After a 15 months suspension for doping, Maria Sharapova is ready to come back in action on the WTA tour. The former number 1 has been interviewed by the french magazine “Le Parisien”, where she dismissed criticism over wild cards tournament invitation in Stuttgart, Madrid and Rome.
Do you feel ready to get back playing in Stuttgart by the end of April?
It’s a great feeling for me, to be back again in the tennis environment. For a year I just had one objective, to stay fit physically and mentally. To be honest, I have never enjoyed training as much! Before my suspension, I was asking to pick up my tennis racket after just 5 minutes of work-out (laughing)!
You have been very active throughout your suspension; has it been effective to avoid boredom?
My coach Sven Groeneveld told me once: “If you are going to think about what has happened all the time, you will end being frustrated and eventually feel bored. That’s why I needed to be active mentally and decided to enroll at Harvard Business School last summer, I did an internship at Nike and at the NBA. My team wanted me to stay in shape, so they gave me a high-precision balance, which is able to measure your body fat percentage! (laughing). So every morning I went up to this balance, took a picture and sent it to him.
You have been very active in the social media too…
You know, I have nothing to hide and I am always the same person, defending the same principles. What has changed is my comprehension of what I embody to other people, for example many fans told me I was so brave and they were waiting for me to be back on the tennis courts. This has been very touching to me. Before, I thought that I did not want to become an “example”, have this kind responsibility….
A life without tennis: was this thought scary for you?
Yes, sometimes because I did not know how I would feel without this job which I have been doing since I was a child, and that was taken away from me suddenly. I remember how tough was my time in 2008, after the surgery at my right shoulder. My tennis career was in danger and I was really afraid that would be the end. I kept a memory of those hard months: during tough times, we build a lot of self-confidence, without even being aware, and soon or later this wisdom is going to stay with you and save you again. This time, being away from the tournaments for so long has given me a lot of confidence; I know already that my life will be fine, once my tennis career will be over.
Psychologically, your suspension must have been a real shock….
I had my ups and down, surely. During the first 6 months, I had the impression of spending all my time with lawyers. It was hard, my patience sometimes just run out as I felt I was not in control of what was going on. I just wanted to know one thing: when I will be allowed to play again? I was fighting hard to get such answer as quick as I could, even though from the very beginning my lawyers told me it would end up at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and that in the best case scenario I would have to wait at least 1 year before coming back, well…I had a hard time to accept this fact.
Have you ever start to think about quitting tennis?
I have never imagined that something would force me to quit my tennis career! I was determined to play again. But I went trough different stages, for the first 2 months I had to heal from a serious wrist injury, after I started to spend much time practicing on the court, it was kind of therapy for me.
Have you ever thought that you have been sanctioned in such a way to set an example, in terms of anti-doping fight?
Yes I thought so, but I cannot really say that they wanted to set an example by giving me such a long ban. Anyway, I think we will never get an answer to this question. If I start to ask myself too many questions it would not make my life any better, so I just prefer to turn the page.
How did you feel when somebody was labelling you as a cheater?
I faced the media very often in my life since I was very young. Therefore, as usual, my first reaction was to protect myself. To be judged or being criticized is something that does not faze me that much. Other people opinions may get big headlines in the media, people will talk but then..?
This is not life, what I have been trough…that is life! Finally, my actions are much important than those words.
Still, there has been some criticism raised by other tennis players, how do you feel about it?
When my case was not yet clear, anybody had the right to judge me. But now that I have been trough the Court of Arbitration for Sport, now that the judges stated that there was no intention to cheat from my side, I say stop. If some players do continue in their attacks towards me, this is clearly unfair.
Some players even said that this whole affair was putting a big question mark on your past success…
That’s really stupid! And it does not tell the truth about what has happened. But I am not going to waste my time trying to change their minds.
It seems that Svetlana Kuznetsova, Rafael Nadal, Grigor Dimitrov and Novak Djokovic have been very supportive…
Yes it is true, they all have been very friendly indeed.
You have received a wild card for the upcoming tournaments, in Stuttgart, Madrid, Rome and you hope to get one also at the Roland Garros, which by the way is currently the only way you can participate in these events. What do you respond to those who are against such invitations?
I have no ranking at the moment, so I really have to start from scratch. Stuttgart would have had a top draw even without me because it is one of the best tournaments worldwide. Having said that, do I think it is a positive thing to be awarded a wild card in a tournament where the main sponsor is Porsche? (Maria Sharapova is a long-time brand ambassador of the German car manufacturer) Yes of course I do.
But Madrid and Rome have all the best players in their draw, the real reason behind their invitations is that they respect me as a tennis player.
Bernard Giudicelli, the chairman of the French Tennis Federation has said that allowing you a wild card might set a bad example…
I understand that there is a new chairman of the FFT, I did a mistake and I got punished with a long ban by consequence. So I don’t really understand why should I be punished after I served my suspension.
How do you imagine your comeback?
My objective is to come back as a champion again, but it is going to be difficult after such a long absence. Of course I take a big risk by making my debut in big tournaments like Stuttgart, Madrid and Rome. I always considered myself a performer: the tennis court is my stage.
I like this feeling when I play against my opponent, and my will to be again at the top is what motivates me today.
Source: Le Parisien Magazine
