Maria Sharapova announces her retirement from tennis [PHOTOS]

Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam winner, announced her retirement from tennis in a column titled 'Tennis, I'm saying goodbye', which she wrote for Vogue and Vanity Fair. The Russian athlete is retiring from the courts at 32 years old, having last won a Grand Slam in 2014 when she won the French Open for the second time.

"By giving my life to tennis, tennis gave me a life," wrote Sharapova. "I will miss it every day. I will miss the training and my daily routine: waking up at dawn, tying my left shoe before my right shoe and closing the court gate before hitting my first ball of the day. I will miss my team, my coaches. I will miss the moments when I sat with my father on the practice bench. The handshakes, win or lose, and the athletes, whether they knew it or not, pushed me to be the best," added the Russian athlete.

Her last appearance was at the 2020 Australian Open, where she was eliminated in the first round by Donna Vekić.

It should be noted that in recent seasons, the Russian tennis player had to deal with a chronic shoulder injury. In the Australian Open, her last competition, it was seen that she was working with a Spanish doctor to recover from her muscular ailments and extend her career.