Sept 1, 2018; New York, NY, USA; Maria Sharapova of Russia after beating Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in a third round match on day six of the 2018 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Sept 1, 2018; New York, NY, USA; Maria Sharapova of Russia after beating Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in a third round match on day six of the 2018 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Years After Retiring, Maria Sharapova Still Slips Into Practice Mode As Australian Open Nears
Former tennis star and recent inductee into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Maria Sharapova, enthralled tennis fans with her playing style and fierce rivalries with some of the greats during her peak years. The Russian won five Grand Slams in her pro career, including a double at Roland Garros and one each at the other three.
The Russian bid adieu to the sport in February 2020, after almost two decades as a professional player. In a recent social media post, Sharapova shared a video of her intense training session, accompanied by a quirky message, ahead of the first Grand Slam of the year.
In an Instagram story, Sharapova can be seen conducting a training session with a medicine ball at her residence. The caption of the post read, “Training to watch the Australian Open from the sofa.”
Screenshot from Maria Sharapova’s IG story
Since retiring from the sport, Sharapova has been spending quality time with her friends and family, and, most importantly, caring for her son, Theodore. Despite no longer being active in the WTA circuit, the Russian continues to train with similar intensity, signifying that you can take the player out of a game but never take the game out of an athlete.
Maria Sharapova Becomes the Styling Insipiration For Aryna Sabalenka’s Australian Open Outfit
Current World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka revealed her outfit for the 2026 Australian Open via a social media post on Thursday. The outfit, featuring shades of peach, black, and pink, is an amalgamation of designs from Maria Sharapova’s previous collection with Nike, which the sports major brought to life for the Belarusian star for the upcoming Grand Slam.
In her post-match on-court interview from Thursday at Brisbane International, Sabalenka said, “It was either Serena… or I think it was Maria’s collection that was a light peach dress. I told Nike I want to bring those colors back & they did it. Now it’s my favorite dress.”
The Belarusian star takes after Sharapova and idolizes the former tennis great both for on-court and off-court playing and fashion advice.
