Maria Sharapova reveals intense struggles with mental health following doping ban

Former tennis star Maria Sharapova has done it all. From flashes of brilliance to impressive victories, to career Grand Slam, and the slump in form, injuries, a doping ban and an early retirement, Sharapova's career has witnessed everything. The Russian tennis ace opened up on her tennis career in her documentary, which released on Movistar+ this month. The documentary covers the Maria Sharapova retirement, the Sharapova ban and other unpublished material from her stellar tennis career.

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Maria Sharapova retirement: Tennis ace reveals how Sharapova ban affected her mental health  

In her documentary, Maria Sharapova opened up on the emotional moments before her 2016 press conference where she was to publicly announce the results of her doping test. The Sharapova ban came in after she had unintentionally used a banned substance, Meldonium. An emotional Sharapova said that before the press conference she felt like she was preparing for a game, and said that it was very difficult to face the world and say that she had made a mistake.

A two-year Sharapova ban came in after her announcement, however, it was reduced to 15 months after it was found that she couldn't be termed as an ‘intentional doper’. According to puntodebreak.com, Maria Sharapova spoke on her mental health battles and revealed that she deleted all social networks from her phone, to keep her sanity and protect herself from opinions and judgments. The 33-year-old said that he was never concerned with what people think of her but after the Sharapova ban, she cared about what people thought of her and what they knew about the situation. 

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The two-time French Open champion said that her family, especially her mother played a significant role during her darkest days. Maria Sharapova said her mother told her nothing would happen if she stopped playing tennis after the ban. The 33-year-old said that her mother spent weeks sleeping with her just so that she could feel accompanied. Maria Sharapova recalled that her father was also a massive pillar of support who accompanied her a lot to make sure nothing went wrong. The former Russian tennis ace added that her father did not blame others and told her that she had to take control and know that she screwed up. 

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Maria Sharapova retirement: Russian ace shocked fans after announcing surprise retirement 

Speaking to Vanity Fair earlier this year, the Russian tennis ace broke the news of Maria Sharapova retirement. The two-time French Open champion's retirement was fueled by a continued struggle with multiple shoulder injuries. She claimed that her body had become a distraction. Sharapova revealed that she would miss training and spending time on the court. She also added that she would miss her coaches and her team. Sharapova’s poor form and recurring shoulder injuries saw her drop as low as 373 in the WTA World rankings. The former Wimbledon champion's retirement came as a shock to the entire tennis community. 

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(Image Credit: wtatennis.com)