The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Maria Sharapova

  • Sharapova elected into Tennis Hall of Fame

    Sharapova elected into Tennis Hall of Fame

    Five-time singles major champion Maria Sharapova and American twins Bob and Mike Bryan, who formed the most successful doubles team in history, were named to the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025, organisers said..

    Sharapova, one of only 10 women in tennis to achieve a career Grand Slam in singles, became the first Russian woman to reach the world number one ranking in 2005. She also won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

    Renowned for her never-say-die approach to the sport despite regularly being hampered by shoulder problems, Sharapova was one of the game’s most recognisable players but her image took a hit after the announcement in 2016 that she failed a drug test.

    Read Also: African table tennis body  seal partnership with  Ethiopian Airlines

    Sharapova tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open in 2016 and was later banned by the International Tennis Federation for two years before an appeal saw her suspension reduced to 15 months.

    She returned to competition in 2017 and retired in February 2020, ending a career in which she won almost $40 million in prize money, became one of the highest paid sportswomen in the world and one of the most recognisable athletes.

    The Bryans won 16 Grand Slam men’s doubles titles together and remain the most successful duos in ATP Tour history, holding the record for most weeks (438) atop the doubles world rankings.

  • Osaka too strong for Sharapova in California

    Osaka too strong for Sharapova in California

    Former world number one Maria Sharapova lost her second consecutive first round match with a 6-4 6-4 defeat to Japan’s Naomi Osaka at the BNP Paribas Open in California on Wednesday.

    Sharapova, who returned to tennis last April following a 15-month doping ban, continued to struggle to find form this season as she dug herself into an early hole and never fully recovered.

    Now ranked 41st in the world, Sharapova fought back from early breaks in both sets.

    But ultimately came up short on the key points in a performance that saw her commit six double faults and lose five service games to her 20-year-old opponent.

    “I knew (Sharapova) would fight for everything because I’ve watched her since I was little,” world number 44 Osaka said in a courtside interview after winning the first meeting between the pair.

    “I was just really honoured to play her.”

    A two-time champion at Indian Wells, Sharapova won the Tianjin Open in October for her first triumph since returning to the WTA Tour, but has not come close to challenging for a tournament victory since.

    In earlier action, American teenager Amanda Anisimova recorded her first top-level victory with a 6-2 6-2 thrashing of Pauline Parmentier.

    The 16-year-old’s poised and polished performance came in stark contact to the dismal display of Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, who was humbled 6-3 6-4 by American qualifier Sachia Vickery.

    Anisimova, the junior women’s U.S. Open champion, was stronger than the 32-year-old Parmentier in every facet of the game on the slow hard court in Indian Wells. “It’s very exciting.

    “I’ve worked really hard for this so I’m proud of myself,” Anisimova told Tennis Channel, adding that adjusting to the senior ranks had been more mental than physical.

    “The biggest thing is being tough mentally. I’ve learned about how to just be stronger during matches.”

    She will face Russia’s 23rd seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round.

    Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, who was also a teenage prodigy but has had her career blighted by injury, also advanced by overcoming an awful start and seeing off a match point to beat Hungarian Timea Babos 1-6 6-1 7-6(4).

    Former world number five Bouchard was outclassed by 100th-ranked Vickery in her first match since reaching a settlement with the U.S. Tennis Association ( USTA ), over a locker room fall during the 2015 U.S. Open.

    Her weak second serve was particularly costly as Vickery pounced time and again in front of a sparse late-afternoon crowd on centre court.

    All eyes will be on Serena Williams on Thursday when the American plays in her first singles event since giving birth last September.

    The two-time champion starts her campaign against Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan in a first round encounter.

    Reuters/NAN

  • Sharapova finds her groove on Melbourne return

    Sharapova finds her groove on Melbourne return

    Maria Sharapova on Tuesday resumed her career at the Australian Open in bright sunshine with a performance that went some way to banishing those demons.

    The 30-year-old former champion returned a positive doping test after a quarter-final defeat by Serena Williams in 2016, resulting in a 15-month ban from the sport.

    Sharapova was in dominant mood as she beat Germany’s Tatjana Maria 6-1 6-4 on Margaret Court Arena.

    There would be tougher tests to come for the five-times Grand Slam champion.

    But the relish with which she pummelled 22 winners suggests that in her second Grand Slam event since returning from exile, she could do damage, despite not being seeded.

    Sharapova, who fell foul of the anti-doping regulations after failing to realise that heart drug meldonium had been added to the WADA prohibited list, attracted more unwanted headlines last week.

    That was when she was selected for the draw ceremony.

    That decision by tournament director Craig Tiley raised a few disapproving eyebrows.

    But there was plenty of support for the 2008 champion on Tuesday with regular shouts of “C‘mon Masha, we’ve missed you”.

    After ending fellow 30-year-old Maria’s dogged second-set resistance with an ace, Sharapova admitted she had “shivers” walking on to court.

    Later, when addressing the media, it was very much business as usual with Sharapova reluctant to talk about the past.

    Asked if her return to Melbourne had produced flashbacks to that fateful day two years ago, she said: “No. It’s not the way I look at things moving forward.”

    Sharapova struck the ball with venom in the first set in which the only blemish was dropping serve to give Maria a game.

    The second set threatened to get a little tricky as Sharapova was broken to love to trail 1-3.

    But a forehand winner gave her break point in the next game and she converted it when Maria went wide.

    Sharapova broke again at 3-3 as her opponent, actually ranked a place higher at 47, double-faulted and Sharapova moved into a 5-3 lead as Maria began to feel the strain.

    The German managed to prolong the contest for another game but Sharapova finished off the match in style.

    She belted a forehand winner at 30-30 and then aimed a searing first serve bang on the line.

    NAN

  • Sharapova named in India housing project probe

    Sharapova named in India housing project probe

     

    Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova is under investigation in India for cheating and criminal conspiracy after the collapse of a luxury housing project that she endorsed, police and a lawyer said Tuesday.

    The firm behind the development is alleged to have taken millions of dollars from homebuyers before the project folded.

    “We have registered a case of cheating on directions from the court,” local police officer Arvind Sharma told AFP.

    He said Sharapova and the firm behind the development, Homestead Infrastructure Development, were named in the case.

    The 30-year-old tennis star travelled to India in 2012 to launch the luxury high-rise apartment complex – later named Ballet by Sharapova – which prospective buyers were told would house a tennis academy, a clubhouse and a helipad.

    The website of the project quotes Sharapova as saying her goal was to “make the owners feel like they own something special and different”.

    “Any celebrity who endorses any product technically becomes an agent for that company. No one would have invested in the project if Sharapova’s name was not there,” said Piyush Singh, a lawyer representing the complainant.

    The project in Gurgaon – a satellite city of the capital New Delhi – was supposed to be ready in 2016 but, Singh said, construction work was abandoned after builders collected millions from homebuyers.

    Calls to the developers went unanswered. Sharapova has not yet commented on the case.

    Sharapova, a former world number one, made almost $30 million in 2015, according to Forbes, with $23 million of that coming from endorsements.

    She has had a stop-start season since her controversial return to the game in April, following a 15-month doping ban.

  • Sharapova eyes strong finish to season after Tianjin title

    Sharapova eyes strong finish to season after Tianjin title

    Maria Sharapova is looking for a strong finish to a season that began with a doping ban and hit a high in China on Sunday when she won her first title in two years.

    The former world no. one, who returned from the 15-month ban in April, defeated Belarusian teenager, Aryna Sabalenka 7-5 7-6(8) in the final of the Tianjin Open on Sunday.

    Sharapova said she was looking forward to building on the success next week in Moscow at the Kremlin Cup, a tournament she has not appeared at since 2007.

    “Obviously coming there with the title already means a lot, but I do really want to finish strong,” said the Russian, who accepted a wild card for the event.

    “I don’t remember the last time that I played three events in a row. But I will give it everything I have got and I know I have so many amazing fans there.”

    The five-time grand slam champion said the Tianjin title, the 36th of her career, was special.

    “It has been a couple of years since I have held the winner’s trophy. It is a great feeling,” she said.

    “When you start all the way from the beginning of the tournament and then you end up playing the final in a full stadium, with so much enthusiasm and energy.

    “And you are the one that wins the last point, just everything falls into place.

    “You have to appreciate those moments, never take them for granted.”

    Sharapova takes on Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova in the opening round in Moscow.

    NAN

  • Halep to face Ostapenko in French Open final

    Halep to face Ostapenko in French Open final

    Romania’s Simona Halep moved within one win of a first Grand Slam title with victory over Karolina Pliskova on Thursday at the French Open.

    Third seed Halep who will become world number one if she succeeds won 6-4 3-6 6-3 to set up a final against unseeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Czech second seed Pliskova would have become world number one next week had she won the second semi-final.

    On her part, Ostapenko celebrated her 20th birthday with a 7-6 (7-4) 3-6 6-3 win over Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky.

    NAN reports that Mimi Jausovec was the last unseeded player to reach the French Open final in 1983, losing to Chris Evert.

    Saturday’s final will see a new Grand Slam champion crowned, and a new name at the top of the rankings should Halep win and overtake Angelique Kerber.

    “It is nice to be in the final again,” said Halep, who lost to Maria Sharapova in the 2014 French Open final.

    “I hope I can play better and win it. I’m playing a young player – it is a big challenge.”

  • French Open: No wild card for Sharapova

    French Open: No wild card for Sharapova

     

    Two-time champion Maria Sharapova has missed out on a wild-card entry for the French Open because of her doping ban.

    Announcing the decision on a live Facebook broadcast Tuesday, French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli said he told Sharapova in person that it was not possible.

    “I decided not to give Maria Sharapova a wild card. I’m very sorry for Maria, very sorry for her fans. They might be disappointed. She might be very disappointed,” Giudicelli said. “But it’s my responsibility, it’s my mission to protect the game and protect the high standards of the game.

    “This suspension is over, and she can take her path toward new success. But while there can be a wild card for return from injury, there can’t be a wild card for return from doping.”

    Sharapova, who returned to tennis last month after a 15-month ban for doping, said in a Twitter post on Wednesday that she is determined to “rise up.”

    Sharapova, who has titles in all the four majors, won at Roland Garros in 2012 and 2014. At 6-1 odds, she had been the second-favorite at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook — behind Simona Halep (9-2) — to win this year’s French Open, which begins May 28.

    “Must be tough for her, but it’s the way it is,” Novak Djokovic said at the Italian Open, where Sharapova exited with an apparent thigh injury Tuesday. “In some tournaments she’s going to get that help in wild card and invitation; some not. Unfortunately, it’s Grand Slam, which is for sure for her a big one.”

    Maria Sharapova, after learning she wouldn’t receive a wild-card entry into the French Open, dropped out of the Italian Open with an apparent thigh injury.

    Sharapova used a wild card to play in the Italian Open this week. By winning her opening match in Rome on Monday, she earned enough points to enter the top 200 next week and gain direct entry to the qualifying tournament for Wimbledon.

  • Leave Maria Sharapova alone!

    Leave Maria Sharapova alone!

     

    Former world number one Martina Navratilova has urged players to stop focusing on Maria Sharapova after the Russian’s recent return from a 15-month doping ban.

    Sharapova’s comeback has garnered widespread interest with current and former players offering their opinions on the 30-year-old, including men’s number one Andy Murray and Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard, who accused the Russian of cheating

    Bouchard beat Sharapova in the second round of the Madrid Open on Monday.

    And she said that she felt partly inspired to win the match against the five-times major champion after receiving private messages of support from ‘people in the tennis world’.

    But Navratilova, who won 18 grand slams during a glittering tennis career, has called on players to leave Sharapova alone.

    ‘I think it’s time for the players to lay off Maria.

    ‘She made a huge mistake, paid dearly for it, “done the time” and now let’s play ball,’ Navratilova tweeted on her verified account.

    Meanwhile World number Serena Williams has been named into the LA 2024 Athletes Advisory Commission. About 46 athletes from different disciplines have made the list.

    Four-time Olympic Champion Serena Williams, who grew up playing tennis not far from StubHub Center, which would host tennis in 2024, said: “Growing up in Los Angeles taught me that anyone can succeed as long as they have dreams and goals. Los Angeles embodies the optimistic spirit that allows kids like me to become athletes and Olympians. I am proud to join the LA 2024 Athletes’ Advisory Commission and help bring the Olympics and Paralympics home and inspire the next generation of champions.”

  • Sharapova to receive Birmingham wildcard

    Sharapova to receive Birmingham wildcard

    Maria Sharapova will receive a wildcard in June for the Aegon Classic Tennis Tournament in Birmingham, going by preliminary discussions between the Russian and the Lawn Tennis Association in England.

    Sharapova has not played a Wimbledon warm-up event since she reached the final in Birmingham in 2010.

    Her presence in the field is likely to boost ticket sales.

    It is necessary, being an event that is perpetually overshadowed by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tournament at The Queen’s Club in the same week.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 37 the edition of the Aegon Classic will hold in Edgbaston Priory Club Birmingham from June 17 to June 25.

    NAN reports that Li Na beat former number one Maria Sharapova 2-1 in Birmingham to win the Aegon Classic in 2010.

    NAN also reports that Sharapova won the title in both 2004 and 2005.

  • ‘Cheater’ Sharapova should not be allowed to play again — Bouchard

    ‘Cheater’ Sharapova should not be allowed to play again — Bouchard

    Canadian Eugenie Bouchard has lashed out at the WTA for giving Maria Sharapova the chance to compete in tournaments after serving a 15-month doping ban.

    The Canadian said that the Russian is a “cheater’’ who should never be allowed to play again.

    Sharapova beat Italian Roberta Vinci in the first round of the Stuttgart Grand Prix on Wednesday after receiving a controversial wild card for the tournament.

    The Russian ace had lost all her ranking points in the wake of her suspension.

    Sharapova was banned for two years after testing positive at the 2016 Australian Open for meldonium, a medication the former world number one had been taking within the rules but which was then reclassified as a banned drug.

    The Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced her ban to 15 months.

    Findings revealed that Sharapova was not an “intentional doper’’, but “bore some degree of fault’’ for relying on her agent to check the prohibited list for changes and failing to ensure he had done so.

    Bouchard, a 2014 Wimbledon finalist, told the Istanbul-based TRT World in an interview that a bad example had been set.

    “She’s a cheater and … I don’t think a cheater in any sport should be allowed to play that sport again,’’ she said.

    “It’s so unfair to all the other players who do it the right way and are true. I think from the WTA it sends the wrong message to young kids: `cheat and we’ll welcome you back with open arms’.

    “I don’t think that’s right and (Sharapova is) definitely not someone I can say I look up to anymore.’’

    Sharapova, who faces Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova in the second round in Stuttgart later on Thursday, has also received invitations to play in Madrid and Rome.

    She will find out in May whether she will be given a wild card for the French Open.