Maria Sharapova Quotes

The Ban, the Return, the Exit

On March 7, 2016, Sharapova held a press conference and announced she had tested positive for meldonium, a substance that had been added to the banned list on January 1 that year. She had been taking it for ten years for health reasons. She was banned for fifteen months. The endorsements vanished. The rankings disappeared. She returned in April 2017, won her first match back, but never reached another Grand Slam final. On February 26, 2020, at thirty-two, she announced her retirement in an essay for Vanity Fair. Five Slams. $38 million in prize money. $325 million in endorsements. The girl from Nyagan had nothing left to prove.