SHARAPOVA: DOUBLE FAULT NOT ACE

Maria Sharapova has a career that would be to the envy of most players with five majors, a Career Slam, World No.1, WTA Finals champion, Fed Cup winner, Olympic silver medal and 36 WTA titles all up. It will go down as one of the fine careers, but it should not be a celebrated one.

Sharapova oozed controversy in her time on court, whether it was her ear piercing screeching, attitude towards rivals or her drugs ban in 2016.

The Russian stunned the world in 2004 when the then 17-year-old claimed her maiden Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, defeating heavy favourite Serena Williams in the final. A tsunami of endorsements and profile interviews followed as she quickly became a poster woman of tennis.

However, over the years she has become one of the most unwatchable athletes due to her unbelievably loud grunting, or screaming, on court.

It became louder and louder and reached stages where the grunting was there after a solitary point, with many considering it to be a form of cheating.

Monica Seles is known as the most prominent of the screechers, while Victoria Azarenka, Simona Halep, Serena Williams and Aryna Sabalenka have recently come under fire - with many more in the men’s game.

Tennis is a sport where the crowd must be quiet, and screeching quite simply should be punished. Caroline Wozniacki and Martina Navratilova have labeled it as cheating, with irritations surrounding Sharapova continuing to rise. Especially when her screams reached the 109 decibel mark, just below that of a chainsaw.

The Russian has said many times throughout her career that she would not change, which in many opinions has damaged her reputation.

Sharapova is noted to have had a prickly reputation in the locker room, with reported fractured relationships with Williams and many more. Retired star Jelena Dokic has also penned a piece on why the 32-year-old had no friends on tour.

In an article for News Corp in 2018, the Australian former World No.4 wrote, "She doesn't want to be friends with the girls on tour. She's tough like that,

“I remember seeing her a few weeks later (after a match) and she wouldn't say a word. I never took it personally; that was normal with Maria and we all knew it. In a way it has helped her be successful."

The nail in the coffin for the Bradenton resident was her 15-month ban for the use of Meldonium after the 2016 Australian Open.

Sharapova held a press conference in March 2016 stating that she had failed a drugs test at Melbourne Park due to the said substance which she had been taking since early in her career, but had recently been placed on WADA’s banned list.

She stated negligence as her error, “It is very important for you to understand that for 10 years this medicine was not on Wada's banned list and I had legally been taking the medicine for the past 10 years,” She said.

“But on January 1st the rules had changed and Meldonium became a prohibited substance which I had not known."

It is unknown how this change was missed with her entourage reportedly being quite large. But most importantly it is the player’s duty to themselves, fans and the sport in which they play to be fully aware of what substances are legal and illegal.

During her suspension it was clear that her rivals were less than pleased to see her return, with Agnieszka Radwanska, Kristina Mladenovic, Caroline Wozniacki and Dominika Cibulkova all speaking against the Russian before her suspension ended.

Cibulkova was ruthless, slamming the personality of the Sochi born prodigy.

"I will only say that I don't feel sorry at all for Sharapova and I don't miss her on the tour,” She said.

"She's a totally unlikeable person. Arrogant, conceited and cold. When I sit beside her in the locker room, she won't even say hello."

France’s Mladenovic took it even further, “All the other players are saying she’s a cheater,” She said.

“She has no excuse that can defend what she’s done. For me there’s no doubt,

“She wasn’t really liked. I respected her for her career but she wasn’t really nice nor polite, let’s be honest. At least the good news to come out of all of this is that the anti-doping programme is working and that even if you’re among the best players you’re going to get caught and it’s going to get out.”

Clearly her reputation in the tennis world was further damaged. So why this week are the public celebrating her career?

Yes she was a great champion on the court and a custodian of the sport for a time but her career will always be remembered for the controversy. Call it an unpopular opinion, but she is a polarising figure in whichever way her career is looked at.

Maria Sharapova’s records will speak for themselves, as one of only two women this millennium to win all four Grand Slams, but her prickly nature and discrepancies should be remembered as some things cannot be forgiven.