- Maria Sharapova just turned 35
- She retired from professional tennis in 2020 and got engaged to her fiancée Alexander Gilkes
- Before leaving tennis, she suffered setbacks among them wrongful indictment for doping and was banned for 15 months
- But, she always wanted to raise a family as an entrepreneur and not as a tennis player which is why she invested back when she was a player in several businesses
Tennis legend Maria Sharapova broke the internet recently after announcing she is pregnant with her fiancée Alexander Gilkes.
The former world No.1 is elated that she is expecting her first child. She made the announcement on her 35th birthday.
“Precious beginnings!!! Eating birthday cake for two has always been my speciality,” she posted on her Instagram.
Sharapova and Gilkes announced their engagement in 2020 soon after retiring from professional tennis. She played for two decades and wanted to focus on something else.
She boasts of 36 singles victories. And her recent announcement is such a big deal.
WHY IS MARIA SHARAPOVA AND HER PREGNANCY A BIG DEAL?
Maria Sharapova. Photo/NBC Chicago
Having a family is like a dream come true for Maria Sharapova after wading through murky issues in tennis. And the biggest feat that she has made is getting pregnant after retiring without controversies except for this one.
In 2016, the 20-time Grand Slam champion found herself in the eye of a storm after testing positive for banned substances. She lays it all bare in her autobiography ‘Unstoppable’.
The discovery that she had been taking meldonium for a month after it was banned (in January 2016) was dumbfounding. It was one of tennis’ most dramatic moments, and Sharapova was in command.
She took meldonium (brand name Mildronate) for 10 years for an abnormal heartbeat and a family history of diabetes. Meldonium is only detected in the Baltics and Russia.
In 2015, meldonium was found in 17% of 4,316 samples taken from Russian athletes, approximately eight times the international standard. As a pharmaceutical therapy to boost athletes’ physical work capacity, the substance is suggested, according to a 2012 Baltic Sport Science Conference report.
Sharapova was previously, but neither she nor her team read it. But, a clearer warning would have come if she had informed the World Anti-Doping Agency of her use of meldonium, despite having registered other permitted medications with the agency.
Anatoly Skalny, Sharapova’s 2006 meldonium prescriber, was fired in 2012 because she objected to the dosage he provided. Then she delegated responsibility to her agent, Max Eisenbud, a man who had helped her make hundreds of millions but had no medical background.
In addition, he had not fully declared to Wada. And her sense of vindication after the court of arbitration for sport ruled that she did not use it as a “performance-enhancing product, but for medical reasons” are at the heart of the book’s plot.
The Court found that under no circumstances, therefore, can the athlete be called an intentional doper. Her ban was lowered from two years to 15 months but it still dealt her a big blow.
She returned to the court after the 15-month ban but decided this would be her last stretch in tennis.
DID MARIA SHARAPOVA INVEST?
As if to prepare for another phase of her life raising a family after quitting tennis, Maria Sharapova invested massively.
Speaking of Maria Sharapova net worth, one of her major investments – Tonal – comes to mind. Tonal is a smart home gym powered by AI.
Before investing in Tonal, Sharapova requested Tonal’s founder Aly send her the products so she could test them out at home before making a decision. The five-time Grand slam winner chose to invest in the machine after doing a thorough evaluation.
Maria Sharapova. Photo/ Celebrity Net Worth
One of her interactions with Tonal’s founder, Aly, sticks out in her mind. She asked him to send her a unit on which she spent four weeks and did a thorough analysis on it.
Maria is looking at a new life as an investor and an entrepreneur. She is now the ‘candy lady’. In case you’re wondering what this means, here is what you need to know about Maria Sharapova net worth.
Throughout her grand tennis career, Sharapova accumulated $325 million – before taxes. After nearly two decades with a racket, she ploughed back the money into Sugarpova, a candy line with mega investments.
The Russian invested a sizeable amount of money in reputable companies such as Therabody, Tonal, Rove Furniture, and Supergoop.
She says reinventing herself was a major drive. All through, she became a world figure because of tennis but this was not enough.
She needed something else to keep her sane financially and satisfy her other life as an entrepreneur.
She also wanted her identity to change – at least by some other form and not just tennis.
“I was always considered a tennis player. I just didn’t want to be defined by this one thing, and although I knew that I was good at it, I felt like I had a lot more to offer,” she offers.
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