17-year-old Maria Sharapova holding the Wimbledon title back in 2004. (Getty Images)
Russian star Maria Sharapova shocked the world by winning the 2004 Wimbledon final against Serena Williams.
She was only 17 that year and went on to win another four Grand Slams in her career, however, the early part of that wasn’t easy.
Sharapova was questioned about her looks a lot of times, and she gained a following because of that.
However, that didn’t distract her from the game. The Russian is considered one of the greatest ever to have played the sport.
There also were questions about her facing off against other glamour stars. Anna Kournikova, another Russian, didn’t always stun the court with her performances, but she too got a cult following due to her looks.
Sharapova was more talented, but an incredible series of questions highlight what she had to go through.
Tumaini Carayol, a Guardian journalist, shared a few questions faced by a 16-year-old Sharapova.
The actual interviewer isn’t named in this transcript, but Sharapova is constantly asked if her looks are a distraction.
Sharapova answers with a lot of maturity and keeps firing back while trying to highlight her tennis skills and not her modelling.
The final question in the transcript goes full-blown asking about her looks, but Sharapova wasn’t backing down.
After her tennis career started to go downhill, Sharapova opened up her own candy line, Sugarpova.
The Russian also has modelled for several brands and has graced the covers of many top magazines.
Sharapova also made her retirement announcement on Vogue before putting it on her social media.
The 32-year-old has a great journey in tennis, and she will remain as one of the best. She wasn’t able to dominate as much as she should have and had some drug-related issues too.
However, that shouldn’t cast a shadow on her achievements on the tennis court.
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