Australian Open junior championship at 14 years and 9 months.[25]

Sharapova reached No. 6 in the ITF junior world singles ranking on 21 October 2002. In all, she won three junior singles tournaments and was runner-up at five, including two junior Grand Slam events. Her win-loss record in junior competition was 47–9.[26] Her best results in the Junior Grand Slam tournaments were the finals of the 2002 Australian Open, finals of the 2002 Wimbledon Championships, third round of the 2002 French Open, and second round of the 2001 US Open.

From 2003, Sharapova played a full season and made a rapid climb into the top 50 by the end of the year.[27] She made her debuts at both the Australian Open and the French Open, but failed to win a match in either. Then, as a wildcard at Wimbledon, she defeated 11th seed Jelena Dokić,[28] her first win over a top-20 player, to reach the fourth round, where she lost in three sets to Svetlana Kuznetsova. By the end of September, Sharapova had already captured her first WTA title at a smaller event, the Japan Open Tennis Championships, before winning her second in her final tournament of the season, the Bell Challenge.[29] To cap off her first full season as a professional, she was awarded the WTA Newcomer of the Year honor.[30]

Sharapova was defeated in the third round of the Australian Open by sixth seed Anastasia Myskina.[31] She later reached the semifinals at the Cellular South Cup, where she lost to eventual champion Vera Zvonareva.[32]

During the spring clay-court season, Sharapova entered the top 20 on the WTA world rankings as a result of reaching the third round of the Qatar Telecom German Open and the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, both of which were Tier I events. At the latter event, she defeated a player ranked in the top 10 for the first time with a straight-sets win over world No. 10 and 2004 French Open finalist Elena Dementieva. Later that clay-court season, she went on to make the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time at the French Open, losing there to Paola Suárez.[33]

Sharapova at Wimbledon in 2004

Sharapova won the third title of her career at the Wimbledon warm-up DFS Classic, defeating Tatiana Golovin in the final. Seeded 13th and aged 17 at Wimbledon, she reached her first Grand Slam semifinal by defeating Ai Sugiyama. There, she defeated fifth seed and former champion Lindsay Davenport. In the final, Sharapova upset top seed and defending champion Serena Williams to win her first Grand Slam singles title, and become the third-youngest woman to win the Wimbledon title, behind only Lottie Dod and Martina Hingis. Sharapova also became the second Russian woman (after Anastasia Myskina had won the year's previous major at Roland Garros) to win a Grand Slam singles title. The victory was hailed by the media as "the most stunning upset in memory",[34] with other writers commenting on her arrival as a serious challenger to the Williams' dominance at Wimbledon.[35] She entered the top 10 in the rankings for the first time as a result of the win.[36]

Following her Wimbledon win, attention and interest in Sharapova in the media greatly increased, a rise in popularity dubbed "Maria Mania."[37] She won three of six matches in her preparations for the US Open. At the US Open itself, she reached the third round, before being eliminated by Mary Pierce.[38] In order to regain confidence, Sharapova played and won consecutive titles in Asia in the fall, the Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships and the Japan Open Tennis Championships.

In October, Sharapova defeated Venus Williams en route to making the final of a Tier I event for the first time at the Zurich Open, losing in the final to Alicia Molik.[39] She then made her debut at the year-ending WTA Tour Championships. There, she won two of her three round-robin matches (including a win over US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova) in order to advance to the semifinals, where she defeated Myskina. In the final, she defeated an injured Serena Williams, after trailing 4–0 in the final set.[40]

Sharapova started the year at the Australian Open, where she defeated fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the second Grand Slam semifinal of her career. Sharapova held three match points in the third set of her semifinal match, before losing to eventual champion Serena Williams. In February, Sharapova won back-to-back tournaments, the Toray Pan Pacific Open and the Qatar Total Open, allowing her to reach number 3 in the world rankings for the first time.

In the semifinals of the Tier I Pacific Life Open, Sharapova was defeated by Lindsay Davenport, the first time she had failed to win a game in a match.[41] She defeated former world No. 1 players Justine Henin and Venus Williams to reach the final at the Tier I NASDAQ-100 Open, where she lost to Kim Clijsters.[42][43]

Sharapova made the semifinals of a clay-court tournament for the first time at the Italian Open, where she lost to Patty Schnyder. Sharapova would have become world No. 1 for the first time had she won the tournament.[44] Sharapova then reached the quarterfinals of the French Open for the second consecutive year, before losing to eventual champion Henin.[45] On grass, Sharapova won her third title of the year when she successfully defended her title at the DFS Classic, defeating Jelena Janković in the final.[46] As the defending champion at Wimbledon, Sharapova reached the semifinals without dropping a set and losing a service game just once, extending her winning streak on grass to 24 matches. However, she was then beaten by eventual champion Venus Williams.[47]

Sharapova had far fewer points to defend, and so she became the first Asian and Russian woman to hold the world No. 1 ranking on 22 August 2005.[48] Her reign lasted only one week, however, as Davenport reclaimed the top ranking after winning the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament.[48]

As the top seed at the US Open, Sharapova lost in the semifinals to Kim Clijsters,[49] meaning she had lost to the eventual champion in every Grand Slam of the season. However, she once again leapfrogged Davenport to take the world No. 1 ranking on 12 September 2005. She retained it for six weeks, but after playing few tournaments while injured, she again relinquished the ranking to Davenport.[48][50] To conclude the year, Sharapova failed to defend her title at the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships in Los Angeles, defeating Davenport in one of her round-robin matches, but ultimately losing in the semifinals to eventual champion Amélie Mauresmo.

Sharapova celebrating after winning the 2006 US Open

Sharapova started 2006 by losing in the semifinals of the Australian Open in three sets to Henin,[51] also losing a rematch several weeks later at the Dubai Tennis Championships, having defeated former world No. 1 Martina Hingis and world No. 3 Lindsay Davenport in earlier rounds of the tournament. Sharapova claimed her first title in nine months at the Tier I tournament in Indian Wells, defeating Hingis in the semifinals and Elena Dementieva in the final.[52][53] She reached the final in Miami before losing to Kuznetsova.[54]

Sharapova returned for the French Open. There, after saving match points in defeating Mashona Washington in the first round, she was eliminated by Dinara Safina in the fourth round.[55] On grass, Sharapova was unsuccessful in her attempt to win in Birmingham for the third consecutive year, losing in the semifinals to Jamea Jackson.[56] Despite that, she was among the title favorites at Wimbledon, where the eventual champion Mauresmo ended up beating her in the semifinals.[57]

Sharapova claimed her second title of the year at the Tier I Acura Classic, defeating Clijsters for the first time in the final.[58] As the third seed at the US Open, Sharapova defeated top seed Mauresmo for the first time in the semifinals,[59] and then followed up by beating second seed Justine Henin to win her second Grand Slam singles title.[60]

That autumn, Sharapova won titles in back-to-back weeks at the Zurich Open and the Generali Ladies Linz. By winning all three of her round-robin matches at the WTA Tour Championships, she extended her win streak to 19 matches, before it was snapped in the semifinals by eventual champion Henin.[61] Sharapova would have finished the season as world No. 1 had she won the event. As it was, she finished ranked world No. 2, her best year-end finish yet.

Sharapova was the top seed at the Australian Open due to top-ranked Justine Henin's withdrawal. After being two points away from defeat in the first round against Camille Pin, she went on to reach the final of the tournament for the first time, but was routed there by Serena Williams who was ranked world No. 81 at the time. After reaching the final, Sharapova recaptured the world No. 1 ranking.[48] She held it for seven weeks, surrendering it back to Henin after failing to defend her title at the Pacific Life Open, instead losing in the fourth round to Vera Zvonareva after struggling with a hamstring injury.[62] The following fortnight, she defeated Venus Williams in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open,[63] before being beaten again by Serena Williams.[64]

A shoulder injury forced Sharapova to miss most of the clay-court season for the second consecutive year, resulting in her only tune-up for the French Open being the İstanbul Cup,[65] where she lost in the semifinals to Aravane Rezaï. She reached the semifinals of the French Open for the first time in her career, before losing to Ana Ivanovic.[66] On grass, Sharapova was runner-up to Jelena Janković at the DFS Classic.[67] Following that, she experienced her earliest Wimbledon loss since 2003 by losing in the fourth round to eventual champion Venus Williams.[68]

Sharapova clinched the US Open Series by defending her title at the Acura Classic, her only championship of the year, and reaching the semifinals in Los Angeles.[48] In her US Open title defense, Sharapova was upset in her third-round match to 30th seed Agnieszka Radwańska,[69] making it her earliest exit at a Grand Slam singles tournament since the 2004 US Open, where she lost in the same round.[48]

Following the US Open loss, Sharapova did not play again until the Kremlin Cup in October, where she lost her opening match to Victoria Azarenka.[70] Shortly after this, she fell out of the top 5 in the world rankings for the first time since 2004. She qualified for the eight-woman year-end Sony Ericsson Championships because of a withdrawal by Venus Williams before the start of the tournament.[48] Despite having not previously won a match in two months, Sharapova topped her round-robin group at the tournament, after winning all three of her matches, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ana Ivanovic, and Daniela Hantuchová. She then defeated Anna Chakvetadze in the semifinals.[71] In the final, she lost to world No. 1 Henin in a match that lasted 3 hours and 24 minutes. Sharapova reached the top 5 again to end the year.[72]

Sharapova was seeded fifth at the Australian Open, but was not considered a favorite. Nevertheless, she defeated former world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport in the second round, and then world No. 1 Henin in the quarterfinals,[73] ending the latter's 32-match winning streak.[74] She proceeded to the finals by defeating Jelena Janković in the semifinals, and defeated Ana Ivanovic in the final to win her third Grand Slam title, having not dropped a set all tournament.

After the Australian Open, Sharapova extended her winning streak to 18 matches. This run encompassed two wins including at the Tier I Qatar Total Open. Her winning streak was ended in the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open by Kuznetsova. In April, Sharapova won the Bausch & Lomb Championships, having survived her longest-ever match, at 3 hours and 26 minutes long, in the third round against Anabel Medina Garrigues.[75] The following week, at the Family Circle Cup, she lost in the quarterfinals to Serena Williams, her fourth consecutive loss to the American.[76]

In May, Sharapova regained the world No. 1 ranking because of Henin's sudden retirement from professional tennis and request to the WTA that her own ranking be removed immediately.[77] As the top-seeded player at the French Open, Sharapova was within two points[78] of being knocked out by Evgeniya Rodina in the first round, before eventually winning.[79] As a result of losing to eventual finalist Dinara Safina in the fourth round (after serving for the match),[80] she relinquished her No. 1 ranking.[81] Her dip in form continued at Wimbledon, where she lost in the second round to world No. 154 Alla Kudryavtseva. This was her earliest loss at Wimbledon, and at any Grand Slam in almost five years.[82]

Sharapova withdrew from the Rogers Cup tournament in August following a shoulder injury.[83] An MRI scan revealed that she had been suffering from a rotator cuff tear since April, forcing her out of all tournaments for the rest of the season, including the Beijing Olympics, the US Open, and the WTA Tour Championships.[84] In spite of that, she still finished the year ranked world No. 9. In October, after a failed attempt to rehabilitate the shoulder, Sharapova had surgery to repair the tear.[85]

Sharapova did not attempt to defend her Australian Open title, as she continued to recover from surgery.[86] She returned to the sport in March, in the doubles tournament at the BNP Paribas Open, but she and partner Elena Vesnina lost in the first round. After this, Sharapova withdrew from further singles tournaments, resulting in her standing in the world rankings being severely affected. She dropped out of the top 100 for the first time in six years in May, the nadir being world No. 126.[1]

Sharapova made the quarterfinals of the French Open, her best Grand Slam performance of 2009

Playing her first singles tournament in nearly ten months, Sharapova made the quarterfinals of the clay-court Warsaw Open in May, losing to finalist Alona Bondarenko.[87] The following week, in her first Grand Slam appearance since her surgery, she reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, before her run was ended by Dominika Cibulková.[88]

During the summer grass-court season, Sharapova played in Birmingham, losing in the semifinals to Li Na.[89] Sharapova then played at Wimbledon as the 24th seed. She was upset in the second round by Gisela Dulko in three sets.[90]

Sharapova enjoyed considerable success in the summer months, reaching the quarterfinals at the Bank of the West Classic, the semifinals at the LA Women's Tennis Championships, and finishing runner-up at the Rogers Cup to Elena Dementieva. At the 2009 US Open, Sharapova was seeded 29th. She found her way into the third round, defeating Tsvetana Pironkova and Christina McHale all in straight sets. She was stunned in the third round by American teenager Melanie Oudin.[91] It was the second time in Sharapova's career that she lost to a teenager at a Grand Slam, having lost to Agnieszka Radwańska during the same event in 2007. The loss made Sharapova's ranking go down to No. 32.[1]

The final stretch of the season brought Sharapova her first title of the year in Tokyo, after opponent Jelena Janković retired after being down 2–5 to Sharapova in the final.[92] By virtue of that result, she was the recipient of a bye at the China Open, but failed to capitalize on it, losing to Peng Shuai in the third round.[93] She ultimately finished the season at world No. 14, having improved from No. 126 when she started her comeback from injury.[1]

After playing two exhibition tournaments in Asia, Sharapova officially began her season at the Australian Open, where she was upset in her first-round match against Maria Kirilenko. The loss meant that for the first time since 2003, Sharapova had lost her opening match at a Grand Slam event.[94] She then rebounded by winning a smaller American event, the Cellular South Cup, her 21st career WTA title and first of the year.[95]

At the BNP Paribas Open, Sharapova lost in the third round to Zheng Jie, aggravating a bruised bone on her right elbow in the process, which resulted in her eventual withdrawal from the Sony Ericsson Open[96] and the Family Circle Cup.[97]

Returning at the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, Sharapova lost in the first round to Lucie Šafářová. She continued her French Open preparation at the Internationaux de Strasbourg as a wildcard, advancing to the final, where she beat Kristina Barrois. This was her first title on red clay and 22nd overall title.[98] At the French Open, Sharapova's brief clay season culminated with a third-round loss to four-time champion Justine Henin.[99]

Sharapova began her preparations for Wimbledon at the Aegon Classic. She advanced to the final for the fourth time, where she lost to Li Na. As the 16th seed at Wimbledon, Sharapova lost in the fourth round to world No. 1 and eventual champion Serena Williams, despite having three set points in the opening set.[100] The match was seen as another encouraging performance for Sharapova, with some stating their belief that she was approaching the form that would see her contending for Grand Slams once more,[101] and Sharapova herself stating that she felt that she was "in a much better spot than I was last year."[102]

During the US Open Series, Sharapova made two straight finals, losing to Victoria Azarenka at the Bank of the West Classic,[103] and to Kim Clijsters at the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open.[104] In the latter match, Sharapova held three match points while leading 5–3 on Clijsters's serve late in the second set, but could not convert them. At the U.S. Open, Sharapova was the 14th seed. She made it to the fourth round, where she played top seed and 2009 finalist Caroline Wozniacki and lost.[105]

Sharapova's last two tournaments of the season ended in disappointment. She played in the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, where she was upset in the first round by 39-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm.[106] Her last tournament of the year was the China Open, where she lost in the second round to fellow Russian Elena Vesnina.[107] She ended the year at number 18 in the world.[108]

It was announced that Sharapova would bring in Thomas Högstedt as a coach for the 2011 season, joining Michael Joyce.[109] On 5 December, Sharapova won an exhibition match against world No. 2 Vera Zvonareva in Monterrey, Mexico.[110] In Sharapova's first official Australian Open warm-up tournament at the 2011 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, she was seeded first. She lost to the Hungarian veteran and eventual champion Gréta Arn in the quarterfinals. After the ASB Classic, Sharapova decided to split up with Joyce, ending a successful cooperation that brought her two Grand Slam victories and the world No. 1 ranking.[111]

Sharapova participated in the first Grand Slam of the season at the Australian Open, where she was the 14th seed, but lost to Andrea Petkovic in the fourth round.[112] She also had to pull out of the 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships and 2011 Qatar Ladies Open because of an ear infection.[113] Sharapova returned to the tour in March by taking part in the 2011 BNP Paribas Open, where she was seeded 16th. She defeated former world No. 1 Dinara Safina, in the fourth round en route to the semifinal, where she lost to world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki.[114] At the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Sharapova defeated 26th seed Alexandra Dulgheru in the quarterfinals, in a match lasting 3 hours and 28 minutes.[115] In the semifinals, Sharapova took her Australian Open reprisal on Germany's Andrea Petkovic by defeating her. In the final, she was defeated by Victoria Azarenka, despite a late comeback in the second set.[116] With this result, Sharapova returned to the top 10 for the first time since February 2009.[1]

During the clay-court season, Sharapova participated in 2011 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where she lost to Dominika Cibulková in the third round, and the 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, where she was seeded seventh. She defeated top seed Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals and sixth seed Samantha Stosur in the final to take home the title, marking her biggest clay-court victory to date.[117] At the 2011 French Open, Sharapova was seeded seventh. She defeated French wildcard Caroline Garcia in the second round, despite trailing 3–6, 1–4, before winning the last 11 games of the match. In the quarterfinals, she defeated 15th seed Andrea Petkovic, marking her first Grand Slam semifinal since her comeback from the career-threatening shoulder injury. She then lost to sixth seed and eventual champion Li Na, in the semifinals, ending her clay season with a win-loss record of 12–2.[118]

At the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, Sharapova had not dropped a set entering the final, before losing to eighth seed Petra Kvitová in straight sets.[119] This marked her first final in over three years at a Grand Slam event. Sharapova started her summer hard-court season at the 2011 Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California. In a highly anticipated match, Sharapova lost to the eventual champion Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.[120] In her next event at the 2011 Rogers Cup in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Sharapova lost to Galina Voskoboeva in the third round, marking her 100th career loss.[121]

Sharapova at the Western & Southern Open, August 2011

Sharapova then contested the 2011 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Ohio. As the fourth seed, she received a bye into the second round. On the way to her fourth final of the year, she beat Anastasia Rodionova,[122] 14th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova,[123] tenth seed Samantha Stosur,[124] and 2nd seed Vera Zvonareva.[125] In the final, she defeated fellow former world No. 1 Jelena Janković, in 2 hours and 49 minutes, making it the longest WTA tour final of the year.[126] She subsequently moved up to world No. 4, her highest ranking since August 2008 and the highest since her comeback from her shoulder injury.[127]

Sharapova entered the US Open, where she was seeded third. She beat Heather Watson, and Anastasiya Yakimova, to reach the third round. She was then upset by Flavia Pennetta. However, because of the fall of Kim Clijsters and Vera Zvonareva in the rankings, Sharapova climbed to world No. 2.[128] Sharapova's next tournament was the 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan.[129] As second seed, she received a bye into the second round, where she beat Tamarine Tanasugarn. She then beat 13th seed Julia Görges, before retiring against Petra Kvitová in the quarterfinal, 3–4, after slipping on the baseline, suffering an ankle injury. This also forced her to withdraw from the 2011 China Open the following week. Sharapova then flew to Istanbul to prepare for the 2011 WTA Tour Championships, her first time qualifying since 2007. During the WTA Tour Championships, Sharapova withdrew during the round-robin stage after defeats against Samantha Stosur and Li Na, as a result of the ankle injury she had suffered in Tokyo.[130] Sharapova ended the year as No. 4 in the world, her first top-10 finish since 2008 and first top-5 finish since 2007.

Sharapova withdrew from the 2012 Brisbane International because of her ongoing ankle injury.[131] Her first tournament of the season was the 2012 Australian Open, where she was seeded fourth. Sharapova advanced to the final round defeating Gisela Dulko, Jamie Hampton, 30th seed Angelique Kerber, 14th seed Sabine Lisicki, compatriot Ekaterina Makarova and world No. 2 Petra Kvitová. In a match that decided who would become the new World No. 1, she lost to Victoria Azarenka in straight sets. As a result, her ranking improved to world No. 3 behind Azarenka and Kvitová. She then played in the Paris, where she lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Angelique Kerber. As a result, her ranking improved to world No. 2.

Sharapova at the 2012 Summer Olympics, July 2012

At the Indian Wells, after battling for over three hours, Sharapova defeated compatriot Maria Kirilenko to set up a semifinal meeting with Ana Ivanovic. Sharapova advanced to the final after Ivanovic retired due to a hip injury.[132] In the final, she played world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka in a rematch of the Australian Open final, but lost again in straight sets. Sharapova's next tournament was the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open, where she was seeded 2nd and received a bye. In the final, Sharapova lost in straight sets to fifth seed Agnieszka Radwańska. This was her third loss of the year in finals out of four tournaments played so far. In the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Sharapova was seeded second. She had a bye in the first round, and advanced to the third round after Alizé Cornet retired in the second set. She won her first title of the year in Stuttgart after defeating world number one Victoria Azarenka. In doing so, Sharapova defeated three current Grand Slam title holders to win the tournament. Sharapova then played on the 2012 Mutua Madrid Open, a premier mandatory event. In the third round, Sharapova's opponent Lucie Šafářová was unable to compete and withdrew from the tournament, earning Sharapova a walkover into the quarterfinals.[133] She was then beaten by eventual champion Serena Williams in straight sets.

As the defending champion and second seed at the Italian Open, Sharapova had a bye in the first round. In the semifinals, Sharapova defeated Angelique Kerber to advance to the final for the second year in a row. In the final, Sharapova saved match point for a 2-hour 52-minute win over Li Na for her 26th career title.[134] This marked the fourth time Sharapova had successfully defended a title.

Sharapova was seeded second at the French Open, where she defeated Alexandra Cadanțu, Ayumi Morita, 28th seed Peng Shuai, Klára Koukalová, Kaia Kanepi and Petra Kvitová on her way to the finals, allowing her to regain the world No. 1 ranking. In the final, she defeated Sara Errani for her fourth career Grand Slam title (her first since 2008) and her first French Open title. Sharapova became only the tenth woman to complete a Career Grand Slam with the French Open victory.[135] During the tournament, Sharapova was asked by the Russian Olympic Committee to bear the flag at the opening ceremony for the 2012 Summer Olympics,[136] becoming the first female Russian athlete to receive this honor.

Sharapova decided not to compete in any of the grass-court warm-up events and instead proceeded straight to the Wimbledon Championships, where she was the top seed at a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2008 French Open. She breezed through her first three matches over Anastasia Rodionova, Tsvetana Pironkova and the crafty Hsieh Su-wei, extended her winning streak to 15 matches. However, she was upset in the fourth round in straight sets by the 15th-seeded Sabine Lisicki, whom she beat in the previous year's semifinals. Due to being unable to defend her finalist points from the year before, she relinquished the world No. 1 ranking back to Azarenka.

She made her Olympic debut at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and was seeded third in the singles draw.[137] She easily beat Shahar Pe'er and hometown favorite Laura Robson in straight sets, before avenging her defeat against Liscki four weeks prior by beating the German in the third round in a tight three-set match. In the quarterfinals, Sharapova defeated fellow former No. 1 Kim Clijsters to advance to the semifinals, where she faced her compatriot, Maria Kirilenko. Sharapova defeated Kirilenko to reach the Olympic final and guarantee a medal. Facing off against rival Serena Williams, with both players looking for their first Olympic singles gold medal (and a chance to complete a career Golden Slam), Sharapova was thrashed by Williams[138] in what was to be her worst defeat to the American, winning only a single game. Nonetheless, with this performance, Sharapova won an Olympic silver medal and overtook Agnieszka Radwańska as world No. 2.

Sharapova did not compete in any of the summer hard-court warm-up events after the Olympics,[139] pulling out of both Montreal and Cincinnati (where she was the defending champion) due to a stomach virus. Seeded third at the US Open, Sharapova breezed through her first three matches against Melinda Czink, Lourdes Domínguez Lino, and Mallory Burdette, losing a total of just seven games. In the fourth round, compatriot Nadia Petrova took it to a third set and was winning until a rain delay. After the delay, Sharapova came back to win, advancing to the quarterfinals of the US Open for the first time since she won the tournament in 2006. In the quarterfinals, she faced 11th seed Marion Bartoli, who was 4–0 up before a rain delay, which delayed the match a whole day. Sharapova then came back from a set down to win.[140] In the semifinals, Sharapova lost to world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka despite winning the first set.

Sharapova's next tournament was the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. She made it to the quarterfinals, losing to Samantha Stosur.[141] At the China Open she was seeded second. In the finals she was again defeated by Azarenka.[142] Sharapova's next tournament was the year-end championships in Istanbul, where she was seeded second. She defeated Sara Errani, Agnieszka Radwańska, and Samantha Stosur in the round-robin matches. In the semifinals, Sharapova beat Azarenka, bringing their head-to-head meetings to 7–5 in Azarenka's favour. Although Sharapova made it to the final, Azarenka clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking with her two round-robin wins. She lost to Serena Williams for the 13th consecutive time in the final and the third time that year, notching her best score line in three matchups with a 4–6, 3–6 defeat.[143]

Sharapova's first scheduled tournament of the 2013 season was the Brisbane International, where she was seeded second. However, she withdrew from the tournament before it began, citing a collarbone injury.[144] She started her season at the Australian Open seeded second. She defeated Olga Puchkova and Misaki Doi in the first two rounds without losing a game in either match, the first time a player won in back-to-back double bagels at a Grand Slam tournament since the 1985 Australian Open.[145] Sharapova then defeated Venus Williams, Kirsten Flipkens, and Ekaterina Makarova, where in losing nine games, she overtook Monica Seles' record of fewest games dropped heading into a Grand Slam semifinal.[146] She lost to Li Na in the semifinals.

Sharapova at the French Open, May 2013

She reached the semifinals at the Qatar Total Open, losing to Serena Williams for the 10th straight time in her career.[147] Her next tournament was Indian Wells, where she was seeded second. She received a bye into the second round and successfully reached the final without dropping a set, where she faced 2011 Indian wells champion and former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. After an hour and twenty-one minutes, Sharapova won the tournament.[148] This was Maria's 28th career title and second at Indian Wells. Her win also made her the No. 2 player in the world behind Serena Williams.[149][150][151]

Maria then competed at the Sony Open. Once again she reached the final without dropping a set and faced world No. 1 Serena Williams. Maria started the match strong, winning the first set. However, Serena won the second and dominated the third set. This was Maria's 11th consecutive loss against Serena.[152][153]

Next, she played at the indoor clay event in Stuttgart, where she was the defending champion. Maria was top seed and had a bye in the first round. Her first three matches were long three-setters: she first beat world No. 25 Lucie Šafářová, dropping the second set on a tiebreak, then Ana Ivanovic, then in the semifinals, she won against third seed Angelique Kerber. In the final, in what was her ninth victory against the Chinese out of 14 matches, she beat second seed world No. 5 Li Na in straight sets to win her 29th career title.[154]

A week later, she competed at the Madrid Open, reaching the final, again without dropping a set. She faced Serena Williams for the 15th time, losing for the 12th consecutive time in straight sets.[155]

Next, she played in Rome, where she was seeded second and had a bye in the first round. She beat 16th seed Sloane Stephens in straight sets (with the loss of three games) in the third round, but then did not play her quarterfinal match against seventh seed Sara Errani and retired from the tournament due to a viral illness.[156][157]

At the 2013 French Open, Sharapova reached the final again, beating Azarenka in three sets in the semifinals, but there she lost in straight sets to Serena Williams. At Wimbledon she was comprehensively beaten in the second round by qualifier Michelle Larcher de Brito. Sharapova then returned to the tour at the 2013 Western & Southern Open, where she lost her opening match to Sloane Stephens in three sets. A week later Sharapova withdrew from the U.S. Open, citing a shoulder injury, which prematurely ended her season.[158]

Sharapova had not played since August 2013 due to a recurring shoulder injury and made her comeback at the 2014 Brisbane International.[159] Sharapova advanced to the semi-finals where she was beaten in straight sets by Serena Williams. At the 2014 Australian Open Sharapova, ranked 3rd, was knocked out of the tournament in the 4th round by the 20th seed, and eventual finalist, Dominika Cibulková. Sharapova lost the match in 3 sets. Sharapova then participated in GDF Suez where she was upset in the semifinals to fellow Russian and eventual tournament winner Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets.

In March, playing in the Indian Wells Masters, she was beaten by 22-year-old Italian Camila Giorgi in the third round, in three sets.[160] Therefore, due to the WTA ranking system, this would mean another drop in ranking, bringing her to world No. 7. In April, she won Stuttgart Open, her first title of the year and 30th of her career by defeating Ana Ivanovic in three sets. Stuttgart is the only tournament Sharapova won three times. In May, Maria won the Madrid Open, her second title of the year and first in Madrid, defeating Simona Halep in three sets. With nine clay titles, she joins Venus Williams as the third most successful active player on the surface.[161] Sharapova then competed in the Italian Open in Rome, where she made the third round. She lost to Ana Ivanovic in straight sets.

Sharapova was seeded 7th at 2014 French Open and defeated Ksenia Pervak, Tsvetana Pironkova, and Paula Ormaechea in the first 3 rounds, all in straight sets. In the fourth round she defeated Samantha Stosur, reeling off nine straight games from a set and 3–4 down. This marked her 14th win in 16 meetings with the Australian. In the quarters, she defeated Garbiñe Muguruza, again coming back from a set down, to reach the semifinals at the French for the fourth consecutive year. In the semi-finals, she defeated Eugenie Bouchard, once again coming back from a set down, to reach her third consecutive French Open final. In the final, she defeated Simona Halep in three sets to win her second French Open title and fifth overall Major title. This was the first time since 2001 where a third set was contested in the final. The match took just over three hours, and has been described as one of the best women's finals in recent years. [162] At the 2014 Wimbledon Championships, Sharapova reached the fourth round, where she lost to German Angelique Kerber, the ninth seed, in three sets.

Sharapova then played the 2014 Rogers Cup in Montreal where she was the 4th seed. She received a first round bye and faced Garbiñe Muguruza in her opener, she won in 3 sets. In the following round she lost in 3 sets to Muguruza's compatriot, Carla Suárez Navarro. At the 2014 Western & Southern Open, Sharapova was seeded 5th and defeated Madison Keys after having a first round bye. She then went on to defeat Pavlyuchenkova and newly crowned world No. 2 Simona Halep to reach the last four. She faced Ivanovic again but lost in a roller coaster three-setter despite having two match points. Sharapova then travelled to New York for the US Open where she was the 5th seed. She defeated compatriot Maria Kirilenko and Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru before overcoming 26th seeded German Sabine Lisicki in round 3 to set up a clash with Caroline Wozniacki in the round of 16. Sharapova lost to the Dane in 3 sets.

Sharapova next played the inaugural 2014 Wuhan open where she was seeded 4th. After receiving a first round bye, she defeated compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova in 3 sets and next faced Timea Bacsinszky. Although Sharapova won their 2 previous encounters, she was stunned by Timea in 2 tight sets, thus ending her campaign at the premier 5 tournament.

The following week, Sharapova played the China Open in Beijing, a Premier Mandatory-level tournament. Reaching the final without dropping a set, Sharapova defeated world No. 9 Ana Ivanovic in the semis. In the final, Sharapova met reigning Wimbledon champion and world No. 3 Petra Kvitová. Sharapova won the match in 2 hours 30 minutes, defeating the Czech in three sets. By virtue of the win, Sharapova's ranking rose from No. 4 to No. 2 in the world and she secured herself the second seeding for the WTA year-end Championship. Also, Sharapova closed in on the year-end number-one ranking spot, being just 467 points behind Williams.

Maria was ranked No. 2 heading into the WTA Tour Championships, with a chance of overtaking Serena Williams as world No. 1. She was drawn in the white group, with Petra Kvitová, Agnieszka Radwańska and Caroline Wozniacki. Her first match was a three set loss to Wozniacki. Maria also lost her 2nd round robin match to Kvitová in straight sets; her first loss to Petra since 2011. Maria still had a chance of making the Semis, but she needed to beat Radwańska in two sets, and Wozniacki needed to beat Petra in straight sets as well. She ended her year with a win against Radwańska in three sets, finishing 3rd overall in the White group. She ended the year as world No. 2, behind Serena Williams.

Sharapova kicked off her 2015 season at the Brisbane International where she was top seed and received a bye in the first round. Sharapova defeated Yaroslava Shvedova and Carla Suárez Navarro. In the semi finals, Sharapova faced Elina Svitolina, beating her in straight sets. Reaching the final without dropping a set, Sharapova played an intense match against second seed Ana Ivanovic but came through in three sets. This was Sharapova's 10th win over Ivanovic and by winning her 34th title, it meant that Sharapova had won at least one title every year for 13 consecutive years. Also, it was just her second title in Australia so far, and for both she beat Ivanovic. Sharapova's next tournament was the 2015 Australian Open, where she beat Petra Martić and fellow countrywoman Alexandra Panova (despite having two match points against her) in the first two rounds, before beating Zarina Diyas and Peng Shuai in straight sets. There, she beat seventh-seeded Eugenie Bouchard and fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets to make her fourth Australian Open final, where she lost to Serena Williams in straight sets, worsening her record against her to 2–17. In February, following her participation in the Fed Cup, Sharapova played in Acapulco, where she beat Shelby Rogers, Mariana Duque Mariño and Magdaléna Rybáriková to advance the semifinals. Sharapova later withdrew from her match against Caroline Garcia, citing a stomach virus. Next, in Indian Wells, she beat Yanina Wickmayer and Victoria Azarenka in straight sets, before losing to defending champion Flavia Pennetta in the fourth round in three sets. After receiving a bye in the first round of the Miami Open, Sharapova lost in the second round to fellow Russian Daria Gavrilova in straight sets, marking her earliest exit from the tournament since her first appearance in Miami in 2003.

Sharapova began her clay season in Stuttgart where she was the three-time defending champion. After receiving a first-round bye, she lost in the second round to Angelique Kerber in three sets, snapping Sharapova's win streak at the tournament and marking her first-ever loss at the tournament, having won it three times in a row (2012, 2013, & 2014). The loss also snapped a 64 match win streak on clay where Sharapova won the first set and went on to win the match. The last time Sharapova lost a match on clay after winning the first set was against Dinara Safina in the fourth round at the 2008 French Open. As a result of the loss Sharapova lost the No. 2 ranking to Simona Halep. Sharapova's next clay court tournament was the Madrid Open where she was the defending champion. She advanced to the semifinals. There, she was beaten by Svetlana Kuznetsova for the first time since 2008. Sharapova's next tournament was the Italian Open in Rome where she was seeded 3rd. She beat Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals in straight sets to set up a re-match with Daria Gavrilova. She beat Gavrilova in straight sets to advance to the final, where she faced Carla Suárez Navarro. After losing the first set, Sharapova managed to claim the next two sets and her third Rome title. By winning Rome, Sharapova reclaimed the No. 2 ranking over Halep, until August 24, when Halep went again to world No. 2, due to Sharapova's not playing any match after Wimbledon (where she reached the semifinals but lost to Serena), including US Open, due to injuries.

She then received a wildcard into Wuhan Open[163] and received a bye into the 2nd round. However, she retired in her match against Barbora Strýcová in the 3rd set, citing a left forearm injury.[164] She then withdrew from the China Open,[165] where she was the defending champion, to recover in time for the WTA Finals and the Fed Cup final. At the WTA Finals, she was drawn into the red group, alongside Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwańska and Flavia Pennetta. She then won all three of her round-robin matches, and achieved 1st position in her group. Her win over Pennetta also marked the last match of the Italian's career. Sharapova then played the player who finished 2nd in the White Group, Petra Kvitová. She lost the match in straight sets, despite having a 5–1 lead in the second set.

Sharapova then played in the Fed Cup final, winning both of her matches, against Karolína Plíšková and got revenge against Petra Kvitová for her loss in the WTA Finals. However, Russia eventually lost 2–3 after falling in a crucial doubles rubber. The Russian ended the season as being the world No. 4, despite not playing the US Open Series and missing most of the Fall Asian Hardcourt season. She had a win-loss record of 39–9 and won 2 titles, reaching the second week in all of the Grand Slams she played.

Sharapova began her 2016 season at the Brisbane International where she was the defending champion. She would have faced Ekaterina Makarova in the 1st round, but withdrew hours before the match, citing a left forearm injury, and was replaced by Margarita Gasparyan.[166]

Due to Agnieszka Radwańska winning the Shenzhen Open, Sharapova was seeded fifth at the Australian Open. She was drawn to face Nao Hibino in the first round and won in straight sets. She then won her second round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, also in straight sets. Sharapova then lost her first set in the tournament as she defeated Lauren Davis in three sets. In the fourth round, she then played her first career match against Belinda Bencic and won in two tight sets over two hours of play. Sharapova then faced Serena Williams in the quarterfinal, a repeat of the previous year's final. Although she started the match brightly, she was defeated in straight sets. She failed to defend her finalist points from the previous year, and fell to sixth in the rankings after the tournament.

After the Australian Open, Sharapova was nominated by team captain Anastasia Myskina to play the Fed Cup, but she had a forearm injury and was only listed for the doubles match.[167] Russia lost the first three matches and chose Makarova to replace Sharapova for the dead doubles match. In the end, Russia lost 3–1 but by being nominated for the match, Sharapova successfully qualified for the Summer Olympics having played sufficient Fed Cup matches to meet the criteria.

Citing the left forearm injury sustained at the start of the year, Sharapova withdrew from the Qatar Open,[168] and a week before the BNP Paribas Open, she withdrew from that for the same reason.[169]

Following a failed drug test from the 2016 Australian Open, in which she tested positive for meldonium, a substance that had been banned, effective January 1, 2016 by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Sharapova was provisionally suspended from competitive tennis with effect from March 12.[170] On June 8 she was banned for two years by the International Tennis Federation.[171] Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko has implied that Sharapova was targeted due to the political crisis in Russian-American relations.[172] In October 2016, Sharapova's ban was reduced from 24 months (2 years) to 15 months, starting from 26 January 2016, the date of the drug test she had failed.

Sharapova returned to the WTA tour in April 2017. She was given wild cards to compete in the following three WTA tournaments: Women's Stuttgart Open, Madrid Open and Italian Open. She played her first match of her comeback on April 26 at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, a tournament that she had previously won on three occasions. Her first round opponent was Italian Roberta Vinci, who she went on to defeat in straight sets to advance to the second round, making it her first victory since her return.[173] In her on-court interview Sharapova said, "The first few seconds before you enter the arena – it's been a stage of mine since I was a young girl – I've been waiting for this moment for a long time."[173] She followed it up with another straight sets victory over countrywoman Ekaterina Makarova in the second round. In the quarterfinals, she defeated qualifier Anett Kontaveit in straight sets, before losing to Kristina Mladenovic in the semifinals.

Sharapova then took part in the 2017 Mutua Madrid Open where she beat Mirjana Lučić-Baroni in three sets. Sharapova played a second round encounter with Eugenie Bouchard which after three sets Sharapova lost.[174] In the 2017 Internazionali BNL d'Italia opening match she defeated Christina McHale in straight sets. In her next match, she again faced the 16th seed Mirjana Lučić-Baroni in a rematch of their encounter in Madrid. At one set apiece, Sharapova needed a medical timeout for her thigh, which ultimately forced her to retire in the third set. Just before the players came on court, French Federation president Bernard Giudicelli announced that Sharapova would not be receiving a wildcard in the main draw or the qualifying draw, preventing her from playing in the 2017 French Open.[175]

Sharapova then received a wildcard to play Birmingham Classic. However, the same thigh injury at the Italian Open forced her to withdraw from the entire grass season, including the Wimbledon qualifying rounds. Sharapova was given another wildcard at the Stanford Classic, her first hard court tournament since the 2016 Australian Open. Her first round opponent was Jennifer Brady, whom she defeated in three sets. The win also pushed Sharapova back inside the top 150. Sharapova withdrew from the next round with a left arm injury. She was set to make a return at the Canadian Open, where she had received a wildcard, but ultimately withdraw due to a left arm injury. She was set to play the Cincinnati Open as a wildcard but pulled out to be fully fit for the US Open, which had also granted Sharapova a wildcard entry. She opened the US Open against world No. 2 Simona Halep, and won in three sets, her first US Open win since the 2014 US Open. In second round she defeated Tímea Babos, coming from a set down to win in three. In the third round, she played the American wildcard Sofia Kenin, an 18-year-old who was making her first main draw appearance in a major. Sharapova defeated the teenager in tight straight sets to advance to the second week of the US Open. She was defeated by 16th seed Anastasija Sevastova from Latvia in the fourth round.

Sharapova received and accepted wildcards to enter the China Open and Tianjin Open, both held in China. In her opening match at the China Open, Sharapova once again faced Sevastova, this time prevailing in a three-hour, three-set match. In the second round, Sharapova defeated Ekaterina Makarova, seeing her move back into the top 100 for the first time since before her suspension. In the third round, Sharapova lost to Simona Halep in straight sets, marking her first loss to the Romanian after seven consecutive victories. Sharapova then remained in China for the Tianjin Open, which was her first appearance at the tournament. Sharapova went on to win the tournament, marking her first WTA title since 2015, without dropping a set, including coming back from 1–4 down in the first set and 1–5 down in the second set against 19-year-old Aryna Sabalenka in the final. The result saw her eventually climb the rankings into the top 60, and she later received another wildcard to enter the 2017 Kremlin Cup. Sharapova recorded her first opening round loss since 2013, with a straight-sets loss to eighth seed Magdaléna Rybáriková.[176]

Sharapova began her 2018 season at the Shenzhen Open. She defeated Mihaela Buzarnescu, Alison Riske and Zarina Diyas to advance to the semifinals, where she fell to defending champion Katerina Siniakova.[177] Sharapova then returned to the Australian Open for the first time since her suspension, defeating Tatjana Maria and Anastasija Sevastova in the opening two rounds, before losing to Angelique Kerber in straight sets in the third round.[178] Sharapova received a wildcard to enter the Qatar Open, losing in three sets to Monica Niculescu in the opening round. Sharapova pulled out of the Dubai Tennis Championships due to citing a forearm strain.[179] Sharapova played the Indian Wells Open falling in the opening round to Naomi Osaka in straight sets. Sharapova was set to play the Miami Open but withdrew due to a forearm injury.[180]

Sharapova started her clay court season at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Sharapova faced sixth seed Caroline Garcia in the opening round but lost in three tight sets. This was her fourth consecutive loss, marking her fall out of the top 50. Sharapova ended her losing streak with a straight sets win over Mihaela Buzărnescu at the Madrid Open.[181] Sharapova defeated Irina-Camelia Begu,[182] and Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets to advance to quarterfinals.[183] Sharapova fell to Kiki Bertens in three sets, despite the loss, she climbed back inside the top 40. Sharapova began her Italian Open campaign with a three set win over 16th seed Ashleigh Barty. In the second round, Sharapova defeated Dominika Cibulková in three sets,[184] following it up with a straight sets victory over Daria Gavrilova in the third round. From a set down, she went on to defeat world No. 5 Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinals. Despite taking the opening set in the semifinals, Sharapova's run in Rome ended with a three set loss to world No. 1 Simona Halep. Despite the loss, her performance improved her ranking inside the top 30 and being seeded for the first time since her suspension at the 2016 Australian Open. Sharapova began her 2018 French Open campaign with a three set win over Richèl Hogenkamp and continued with a straight sets win over Croatia's Donna Vekic in the second round. In the third round, she defeated world No. 6 Karolína Plíšková in straight sets to advance to the second week of the French Open. In the fourth round, Sharapova was set to play Serena Williams, but Williams withdrew due to injury, giving Sharapova a walkover into her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since the 2016 Australian Open. Sharapova's run ended with a straight sets loss to world No. 3 Garbiñe Muguruza in the quarterfinals.

Sharapova was set to play the Birmingham Classic but withdrew to fully recover ahead of Wimbledon. Sharapova played two exhibition matches, losing her debut to Greece's Maria Sakkari but defeating Natalia Vikhlyantseva. Sharapova exited Wimbledon with a three set lost to Vitalia Diatchenko despite being up a set and serving for the match. This marked her worst Grand Slam result since the 2010 Australian Open and her first ever opening round loss at Wimbledon. Sharapova was set to play at the Silicon Valley Classic but withdrew due to a change in her schedule. Sharapova played at the Rogers Cup and recorded straight sets wins over Sesil Karatantcheva and Daria Kasatkina. Sharapova fell in the third round with a straight sets loss to World No.6 Caroline Garcia. Sharapova was set to play at the Western & Southern Open but withdrew before the tournament started. Sharapova began her US Open campaign in the opening round, with a straight set win over Patty Schnyder. Sharapova continued her run with straight set wins over Sorana Cîrstea and Jelena Ostapenko. In the fourth round, Sharapova's run ended with a straight sets loss to Carla Suárez Navarro. This marked the first time Sharapova had lost in the night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium, previously having a 22–0 record. Sharapova ended her season with withdraws at the China Open, Tianjin Open and Kremlin Cup with a right shoulder injury. Sharapova ended the season inside the top 30, ranked 29.

Sharapova began her 2019 season at the Shenzhen Open. In the opening round, she defeated Timea Bacsinszky in straight sets which was also her 800th career singles match. In the second round, Sharapova defeated Wang Xinyu after Wang retired in the second set. In the quarterfinals, Sharapova lost to Aryna Sabalenka after she retired in the second set. Sharapova started her Australian Open campaign without the loss of a game in a win over Harriet Dart. Sharapova followed up with a straight set win over Rebecca Peterson and a three set victory over defending champion Caroline Wozniacki. Sharapova's run ended with a three set loss to Ashleigh Barty in the fourth round. Sharapova recorded her first win in Russia in thirteen years with a straight sets win over Daria Gavrilova at the 2019 St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy. Sharapova withdrew from her second round match against Daria Kasatkina. Sharapova was set to play at the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open but withdrew before the tournaments started due to a shoulder injury for which she stated she was to have minor surgery. Sharapova later withdrew from the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Madrid Open, Italian Open and French Open due to not being able to compete at her highest level because of her lingering shoulder injury.

Sharapova made a return after being away for over four months, in the grasscourt season at the Mallorca Open where she received a wild card. In the opening round, Sharapova defeated Viktória Kužmová in straight sets and recorded her first grasscourt win since 2015. Sharapova's run ended in the second round with a straight sets lost to Angelique Kerber.[185] In the opening round at Wimbledon, Sharapova retired in the third set against Pauline Parmentier, despite being up a set and a break during the second set. Sharapova lost in the opening round of the Rogers Cup to Anett Kontaveit in three sets. Sharapova ended her three match losing streak with a straight sets win over Alison Riske in the opening round of the Western & Southern Open. In the second round, Sharapova was defeated by Ashleigh Barty in straight sets. Sharapova fell in the opening round of the US Open to eventual finalist Serena Williams in straight sets, it was also her final match of the year. She ended the year ranked no. 131, her lowest year-end ranking since 2002.

Sharapova began her 2020 season at an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, where she defeated Ajla Tomljanović in straight sets.[186] Although she was scheduled to play exhibition at the Hawaii Open a week later, she pulled out of the tournament because she was unprepared.[187] Sharapova received a wildcard at the Brisbane International and fell in the opening round to Jennifer Brady in three sets. Sharapova participated at the Kooyong Classic, where her opening match against Laura Siegemund was stopped after the second set due to heavy smoke, before being defeated by Tomljanović in the second round. As a wildcard at the 2020 Australian Open, Sharapova was defeated in straight sets by Donna Vekić in the first round. This marked her third consecutive first-round loss at a Grand Slam tournament and, following the tournament, her ranking fell to no. 369, her lowest ranking since August 2002.[188]

That defeat to Vekic in Melbourne would prove to be Sharapova's final match of her career, as on 26 February 2020, Sharapova announced her retirement from tennis. In an essay in Vanity Fair, Sharapova wrote: "I'm new to this, so please forgive me. Tennis – I'm saying goodbye. But as I embark on my next chapter, I want anyone who dreams of excelling in anything to know that doubt and judgement are inevitable. You will fail hundreds of times and the world will watch you. Accept it. Trust yourself. I promise you that you will prevail."[189]

Sharapova at The Championships, Wimbledon in 2009.

Early in her career, Sharapova's first and second serves were regarded as powerful,[239] and she was believed to possess one of the best deliveries on the Tour.[248] Since the beginning of 2007, however, problems with her shoulder have reduced the effectiveness of her serve.[248] The shoulder injury resulted in not only her inconsistent first serves, but also her hitting high numbers of double faults.[249] Two-time US Open singles champion Tracy Austin believes that Sharapova often loses confidence in the rest of her game when she experiences problems with her serve and consequently produces more unforced errors and generally plays more tentatively,[250] while tennis writer Joel Drucker remarked that her serve was the "catalyst for her entire game", and that her struggles with it left her "unmasked."[248]

In her return from layoff in 2008 to 2009, she used an abbreviated motion, which was somewhat less powerful, and though producing aces, also gave a very high number of double faults. After her early loss at the 2009 US Open, Sharapova returned to a more elongated motion, similar to her pre-surgery serve. She was able to produce speeds greater than before, including a 121-mph serve hit at the Birmingham tournament in 2010 – the fastest serve of her career.[251]

However, since her shoulder operation Sharapova was unable to control her serve. This led to numerous faults, as she was unable to feel how much power she was generating.[252] The new action led to an elbow injury, and, although under Thomas Högstedt it improved, it could still be erratic.[253] This improvement in serving can be seen in the 2013 Australian Open and following tournaments where Sharapova committed fewer double faults than in previous years. From 2018 through to the end of her career, Sharapova's serve became a major liability, regularly serving between 5 and 10 double faults per match.

Because she predicated her game on power, Sharapova's preferred surfaces early in her career were the fast-playing hard and grass courts, as evident through her 25 victories on hard court and grass court. This was most notable when she won the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 U.S. Open and 2008 Australian Open crowns, where she had her career breakthrough and played her peak tennis level, respectively.

Sharapova initially was not as well-suited to the slower clay courts as she was on hard and grass courts. Sharapova admitted in 2007 that she was not as comfortable with her movement on clay compared with other court surfaces and once described herself as like a "cow on ice" after a match on clay,[254] due to her inability to slide. Later in her career, she showed improvement on this surface with respect to experience, as evidenced with her first WTA red-clay title at the 2010 Internationaux de Strasbourg, 7 years since playing on the WTA circuit. She won her first French Open title and captured the career grand slam at the 2012 French Open and as of 2014, led the WTA tour of active players with the highest winning percentage on clay, with an 84.25% winning rate.[255] Since her shoulder injury, her best surface became clay over grass and hard courts, and with her victory at the 2014 French Open, she won the French Open twice, which is more than she won any other slam, and three out of her four last Grand Slam Finals have all been at the French Open (3 consecutive finals from 2012 to 2014).

In 2011, Sharapova was engaged to Slovenian professional basketball player Sasha Vujačić,[264][265] with whom she had been in a relationship since 2009.[266] On 31 August 2012, Sharapova confirmed that the pair had ended the engagement and separated earlier that year.[267] Between 2012 and 2015, Sharapova dated Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov, and, since 2018, Sharapova has been in a relationship with British businessman Alexander Gilkes.[268] In December 2020, Sharapova and Gilkes revealed they are engaged.[269]

Sharapova has lived in the United States since moving there at the age of seven. Besides a home in Bradenton, Florida, she also has a residence in Manhattan Beach, California.[270] From 2005 to 2011, Sharapova was named to the Forbes Celebrity 100, which attempts to compile the top 100 most powerful celebrities of that year.[271] Sharapova made varying remarks on how long she intends to maintain her tennis career. Following the retirement of 25-year-old Justine Henin in 2008, Sharapova said, "If I [were] 25, and I'd won so many Grand Slams, I'd quit too."[272] In an interview after the 2008 Australian Open, she balked at the idea of playing for another ten years, saying that she hoped to have a "nice husband and a few kids" by then.[273] However, in an interview before her 2012 Australian Open semifinal, Sharapova changed her stance, saying she intended to continue playing tennis for as long as she enjoyed playing the game. Sharapova stated, "I'm sure when I was 17 years old and someone said, you'll be playing for another eight years, it would be like, you're not going to see me at a press conference at 25 years old. But years go on. I missed a year in my career—I didn't play that year. I've said this, just before the tournament, a few weeks before, I woke up, and I was just so happy to be going back on the court. I felt so fresh, full of energy, just with a really good perspective. Times change, obviously. I see myself playing this sport for many more years because it's something that gives me the most pleasure in my life. I think it helps when you know you're good at something, and you can always improve it. It obviously helps with the encouragement."[274]

Although a United States resident since 1994, Sharapova still prefers Russian citizenship. Sharapova has stated the reason she prefers to keep Russian citizenship is because "it is about the family environment, it is about the rich culture. Just life experiences that I look back to and I know that for so many years I was shaped into the individual I was from those experiences. And not necessarily simply the country, but the people, the mentality and the toughness and that never giving up attitude".[275]

The Maria Sharapova Foundation is committed to helping children around the world achieve their dreams. Sharapova has donated $100,000 to Chernobyl-related projects. In partnership with the UNDP, she launched a $210,000 scholarship program for students from Chernobyl-affected areas of Belarus that will award five-year scholarships to 12 students at the Belarusian State Academy of Arts and the Belarusian State University.[276] At the 2004 US Open, Sharapova, along with several other Russian female tennis players, wore a black ribbon in observance of the tragedy after the Beslan school hostage crisis, which took place only days before.[277] In 2005, she donated around US$50,000 to those affected by the crisis.[48] On February 14, 2007, Sharapova was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and donated US$210,000 to UNDP Chernobyl-recovery projects. She stated at the time that she was planning to travel back to the area after Wimbledon in 2008,[278] though it didn't happen since she had to travel back to the US because of her shoulder injury.[279] She fulfilled the trip in late June/early July 2010. Sharapova helped to promote the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and was the first torch bearer in the torch-lighting ceremony during the opening festivities. In addition, with Angela Haynes, Maria Kirilenko, Nicole Vaidišová, Rennae Stubbs, Governor Jeb Bush, and Jennifer Capriati, Sharapova participated in an exhibition in Tampa in December 2004, raising money for the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund.[280] In July 2008, Sharapova sent a message on DVD to the memorial service of cancer victim Emily Bailes, who had performed the coin toss ahead of the 2004 Wimbledon final that Sharapova had gone on to win.[281]

Sharapova's autobiography, Unstoppable: My Life So Far was published on 12 September 2017, by Sarah Crichton Books.[282]

Current through the 2020 Australian Open.

Finals: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	2004	Hard	Serena Williams	4–6, 6–2, 6–4
Loss	2007	Hard	Justine Henin	7–5, 5–7, 3–6
Loss	2012	Hard	Serena Williams	4–6, 3–6