Sharapova’s odyssey back to tennis’ professional rungs began with much fanfare at the Stuttgart Open. These included curious eyes trying to see where she stood on her return to the likes of players like Eugenie Bouchard who kept reiterating why she should never have come back, even after the event had commenced.
In spite of these distractions, the tournament struck the right chord for the Russian immediately. Both, for the results she could have expected of herself and the manner in which she made her way back into the public eye.
Making the most of her comeback
Sharapova notched three wins, in straight sets, no less, before she lost to Kristina Mladenovic in a semi-final that went the distance. But, irrespective of her loss, Sharapova proved to be a worthy competitor. And, with the Madrid and Rome Opens to follow suit, coupled with the volatility in the women’s tennis, she is only going to get better.
Despite her systematic dismantling of her opponents in the early rounds, Sharapova’s rustiness was evident. There were quite a few points which she shanked but she found a way to shrug them off before presenting the full range of her shots.
Most specifically though, she displayed an aggressive attitude to match her style of play as if she were putting on an armour to keep all negativity at bay.
By making the @PorscheTennis semifinals, @MariaSharapova’s projected ranking after Stuttgart is approximately No.260.
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 28, 2017
Her strong showing also saw her climb straight back to the World No 262 spot in the WTA rankings. Her eventual loss stalled her rally forcing her to wait for the Federation of French Tennis’ decision to find out whether she would receive a wild card to play at Roland Garros.
However, it left no doubt that Sharapova was, indeed, deserving the wild cards that have had been offered to her, up to this point. At the same time, her on-court forcefulness also made it clear that she wasn’t keen to consign her immediate tennis-playing fate to being a mere recipient of wild cards as her detractors kept insisting all along.
Words that countered harder than actions
The thirty-year-old also maintained a stoic aloofness when interacting with the media at large, post matches.
She did her best to diffuse the strenuousness of the situation, by exchanging banter and quips with some of the gathered media. But, as the laughter died down, their superficiality and briefness became all the more marked just as they did little to coat the underlying weight of answers that were sought from her.
Then again, the questions posed to her swivelled around her being a guilty party, who was returning to the fold of popularity with much ado made about it. That she had to endure such intense scrutiny after having paid for her infraction, was then somewhat uncalled for though she did shy away from coming up with dignified ripostes.
“I can’t control what people say I never have [done so]. The only thing I can control is what I do out there [on the court] and those are my words,” she said in response to a query about how people had changed their perception about her, in the last one-and-a-half years.
However, as she added, “I am always prepared to walk the walk and I have done that by winning five Grand Slam titles and being No 1 in the world.”
It was in these supplementing words that the chasm that has developed between Sharapova and the rest of the sport’s diaspora becomes evident.
By no means is Sharapova the sole tennis player to have fallen short of the ideal standards expected of a sportsperson. And, not by any means will she be the last to have fallen afoul of the rules, having done so either purposely or inadvertently. There have been others who have gotten away with a lot more, with no tarring and feathering of their reputations. Neither in the past, nor now in the present.
Attributions could be made about these players benefiting from the friendship formed with their colleagues, which helped them garner support. However, in light of her being pilloried and cast into the mould of being the biggest destructor of fair-play, it wouldn’t be hard to understand why Sharapova would want to keep maintaining that distance between herself and her co-workers. Irrespective of any renewed spree of vitriol she may have to face hereon.
The journey ahead
“I love being in situations where I have to figure out a way how to get through and how to win. I think that’s one of the things that sports teaches you from a young age,” Sharapova commented this past week. Beyond all that she put on display on the court, these words brought out her determination in wanting to make it back on assertive terms.
She had also said: “It [sports] puts you in certain positions where you have to adjust, so you have to keep your focus, keep playing the same way, know what you did right to get there, or if you are down, you have to turn around as quickly as possible. So, it’s a jigsaw puzzle and I missed that feeling.”
Many continue to clamour about the intricacies of the manner in which her career has resumed. But while a lot has changed in the 13 years since she made her debut, Sharapova’s attitude remains intact. And beyond all that she could say or produce on the court, it’s this mindset of hers that offers the best possible recourse for her to pick up from where she left off.
