Unstoppable: My Life So Far by Maria SharapovaMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I remember watching Maria Sharapova play and generally liked her style & demeanour – she could exude a steely determination & confidence. I did not know too much beyond that of her life and the book summary was enticing. Maria’s family lived in Belarus, just about 80 miles from Chernobyl. She took up the name Maria in the US – instead of persisting with Masha which was often mispronounced as ‘Marsha’. Due to the Chernobyl disaster, their family decided to move to Sochi. Maria’s dad Yuri sensed her potential early and started learning tennis from the age of 4. In one match, after watching her, Martina Navratilova suggested to her dad that she would benefit by attending a training academy in Florida.
Maria’s dad decided to make her tennis career his goal in life and applied for a US visa when she was 6. They landed in Florida with a sum of $700, and with no-one to receive them, they went over with some people they met on the flight for the night. The initial many months were a huge struggle with their finances depleting fast. Based on her game, Maria later got a scholarship with the Nick Bollettieri tennis academy. It was well over 2 years before her mother got a visa to join them in the US. There are a lot of details of her training and how she rose to play professionally at the age of 14. There was also a period of confusion on whether she should go left-handed. This was the period when the Williams sisters rose to the top, especially Serena. 2004 represented a key breakthrough moment for Maria when she beat Serena Williams in the Wimbledon final at the age of 17. As per Maria, she heard from someone else that Serena was furious after her Wimbledon match, and this set off a bitter rivalry – with Serena winning a lot of their subsequent matches. Her hectic lifestyle and constant travel took a toll on any potential relationships. It is after many years that she moved away from her dad being a constant presence and a coach.
In the 2016 Australian Open, Maria failed a drug test with Meldonium being found in her blood. The ban for this substance came into effect only from Jan of that year. She had been taking a medication which had this substance for the past 10 years under prescription for heart health, and did not realize that this was now disallowed. This invited a 2-year ban which was subsequently reduced to 15 months on representation. The verdict did make the point that it seems to be completely inadvertent with no intention of cheating.
I loved the first half of the book on her early life and struggles. A lot of the material is very inspirational and a lot of credit goes to her dad for putting her career above everything else. The extent of sacrifice and challenges the two of them took on is very well related. The later sections have details on her training, matches & professional career. While the book meanders on and off to her attitude of never giving up, thankfully it falls well short of being boring bragging.
I listened to the audiobook which was told by Maria Sharapova herself and it was a pleasure to listen to.
My rating: 4.5 / 5.
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment