"I was misdiagnosed... Experienced nauseating pain" - Maria Sharapova gets honest about severe mental toll of her career-affecting injury

Maria Sharapova recalled the mental toll that her misdiagnosed shoulder injury took on her while sharing details about how she did not dwell on it and focused on getting better. The former World No. 1 went on to win two French Open titles (in 2012 and 2014) after overcoming her injury.

From winning the first Major title as a 17-year-old at the 2004 Wimbledon, Sharapova rose to fame at a young age and attained the top spot in the WTA rankings the following year. However, her career hit a speed bump in 2008, after her Australian Open win.

The Russian started experiencing persistent pain in her shoulder, but doctors were unable to find the cause for it. In an interview with Andy Roddick on the Served Podcast, Maria Sharapova said [49:50 onwards]:

"I was misdiagnosed with my shoulder injury for quite some time... I had this pain, and no one could quite point it out. They said, “Oh, you have tendinitis and overuse, and you have very flexible shoulders and joints. It wasn’t until several months of just beating myself up mentally that I know there is a problem, that David Elchek found this flap in my tendon."

Sharapova faced pain while serving because the flap got caught when she reached the strike point, and it took months to detect in MRIs that she had a torn rotator cuff. She added:

"For three months, I am serving and I'm getting this nauseating pain and that for sure affected my confidence, my speed and even my recovery, because all I could think about was that once I was getting up there and my shoulder was right next to my ear, that I'm going to feel the sharp pain go through my body."

Maria Sharapova's diagnosis was followed by an operation, which kept her out of the game for nine months.

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Maria Sharapova recalls 2004 Wimbledon win

In an interview with Sean Evans on the Hot Ones YouTube show last month, Maria Sharapova recalled her glorious 2004 Wimbledon title win. 17-year-old Sharapova etched her name into the history books by defeating Serena Williams, who went on to become arch rivals.

Sharapova called her Wimbledon-winning moment the 'most memorable' in all of her tennis career. The reason for it, however, was not just the fact that she defeated Williams, but also the attitude she had going into the match.

"I'd say your first Grand Slam final is ultimately just the most memorable one. In my career, it came at a very young age. I was 17 years old and it was in London in Wimbledon, and you know, the whole world was watching. I was playing against Serena Williams, and everything felt like I should have just been happy to be there, but I was so fearless," she said.

Maria Sharapova hung up her racquet in 2020, at just 32 years of age, due to her successive injuries that hindered her ability to continue playing.