Maria Sharapova, the woman who brought women’s tennis into every home. Masha is the belle of a generation of tennis fans. In the first years of her career, many people did not understand why such a beautiful face chose tennis.

Many people joke that Sharapova is worried that the world will see her as a beautiful tennis player and not a professional tennis player, so she tries to practice screaming. Sharapova’s screams when hitting shots reach up to 105 decibels – the same as the sound produced by a hand drill.

Lonely childhood

The world has spent so much time staring at Sharapova that it has forgotten to look deeper into her life. Her dazzling looks, her trophy cabinet, and her wealth that far exceeds that of most of her female colleagues have given Masha the impression to most of her fans around the world that she is a lady who has it all.

However, the truth is not as beautiful as that. At the age of 7, Sharapova had to leave her mother. At that time, it was very difficult for Masha’s father, Yuri Sharapov, to send his daughter to the US to study tennis. Sharapova’s mother, Yelena, could not go with them. Sharapova and her father arrived in the US with a total of 700 USD in cash and not a word of English in their heads.

To allow his daughter to study tennis, Mr. Yuri accepted the lowest jobs. He left home early in the morning and returned late at night. For a long time, Sharapova had to live alone: without parents, friends, or the usual toys of a growing girl.

The lonely life suffocated Sharapova. “I was extremely lonely,” Sharapova confided. Because she was not good at English, Masha suffered a lot of pressure and even scorn. Her life revolved around loneliness, the pressure to rise up, to endure scorn, to try not to disappoint her father. It was rare that Yuri could come home early to have dinner with his daughter.

With a cool head and a warm heart, Maria Sharapova endured everything, overcoming the pressure to gradually assert herself. Her piercing screams seemed to contain the hidden feelings of her early life in a foreign land. Thinking back to those days, Masha sometimes wonders with what determination and strength she overcame them.

15 months of challenging myself

A lonely and repressed childhood tested Masha, but life’s challenges did not stop there. In 2016, Sharapova’s life took a huge hit when she was banned for 15 months for testing positive for the banned substance meldonium. After the World Anti-Doping Agency announced the verdict, the press went to great lengths to record Sharapova’s reaction and try to find out how she would cope with this nightmare.

But many newspapers came back empty-handed. Masha did not show any specific signs for the press to exploit. Only recently, through the story of Dr. Jerome Bianchi, the mysterious days – the moment when Masha faced and fought against 15 months of sitting around doing nothing – were revealed.

Bianchi said Masha took the initiative to meet him. She didn’t whine or show any signs of frustration, but instead got straight to the point: “I don’t want to end my career like this. I want to be another Sharapova. We need to do something.”

So Masha began her days of fighting, not only to maintain her fitness, but also to become even stronger than before. Masha started boxing, cycling, and swimming with athlete Ariana Kukors.

“I also noticed that Sharapova had started jogging alone. I can say for sure that she had never done this before. Masha did not like to do anything alone after spending her childhood almost alone day in and day out,” said Mr. Bianchi.

The important thing is that Masha does things that are very new to her with an extremely positive state of mind. “She doesn’t do them out of revenge. Since accepting the punishment, Masha has distanced herself from tennis. She laughs more, jokes more. She enjoys a lot of food. Masha is really living her life.”

There are not many athletes in the world who can face life’s challenges with such a positive spirit as Sharapova. It does not prove that she is naive, but on the contrary, it is proof that Sharapova is a steel doll. Only someone with an extremely strong fighting spirit can do something unfamiliar to them with a sense of enjoyment and not resentment.

In fact, we saw Maria Sharapova come back stronger than ever after her ban ended. She won her first WTA title in two years, returned to the world top 25 and reached the semi-finals of the French Open. Even though she was never able to regain her position as the world’s leading female tennis player, Sharapova remains an inspiration to the next generation of young athletes.

Behind the fragile appearance of a tennis queen is a Sharapova who is much stronger and more courageous than we think.