Why Maria Sharapova’s Hall of Fame inclusion will continue to annoy

Here we look at the crests and troughs of her career:

Sharapova’s Dizzy Start

Sharapova burst onto the scene in the early 2000s, and remained a force to reckon with in an era when Serena Williams ruled the courts. She finished and abysmal 2-20 against Serena, but always kept her chin up in a loss, and pushed herself to go from fast courts to winning on clay. Having caught the eye of great Martina Navratilova, she had moved to Florida with her father in 1994 and in 2001, aged 14 turned a pro. Sharapova’s dominating style of play because of her power and height fetched her success and in 2004, she defeated Serena Williams at the Wimbledon for her first Major crown at age 17.

Persistent and relentless

In 2005, she made the semifinals of Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, a run which helped her climb to the top of women’s single’s ranking. It was the first time she was ranked No 1. In 2006, she would clinch her maiden US Open title and in 2008 began the year by being crowned champion at the Australian Open.

After struggling with injuries, rehab and dip in form, Sharapova would come back stronger. Having started 2012 by being a runners-up at Australian Open, she would go on to win the French Open and thus become the 10th woman to complete a Career Grand Slam. After losing the next year’s edition in the final, she would again lift the trophy at the Roland Garros in 2014.

The grunting and the grinches

Sharapova was as cussed by critics as she was celebrated by fans. One thing that her pre-Social Media trolls invariably picked on, ever since her Wimbledon appearance in Girls singles at age 15, was her famous grunt, which was inadvertent given its necessity in generating power, but often cited by trolls to diss her. Tennis.com writes: “In those days, she also hummed as she hit some shots. She did that at maximum volume, too.” It was telling that a Nadal grunt was never a problem, but Sharapova’s was.

Not considered elegant

Viewed in cold light of the day, Steffi Graf was as icy ruthless on the court, as they come. But Sharapova copped crinkled noses for her max pro-no-nonsense poker face, the purposeful tiny stomps, the pre-serve habit of walking right back to the boards, turning around and returning to baseline with clenched fists, wasn’t to everyone’s liking, if they craved cliched elegance. Yet she played each point as if it were her last. The double faults brought out the groans, but there was grudging respect for the pinpoint groundstrokes even as Tennis.com picks the backhand dropshot as immensely likeable.

The business forays

Topping the Forbes list for the richest woman athlete for 9 years till 2016, Sharapova was pinned as a glamour diva, often forgetting she won each of the Grand Slams atleast once, one of only 10 women in tennis history. She was first Russian woman to reach No. 1 where she spent 21 weeks and won 36 titles. Her 2013 foray into chocolates, candies, gummies and gumbears through the Sugarpova brand was rightly criticised for being unhealthy. It came at a time when she was battling a terrible right shoulder injury, but the business venture for promoting sugar will remain controversial. She did study management and leadership at Harvard in that time, Marca sports reports.

Sharapova’s doping ban

Sharapova’s career was blighted in 2016, after she was suspended after testing positive for meldonium. She contended she had been using it for a decade for a family history of heart conditions and diabetes, but wasn’t aware it was banned that January.

Its performance-enhancing effects have been debated, but the 15 month ban effectively ended her career, and cast shadow on her performance, even when the drug was legal.

What’s memorable is the press conference she addressed at a downtown hotel to speak of the doping ban. Speculation raged around whether she was retiring, but in her own spunky defiant style, Sharapova would point to the beat-up worn out carpet and ask the journalists if they thought she would end her career in a room with a decidedly unattractive carpet.