© Getty Images Sport – Cameron Spencer
Maria Sharapova admitted losing the Grand Slam finals and standing on the court watching her rival lift a trophy wasn’t an easy thing but added that those experiences taught her a valuable lesson. Sharapova burst onto the scene early as she was just 17 when she won the 2004 Wimbledon title and she was just 18 when she reached the world No 1 ranking for the first time in her career.
After becoming a Slam champion in 2004, Sharapova lifted her second Major trophy after beating Justine Henin in the 2006 US Open final. After starting her career with a 2-2 record in Grand Slam finals, Sharapova lost five of her next eight Slam finals.
“In what other sport is the losing team out there, or the losing individual getting a runners-up trophy while tens of thousands of people are watching you as you’re crying, upset and sad. You’ve gone that far. In tennis, it’s not a silver medal, you’ve lost or you’ve won and that’s worse.
I have always thought that losing, and perhaps, that is a lesson that my dad taught me, perhaps it’s something that I learned along the way, but I think losing sets you up for winning. When you win a match you high-five your team and you kind of move on to the next.
But it’s when you lose that you go back to the drawing board. You huddle with your team, you have the tough conversations,” Sharapova said on the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast.
Sharapova won her first Slam final and finished with five Slam titles
After beating Serena Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon final, Sharapova met the American in three more Slam finals – every time she ended on the losing side.
Two more players managed to beat Sharapova in a Slam final as Petra Kvitova beat the Russian in the 2011 Wimbledon final. Also, Victoria Azarenka beat Sharapova in the 2012 Australian Open final. Sharapova won her fifth and final Grand Slam title at the 2014 French Open after beating Simona Halep in the final. At the 2015 Australian Open, Sharapova made her 10th and last Grand Slam final – she lost to Williams.
