Former World No.1 Maria Sharapova shed some light on how the importance of the Olympics faded over time due to the hectic schedule of the tournaments.
Maria Sharapova has won 5 Major titles in her career and is the only Russian tennis player to have won a career Grand Slam. She also won a silver medal in the Olympic games she played at the 2012 London Olympics. She lost to Serena Williams in the finals.
In a podcast, she shared her disappointment of missing out on the gold medal in the only Olympic games she played.
It was the only Olympics that I competed in. I, of course, as an athlete, you want gold. I mean, I don’t know. There’s no other way to say it.
The Olympic games had a huge significance in her life but they vanished due to a busy tennis calendar. She had to quickly turn around for other tournaments.
“Like, in tennis, its either the Champions Trophy or it’s as if you weren’t there. But there was a huge significance in that the feeling of being part of, like for a tennis player that plays so many events, it does almost take away the meaning of what the Olympics is because you’re just constantly going from one event to another.”
Acing it! 💫
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) July 26, 2021
Serena Williams finishes in style during her gold medal match against Maria Sharapova at London 2012! 🎾🥇
Tennis continues today at #Tokyo2020! #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/R4hCsM8Zo7
She recalled that after she won the silver medal, she couldn’t savor the feeling and had to quickly fly off to the USA to play another tournament right after the Olympics.
“Although, the Majors are where you want to perform the best, the Olympics is at that level. But, it’s once in four years so you move on to the next one. I won that silver medal. And think I had to fly somewhere in the US to play another tournament. So, it’s such a quick, I know it sounds crazy. You don’t have time.”
Her silver medal wasn’t on display at her house and mentioned that it wasn’t even possible to tell that she used to be a professional tennis player.
“If you come to my home, you wouldn’t even know I played tennis. It is very special but you do move on very quickly.”
“I love that feeling” – Maria Sharapova shares her experience of parenthood
Maria Sharapova shared her experience about her parenthood. She and her fiance, Alexander Gilkes gave birth to a baby boy on July 1, 2022.
It was in a podcast where the Russian appeared on the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepherd. During a conversation, she shared an anecdote about her son Theodore who can mimic an owl’s sound.
“My son made an Owl sound. And I was like, oh I mean genius. Genius. I love that feeling though. I was joking from the beginning because I was cleaning like milk bottles, I just looked back at my career and thinking of all sports drink bottles that I would clear after a day of practice. And I was like , it is as if my previous life has set me up for success. I’ve got this down.”
– Maria Sharapova in a podcast
