John McEnroe, once called Maria Sharapova the best competitor in women’s tennis, ever. Maria is one of ten women to win each of the four Grand Slams sometime in her career. She won her first Grand Slam title at the ripe old age of 18. From 2003-2015, Maria has won at least one major title. Her new book, Unstoppable: My Life So Far, is an autobiography of her journey to the tennis world.
Maria is more than a professional tennis player, she is a celebrity, on the highest level. Her face has been plastered on magazines, she has been on talk shows, advertisers adore her. In fact, I follow Maria on Instagram. There is more to Maria than the glamour you see on the television. To understand her, one must go back to Russia when she was only four years old.
Yuri, Maria’s father, started playing tennis as an adult and Maria would tag along and watch him play. The two started playing together and Yuri noticed her natural ability. Martina Navratilova met young Maria and told her father to get her to the United States.
Yuri convinced Maria’s mother to let him take Maria to the United States and, selling everything he had, Yuri and Maria head to Florida for training. Neither one of them spoke a word of English. Having no money and not speaking English, Yuri’s charm was able to get Maria a scholarship to a tennis academy, a place to live and he was able to get himself a job. The remarkable journey had begun.
Maria talks about her life in the tennis world candidly, not only her tennis life but also her family and personal life, too. She had growth spurt which vaulted her to over six feet. She talks about her injury career. In 2016, at the Australian Open, the International Tennis Federation banned Maria from tennis for taking meldonium, a substance thousands of athletes were taking and was just recently banned from tennis.
This autobiography is not only a treat for any tennis fan, but for the general public as well. Maria is a delight and I enjoyed reading her book. Maria once said motivation for her was always easy, “I just want to be everyone”.
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