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‘I have hit balls a few times, just for fun’ – Maria Sharapova reveals whether or not she misses tennis


Maria Sharapova says she has barely played any tennis at all after being forced to retire earlier this year due to a persistent shoulder injury.

The Russian won five Grand Slam titles in a glittering career, that was also ultimately stained by a doping ban that she still contests today.

She hung up her racket in February aged just 32, and it doesn’t seem like she has been missing it.

“[I have] hit balls with my friends a few times just for fun,” Maria Sharapova told PEOPLE on whether or not she still plays tennis.

“Mainly I’ve been trying to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible – either doing a boxing workout on the beach or hiking some of the trails nearby.

“When I was competing, I’d only get to spend a few weeks of the year at home, so it’s been nice to have more time to relax, catch up with loved ones and focus on my businesses.

Maria Sharapova retires

“As much as I love to travel, not having to rush off to the next tournament has been really nice.”

Like everyone else, Sharapova has been largely under lockdown during the coronavirus crisis, but she says that hasn’t been all bad at all.

“We’ve been spending almost all of our time in the kitchen – cooking meals and baking treats,” she explained.

“At one point, we even pulled out an ice cream machine, which I hadn’t even taken out of the box for years.

“We even started growing our own garden out back – so you know things are getting serious!”


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Michael Graham, Tennishead.net Editor, has been a professional sports journalist for his whole career and is especially passionate about tennis. He's been the Editor of Tennishead.net for over 5 years and loves watching live tennis by visiting as many tournaments as possible. Michael specialises in writing in-depth features about the ATP & WTA tours.