Why Maria Sharapova Is on Her Way Back to No. 1

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are of a guy who is crazy about Maria Sharapova, although I have tried to be as unbiased and rational as possible. Oh, and I hate Sasha Vujačič!

Maria Sharapova’s performance over the last couple of months has given much fodder to the tennis blogosphere debate as to whether the Russian is on her way back to the top of the WTA rankings.

At Wimbledon last week, Sharapova reached her first Grand Slam final since winning the Australian Open in 2008. Last month, she also reached the semifinals of the French Open, which is supposed to be her least favourite Slam.

These performances have boosted her ranking to No. 5, which is the highest she has managed after that career-threatening injury a couple of years ago.

How much further can she go?

Let’s start off with a bit of history, shall we?

Maria’s foray into the world of tennis began when she was given her first tennis racket by Yevgeny Kafelnikov’s father at the tender age of four.

When she was seven, Maria participated in a tennis camp graced by the presence of Martina Navratilova.

The Czech-American veteran was so impressed by what she saw that she immediately recommended Maria to join the famous Nick Bolletieri Tennis Academy in Florida, whose alumni include the likes of Bjorn Borg, Boris Becker, Jim Courier, Monica Seles, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.

Maria’s family wasn’t the wealthiest in Russia; in fact, they were pretty middle-class. So, it took a lot of courage for Maria’s father, even after realizing his daughter’s potential, to throw his family's life away in Russia and move to a whole new continent for the sake of Maria's future.

Maria’s life in the Sunshine State didn’t begin so brightly since she didn’t speak a word of English.

Her family’s life there was a struggle to begin with. Her father worked several low-wage jobs in order to pay for her lessons until she was old enough to join the academy.

But Maria, at the age of nine, paid her father back by excelling in her tennis and earned a paid scholarship to the academy. She was a fighter and a go-getter since that young an age!

After turning pro in 2001, Maria, 14, started making her mark in junior events across the world. She reached the finals of the Australian Open and Wimbledon juniors in 2002.

Then, in 2004, Maria broke out.

She won a couple of small tournaments and then went on to win the pre-Wimbledon DFS Classic. These performances led her to a No. 13 seed at Wimbledon.

Then, the world watched in shock as a 17-year-old girl went on to defeat top players such as Ai Sugiyama and Lindsay Davenport to reach her first Grand Slam final.

With Serena Williams on the other side of the court in the final, not many gave Maria a chance, even after such a breakout performance.

But the Russian produced one of the biggest shocks in Wimbledon history by comfortably beating Williams 6-1, 6-4.

Maria Sharapova had arrived.

Her whole game was built around her service; Sharapova had a powerful first and second serve and relied on her service winners. Her serves constantly clocked around the 115-120 mph mark.

Maria loved bossing around the court with her aggressive ground strokes. She loved playing all the possible angles, and her shots spelled tremendous power and accuracy. Her 6'2" height obviously helped.

Sharapova reached the semifinals of the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open the following year, which boosted her to the top of the WTA rankings for the first time in her career.

But she just couldn’t manage to reach the final of a major again, which led many to proclaim that she was a one-hit wonder.

In 2006, Maria did what she does best—prove her doubters wrong—by winning the U.S. Open as the No. 3 seed, beating the top two seeds, Amélie Mauresmo and Justine Henin, on the way to the title.

She became a household name after this win.

After an appearance in the final of the 2007 Australian Open, a hamstring injury limited Maria’s performance for most of the season. After taking a few months off, she returned to action in October but had fallen out of the top five for the first time since 2005.

But Maria, no stranger to challenges thus far, took it all in stride and delivered quite the statement by ending Justine Henin’s 32-match winning streak en route to her third major title at the 2008 Australian Open.

She did so without dropping a single set in the entire tournament.

But Maria’s form dipped significantly as the season progressed.

She bowed out in the fourth round and the second round of the French Open and Wimbledon, respectively.

Later that year during the Rogers Cup, Maria started experiencing a throbbing in her shoulder. A subsequent MRI scan revealed a rotator-cuff tear.

It’s impossible to fathom the psychological damage such a career-threatening injury can have on a player, especially one as young as Maria. Speculation was rife as to whether the 22-year-old’s career was over.

But Maria refused to give up. She braved the surgeries and the painful recuperation program. She adjusted her serve, employing a more compressed backswing to relieve the stress on her shoulder.

She then re-entered the tour in time for the 2009 French Open, where she, impressively enough, reached the quarterfinals.

But the once-powerful and feared serve was gone.

Maria struggled through Wimbledon and the U.S. Open with an over-abundance of double faults. Her serve, which had been the essence of her game, was faltering, and she was low in confidence.

Maria had a long dry spell in 2010, in which she failed to get past the fourth round of a major. She ended the year ranked 18th in the world, with the pundits writing off any chance of her ever returning to the top again.

Her engagement to the New Jersey Nets' Sasha Vujačič just added to the perception that she was distracted, and her tennis career was nearing its end.

Maria, as always, couldn’t care less about the media’s opinion. She decided to ruffle things up before the 2011 season by hiring a new coach.

She then started showing signs of improvement but struggled with her consistency. It took a fourth-round exit at the Australian Open and an ear infection for her to start showing some positive results.

A semifinal appearance at Indian Wells, where she lost to world No.1  Caroline Wozniacki, got her back into the top 10 for the first time since Feb. 2009.

Maria went one step further at Miami, where she lost the final to Victoria Azarenka.

Sharapova’s serve started getting stronger and stronger as the clay court season began. A third-round loss at Madrid was forgotten quickly as Maria recorded the biggest clay-court victory of her career by winning the Rome WTA event.

She carried forward her form into the French Open, where she was the seventh seed. Still struggling with double faults and unforced errors; she lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Na Li.

Now, the reason I’ve bored you with this history lesson is that I wanted to point out the numerous instances in which Sharapova has been proclaimed a goner, only to prove everyone wrong each and every time.

Maria remains one of the most iron-willed players on the tour and thrives on the criticism thrown her way. More than proving a point to her detractors, she fights to prove a point to herself.

Sharapova never gives in to any situation, no matter how difficult it is. She still goes for all the shots in the book and never backs down until the ball is out of play.

Although she has never quite gotten back her once-famed serve, and her double faults often cross the permissible limit, Sharapova never lets herself get discouraged and continues to fight on.

Maria’s performance at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships was her strongest since her surgery. She destroyed her opponents with her powerful baseline play. Amazingly enough, her ground strokes always managed to fall inches within the line.

But even after reaching the final without dropping a set, I knew that her double faults and restricted movement would prove to be her downfall. And I was right.

That’s not to say I’m taking anything away from Petra Kvitova. After watching her semifinal win over Victoria Azarenka, I knew that the 21-year-old’s big, left-handed serve and powerful ground strokes would probably be too much for Maria to handle.

The only hope Maria had was if she could, somehow, cut down her double faults, which stood at a whopping 32 before the final.

Maria kept the number down to six in the final, but that obviously wasn’t enough. 

I think the problem lies in her confidence.

She chose to receive first in the final—an option not many would take, especially on such a big occasion. Maria’s erratic serve seems to have had a detrimental psychological impact on her. If she wants to improve further, she needs to get that fear out of her head.

That being said, Maria’s exploits at Wimbledon have landed her back in the top five for the first time since her career-threatening injury.

Most importantly, she refuses to be beaten down by the disappointment of the loss and remained sanguine in defeat.

Maria told Wimbledon's official website:

“This is a big step because my game is improving, and it's a big step because it gives me a tremendous amount of confidence going forward. I'm determined to win more major championships. It didn't happen today; maybe, it will tomorrow.”

Maria has a lot to look forward to this season, and her fans will be thrilled to know that she has vowed to come back stronger.

The Russian has, perhaps, been the victim of such a premature rise to fame, which saw her win her first Grand Slam at the age of 17. It’s like she’s been there forever.

But what people fail to realize is that Maria is only 24.

She just needs to get her confidence back. Once that happens, her serve, rhythm and movement will automatically improve.

Her rivals and detractors should pray that it never happens because once Maria is back to her A-game, I see no one and nothing stopping her ascension back to the top.

Judging by her track record, that day shouldn't be far away.