Russian tennis superstar Maria Sharapova, who reclaimed the world’s top ranking by winning the French Open 2012 title on Saturday, said that she’s always relied on her own talent and her team to progress in her career – stressing that she could have stepped away from the game if she wanted to but chose to battle on because she loves the sport.
“I proved that no matter how many punches I took in my career, I’ve always gotten back up,” she said.
“I never made excuses for me, not to myself, not to people. I always relied on my own talent, on the help of my team. At the end of the day, that’s really what gets me through and gets me up. I have a tremendous amount of belief and pride in what I do. I love my work. I’ve always said this: I love playing tennis,” she added.
Sharapova, one of the highest paid female athletes in the world, had a shoulder surgery in 2008 and her comeback was a tough one and she had to face questions as to whether she’ll ever regain the top spot again or win the Grand Slam she’s yet to win (the French Open). On Saturday, she did both.
“I had so many outs in my career. I could have said, I don’t need this. I have money; I have fame; I have victories; I have Grand Slams. But when your love for something is bigger than all those things, you continue to keep getting up in the morning when it’s freezing outside, when you know that it can be the most difficult day, when nothing is working, when you feel like the belief sometimes isn’t there from the outside world, and you seem so small. But you can achieve great things when you don’t listen to all those things,” Sharapova said.
With her top ranking, Sharapova is expected to be the top seed at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships later this month. She reached the final last year, losing to Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova.
