The Incredible Legacy Of Maria Sharapova – A Look Back At Her Achievements

Russian tennis sensation Maria Sharapova has announced her retirement from the world of tennis. In news that was equal parts shocking and saddening for her fans, Maria revealed that she was ending her career at the age of 32.

Despite recent poor form, Sharapova will go down in history as one of the greatest tennis players. She held her own during the onslaught of the Williams sisters and kept defying boundaries despite repeated injuries and controversies.

Let’s take a look at the amazing records and achievements of Maria Sharapova that position her as one of the best of her times.

Records and Achievements of Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova has a total of thirty-six WTA singles titles. This includes five grand slams, one-year ending championship, six WTA Tier 1 singles titles, three WTA Premier Mandatory singles titles and five WTA Premier 5 singles titles. In addition to this, Maria was the silver medallist at the 2012 London Olympics.

Know More – Twitter In Shock As Maria Sharapova Announces Retirement

Maria won her first grand slam singles title at the 2004 Wimbledon championships. She announced herself on the world stage by defeating the top seed Serena Williams. Her second grand slam singles title came at the 2006 US Open, beating Justine Henin.

She had to wait two more years for her third grand slam. This came at the 2008 Australian Open where she beat Ana Ivanovic in the finals. The later half of her grand slam success was highlighted by fantastic performances on clay.

In fact, she won the Roland Garros in 2012 and 2014. However, this is not all. Maria has made a total of 10 finals appearances in grand slams. She had lost out in the finals of the Australian Open three times- in 2007,2012 and 2015. Sharapova was the Wimbledon finalist in 2011 and French Open finalist in 2014.

Non-Grand Slam achievements

Here’s the list of the WTA Tier 1 tournaments won by Sharapova-

Pan Pacific Open (2005 and 2009)

Indian Wells Open (2006 and 2013)

Southern California Open (2006 and 2007)

Zurich Open (2006)

Qatar Open (2008)

Italian Open (2011, 2012 and 2015)

Cincinnati Open (2011)

Madrid Open (2014)

China Open (2014)

Maria also holds the distinction of being the first player from Russia to ascend to the top of the WTA rankings. She achieved this feat in 2005. In addition, Maria is one of only 10 women to complete the Career grand slam. Plus, she’s the third-youngest woman to win Wimbledon, behind Lottie Dod and Martina Hingis.

What is your favourite memory of Maria Sharapova?