Maria Sharapova’s Historic Grand Slam Achievement Was Downplayed Because of a ‘Banana’, Thanks to Her Father

Former tennis star Maria Sharapova is one of the most loved tennis players of all time. Even after her retirement, she continues to be a famous tennis personality. In her illustrious career, she has won all four major titles. Also, she topped the WTA rankings for a combined 21 weeks. The 35-year-old ended her career in 2020.

Although the 35-year-old had an accomplished tennis career, she had her fair share of controversies too. One such incident happened back in the 2006 US Open.

The banana controversy

In the 2006 US Open, Maria Sharapova was in brilliant form. The former world number one played brilliantly to win her second Grand Slam title. However, the Russian tennis star was clearly upset about a popular conspiracy theory built around an innocent gesture from her father.

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Notably, Sharapova’s father Yuri was spotted at least twice, holding a banana. While Sharapova insisted that her father only wanted to remind her to eat during the final, people came up with a conspiracy theory. They accused the Russian of using a banana as a code for illegal coaching.

Reacting to the accusation, the 35-year-old responded with strong words saying she just won a Grand Slam and all they ask her was about bananas.

She said, “I’ve just won a Grand Slam. The last thing I’m going to want to talk about is a banana, alright? Can you tell me, if someone tells me to eat a banana, do you think that’s the reason why I’m going to win a match? This is great advice, — we should tell all the junior players to have a banana and they’re all going to win. Great.” 

Read more: What Is Special About Maria Sharapova?

Although it sounds silly as an argument, the allegation definitely was annoying for the Russian tennis star.

Maria Sharapova announces pregnancy

The five-time grand slam champion had a beautiful surprise for her fans on her 35th birthday. Earlier this year, in April, she announced that she is expecting the birth of her first child. Sharing a picture of herself, showing off her baby bump, she wrote,

“Precious beginnings!!! Eating birthday cake for two has always been my specialty.”

We wish Sharapova all the best for a new journey.