Maria Sharapova

Williams and Gauff will meet for the second time in what is a blockbuster opening-round encounter.

But there are several intriguing clashes in the first round at the year's first grand slam and we take a look at six of the best.

Damir Dzumhur v Stan Wawrinka [15]

Wawrinka would have preferred a friendlier draw than a man he has lost to in two of their three meetings. The Swiss 2014 champion was resurgent last year, while Dzumhur has been unable to replicate the form of his breakout season in 2017. Still, the Bosnian beat Wawrinka in three sets on clay in Geneva last year so the three-time grand slam champion will have to be near his best.

Daniil Medvedev [4] v Frances Tiafoe

Tiafoe thrilled during a run to the quarter-finals in Melbourne last year, but that would prove to be the high point of his 2019. The American has made a slow start to 2020 with first-round losses in Doha and Auckland, but was competitive against Medvedev in a 6-2 7-5 loss in Washington last year. After a spectacular 2019 that included reaching the US Open final, Medvedev shapes as the most likely to stop the 'Big Three', although he will need to get through a somewhat tricky opener first.

Sam Querrey v Borna Coric [25]

While he has dropped off since 2017, Querrey will fancy his chances against Coric after the Croatian's difficult finish to last year. Coric finished 2019 with six straight losses and suffered two more at the ATP Cup, to go with a win over Dominic Thiem. After four consecutive first-round exits in Melbourne, Coric reached the fourth round last year, while Querrey has never been beyond the third round in Melbourne. Coric won their only previous meeting at the French Open in 2015.

Venus Williams v Coco Gauff

Arguably the pick of any first-round match, the 39-year-old Williams meets the 15-year-old Gauff once more. Gauff stunned Williams 6-4 6-4 at Wimbledon last year and her ranking then (313) compared to now (66) tells the story of how she finished 2019 as the teenager followed it up with a title win in Linz. Williams withdrew from Brisbane due to injury, making this a hugely tough task for the seven-time grand slam singles champion.

Kristina Mladenovic v Karolina Pliskova [2]

Pliskova has enjoyed Melbourne in recent years, reaching at least the quarter-finals in each of the past three, but was handed a tough start in 2020. The Czech is coming off a title win in Brisbane and that will give her much-needed confidence ahead of facing former world number 10 Mladenovic. The pair have split their previous four meetings, with Mladenovic winning the last of those in 2017.

Donna Vekic [19] v Maria Sharapova

A wildcard, Sharapova was always going to be the danger in the draw – and she landed alongside 19th seed Vekic. Vekic enjoyed a fine 2019 to rise into the world's top 20, while Sharapova battled injuries and has fallen to 145th in the rankings. Vekic should be the favourite to advance, but if five-time major winner Sharapova can find some form, the Russian is always a threat and last bowed out in the opening round in Melbourne in 2010.

Kenin, who moved to the United States when she was a child, claimed her first grand slam title on Saturday, fighting back to beat Garbine Muguruza 4-6 6-2 6-2 in the final at Melbourne Park.

The 21-year-old was to leapfrog 23-time major champion Williams to reach number seven in the WTA rankings following her triumph, becoming the top-ranked American player.

Kenin will now join her role model on the USA team for an upcoming Fed Cup qualifier, but she was also keen to highlight her Russian roots and the "feisty" approach she learned from Sharapova, a five-time grand slam winner.

"I definitely think [my Russian heritage] helped me," Kenin told a news conference. "I've looked up to Maria Sharapova, Anna Kournikova. I followed their matches when I was little.

"I feel like I got the feisty [approach]. I saw what it's like. She won a grand slam at 17, Maria, which I remember watching on TV. Yeah, I feel like that definitely helped me.

"I have part of Russian stuff inside me, the fight that I have, trying just to be confident, do what I do best.

"And thank you to my parents for giving me the American dream. [Being the American number one] is exciting. I'm so happy. I was told if I would win, I'd be number seven [in the world].

"It's such an honour. I love representing the US. I just love it. It's like an honour.

"Everything is coming into place, a dream come true. Everything I've done, all the hard work I've been doing is paying off.

"It hasn't sunk in yet. Everything is just still a blur for me. I just can't believe what happened. Yeah, it's just great. I feel like I'm doing some great things for American tennis.

"It's such an honour. I've watched Serena. I've been following her, all the slams she's been winning. It's a special feeling just to be ahead of her.

"I'm just super excited. I can't wait to compete, be on the same team with her in the Fed Cup."

As well as dropping the first set to Muguruza, Kenin recovered from a love-40 deficit on her serve at 2-2 in the decider.

"I'm so proud. Obviously not many people can do that," she said. "I feel like mental toughness has been a huge part. I've worked on that over the course of the years. It's just paying off.

"I knew I had to take my chance. I had to be brave by playing a two-time grand slam champion. All respect to her. She played a really tough match. Every point was such a battle."

Kenin is the 11th different champion in the 13 grand slams since the start of 2017, yet she was hoping to enjoy a period of dominance going forward.

"I would love to. That would be amazing," she said. "Right now, I mean, I still can't believe what just happened. I need to somehow come down and just let it all sink in.

"Hopefully, I can just keep going, build on everything that I've done these past two weeks, just move forward."

Australia has been ravaged by bushfires in recent months, triggering poor air conditions and concerns among players for their welfare ahead of the year's first grand slam.

Australian Open organisers have come under fire after allowing qualifiers to take place on Tuesday, despite a thick haze of smoke, forcing Slovenian Dalila Jakupovic to retire, while Eugenie Bouchard, Bernard Tomic and Maria Sharapova also struggled.

The main draw gets underway on Monday and all eyes are on the Victorian capital with conditions continuing to fluctuate.

Asked if the slam should go ahead, Conron - Associate Professor and Director of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at St Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne - told Omnisport: "From a respiratory physician's point of view, if you had air quality of the type we have seen previously, I'd think the recommendation would be to delay or postpone the tournament until the weather cleared.

"I wouldn't think there'd be risk of long-term damage to your lungs. However, there's certainly a risk of precipitating an asthma attack. For those who have known asthma in particular, they'd be at a significant disadvantage to whose who haven't."

Conron, who helped prepare athletes for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing amid concerns over poor air quality in China, added: "Everyone would be at increased risk of developing respiratory symptoms.

"A lot would get sore throats, a bad and irritating cough and a smaller number would probably get asthma-type symptoms, particularly if they're not adequately controlled.

"If I was to provide advice to players and those wanting to do exercise in those conditions, if possible don't."

Tuesday's conditions were in the "very poor" range. For such weather, the Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) recommends avoiding being outside and reducing prolonged or heavy physical activity. In some areas of Melbourne and Victoria, conditions were "hazardous". In those conditions, people are urged to close their windows and doors, while keeping physical activity levels as low as possible.

Conron added: "There's athletes who don't know they have asthma or might only have mild asthma and they're not on treatment. For that group of people, there's also the risk of increased symptoms associated with exposure to poor air quality. They might perform worse than they normally perform.

"The other thing is, tennis players are under the WADA [World Anti-Doping Agency] code. So you can't just treat them with steroids or high doses of inhalers without an adequate diagnosis, because they run the risk of being tested and face a ban.

"At the Australian Open, they would've had to notify WADA they are on medication. For example, if there's someone who doesn't know they have asthma and have an attack - you're allowed to take 16 puffs of Ventolin a day, which doesn't get you over the threshold. Not all inhalers are approved."

Dr Karl Kruszelnicki - who has degrees in physics and maths, biomedical engineering, medicine and surgery - also provided an insight into the conditions that have left tennis players concerned.

"I'd tell them not to do it [play]. The right thing to do would be to cancel the tournament," Kruszelnicki told Omnisport. 

"Sitting at rest, we breathe in maybe five litres of air every minute. But if we're exercising hard, we can get up to 50-70L. So you have these athletes on the court and they're shifting huge amounts of air in their lungs and they're getting acute affects from it. The air is not safe to breathe.

"Our immune system is made stronger by the moderate amount of exercise we do. But when you get to the top-grade athletes, their immune systems go to lunch and they're really fragile.

"These athletes at the tennis and Olympic Games, they're scared of people coming in with influenza. They are pushing their bodies way beyond what's actually healthy, but they want to win a tournament. In terms of the effect of the air pollution on them, they're more at risk than a less highly trained person, because their immune system has been knocked out of whack. 

"They have pushed themselves so hard but they have compromised their immune systems. So they're taking more pollutants in, but their bodies are more fragile. You think they have big muscles and can run around. In that regard they can, but almost certainly, they'd be more fragile. The technical term is an insult - an infection or pollution."

Sharapova crashed out in the opening round of the Australian Open for the first time since 2010 after going down 6-3 6-4 to 19th seed Donna Vekic in Melbourne.

A five-time grand slam champion, Sharapova has struggled for form and fitness following just 15 appearances in 2019 as her stunning fall from grace since a 15-month drugs ban - which expired in 2017 - continued.

Former world number one Sharapova suffered her third consecutive loss in the opening round of a slam after early exits at Wimbledon and the US Open.

Asked whether the prospect of not returning to the Australian Open has crossed her mind, Sharapova told reporters: "I don't know. I don't know. I was fortunate to get myself to be here and thankful to [Tennis Australia CEO] Craig [Tiley] and the team allowing me to be part of this event. It's tough for me to tell what's going to happen in 12 months' time."

Sharapova's season was interrupted by injuries last year, with the 32-year-old Russian star posting an 8-7 win-loss record.

Question marks over Sharapova's future are set to intensify as the world number 145 – who received a wildcard for this year's event – is projected to drop outside of the WTA's top 350.

"I would like to," Sharapova said when asked if her body is capable of holding up to feature in more tournaments. "I don't know. I don't have a crystal ball to tell you if I can or if I will, but I would love to, yeah."

Sharapova added: "It's tough to say I'm on the right track right now 45 minutes after the match. But, I mean, there is no way to get out of it except to keep believing in yourself, because if you do do all the right things and you don't believe in yourself, then that's probably a bad formula."

Sharapova suffered her third consecutive loss in the opening round of a slam following Tuesday's 6-3 6-4 defeat to 19th seed Donna Vekic in Melbourne, where she committed 31 unforced errors.

A first-round casualty at Wimbledon and the US Open last year, five-time major champion Sharapova was ousted in one hour, 21 minutes in sunny conditions on Rod Laver Arena.

It is the first time in a decade that Russian star and 2008 winner Sharapova has fallen at the first hurdle of the Australian Open.

Sharapova – who last won a slam via the 2014 French Open – lost to countrywoman Maria Kirilenko in three sets in 2010.

The 32-year-old has been struggling for form and fitness after a first-round exit prior to the Australian Open in Brisbane.

Sharapova only played 15 matches last season due to injuries, finishing with an 8-7 record as her stunning fall from grace since a 15-month drugs ban, which expired in 2017, continued.

Fourth seed Halep was handed a testing opener against Jennifer Brady, who had beaten Ash Barty at the Brisbane International this month.

But the Romanian prevailed 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 in one hour and 36 minutes to join home hope Barty, defending champion Naomi Osaka and tournament favourite Serena Williams in round two.

An up-and-down first set was crucial, as Halep twice recovered from a break down and saved three set points while Brady was serving at 6-5.

Halep found a way to force a tie-break and then edged it 7-5 before running away with the contest in the second set.

Wimbledon champion Halep also had to overcome a first-set fall that required the trainer to check on her wrist and joked she had also stumbled in her first match of the 2018 tournament, when she made it all the way to the final.

"In 2018 it was the same, probably I can repeat that!" said Halep.

"I don't know why in the first round always I fall down. Maybe it's a good sign but it's too far to think about that.

"My wrist is pretty painful. I need to chill and recover for the second round."

Second seed Pliskova earned a 6-1 7-5 victory over Kristina Mladenovic, losing serve just once in the 87-minute battle. The Czech faces Laura Siegemund next, while Halep will take on Harriet Dart.

TOP 10 ALL THROUGH AS SHARAPOVA'S WOES CONTINUE

Sharapova suffered her third consecutive loss in the first round of a grand slam following a 6-3 6-4 defeat against 19th seed Donna Vekic as the former world number one hit 31 unforced errors.

A first-round casualty at Wimbledon and the US Open, Sharapova - who has been struggling for form and fitness - crashed out in the first round of the Australian Open for the first time since 2010.

Sixth seed Belinda Bencic won 6-3 7-5 against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, while Madison Keys was a 6-3 6-1 victor against Daria Kasatkina, as all of the top 10 seeds moved safely into round two.

Elina Svitolina claimed a 6-4 7-5 victory in her match against Katie Boulter, while former grand slam champions Angelique Kerber and Garbine Muguruza were winners against Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Shelby Rogers respectively. Muguruza won by an unusual 0-6 6-1 6-0 scoreline.

KONTA AND VONDROUSOVA BOW OUT

Johanna Konta, Marketa Vondrousova, Amanda Anisimova and Anastasija Sevastova were the seeds to fall on day two.

An Australian Open semi-finalist in 2016, British 12th seed Konta suffered a 6-4 6-2 loss to Ons Jabeur.

On the comeback trail following a tendinitis-related problem in her right knee, which forced her to withdraw from Brisbane and Adelaide, Konta was only making her second appearance since losing in the US Open quarter-finals last year.

Konta said: "Ultimately the main thing was to start playing again, and I am. How I physically felt out there is obviously a massive tick for me compared to where I was in September. Before Brisbane I had been out for almost four-and-a-half months."

Czech Vondrousova, the 15th seed and French Open finalist last year, lost in three sets to Russian veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Another rising star fell as 18-year-old American Anisimova lost out in a final set to Zarina Diyas, while home hope Ajla Tomljanovic emphatically accounted for Sevastova with a 6-1 6-1 triumph to book a round-two meeting with Muguruza.

Sharapova has struggled with injuries in recent years, while she also served a 15-month ban after testing positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open.

The Russian, who was a major winner aged 17 at Wimbledon in 2004, wrote in Vogue and Vanity Fair: "I'm new to this, so please forgive me. Tennis — I'm saying goodbye."

And ATP Tour great Djokovic, speaking on court after his straight-sets defeat of Philipp Kohlschreiber at the Dubai Tennis Championships, prompted a round of applause in honour of Sharapova after learning of her retirement.

"I just heard the news right now, and I would like everyone to give her a big round of applause for everything she has done in her career," he said. "She deserves it definitely.

"She is a great fighter, as dedicated as someone can really be in our sport.

"The willpower and the willingness to overcome all the obstacles that she had - especially in the last five or six years with the injuries and surgeries, trying to come back to the court and play on her desired level - it's truly inspirational to see. She has the mind of a champion.

"I'm sorry that it had to end with an injury but, at the same time, she had a fantastic career. She can be proud of herself."

Djokovic's ATP rival Stefanos Tsitsipas - also victorious in Dubai on Wednesday - even suggested other players had been jealous of Sharapova.

"I come from a Russian background, so I kind of understand the way she approached tennis, the attitude and all of that," the Greek said. "I watched her play when I was young.

"I remember her winning the Wimbledon title, I don't know how old she was – 20, 17, unbelievable. She had a really good career, I can tell you.

"I think many people are jealous of the career she had. Obviously she was behind Serena, another great athlete, so I would say after Serena, she's probably the best.

"She had a really good career with great victories, great achievements in tennis. I think she added a lot to our sport."

Bushfires have ravaged large parts of the country in recent months, with New South Wales and Victoria hugely impacted.

Sportspeople have rallied to raise funds for victims and Sharapova and Djokovic offered their help as the duo prepare for the upcoming Australian Open.

"The month of January in Australia has been my [home emoji] for the past 15 years," Sharapova wrote on Twitter.

"Watching the fires destroy the lands, its beautiful families and communities of animals is deeply [heartbreak emoji].

"I would like to begin my donation at 25K. @DjokerNole, would you match my donation? #letsallcometogether."

Djokovic responded on Monday, writing: "Yes, @MariaSharapova I would like to match your $25k donation to double the aid sent to these communities. We stand by you, #Australia."

World number two Djokovic will be aiming for an eighth Australian Open title and 17th major when the grand slam starts on January 20 in Melbourne.

Sharapova, 35, retired early in 2020 when she was just 32, citing increasing physical pain that became too much to ignore.

She won five slam titles between 2004 and 2014, securing a career Grand Slam in the process – although she has lived in the United States since moving there as a child.

In an interview with the New York Times after her retirement, Sharapova detailed her chronic shoulder injuries that have plagued her since she was 21 years old, as well as something called intersection syndrome in both forearms, which she described as "like shin splints in my forearms."

In her Instagram post announcing the birth, Sharapova said her child, Theodore, is "the most beautiful, challenging, and rewarding gift our little family could ask for."

In racking up her 33rd consecutive win, the world number one ensured she followed up her semi-final appearance at this year's Australian Open with another deep run at Roland Garros.

On the day after her 21st birthday, 2020 French Open champion Swiatek joined a select group of players in managing that feat, with only six women making back-to-back semi-finals at the tournaments at a younger age than the Pole since the turn of the century.

They are Martina Hingis, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Ana Ivanovic, Eugenie Bouchard and Maria Sharapova.

Having become just the fourth woman this century to win five consecutive tournaments on the WTA Tour coming into Roland Garros, Swiatek will go into her semi-final clash against Daria Kasatkina confident of taking another step towards a second grand slam title.

Gauff has still not dropped a set at Roland Garros this year after cruising to a 6-3 6-1 semi-final victory over Martina Trevisan, ending the Italian's 10-match winning streak.

The 18-year-old became the youngest American female finalist in Paris since Monica Seles in 1991 and the youngest overall since Kim Clijsters in 2001.

The world number 23 is also the third-youngest grand slam finalist this century, with only Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon in 2004 and Clijsters at Roland Garros in 2001 doing so at a younger age.

Gauff has lifted the French Open trophy before, though, after succeeding in the junior competition four years ago.

But the in-form Iga Swiatek will be standing in her way on Saturday.

Swiatek is the first player to reach six or more finals on the WTA Tour in the first six months of the year since Serena Williams in 2013 (seven), with the Pole on a remarkable 34-match winning run.

However, the patience and precision of Gauff could test Swiatek after she became just the sixth American player in the Open era to reach the showpiece at Roland Garros without dropping a single set.

Victory for Gauff would make her the seventh player to win the girls' and women's singles titles in Paris.

Smoke blanketed Melbourne on Tuesday and play at the Australian Open was delayed, with readings showing the air quality in Victoria's capital as "very poor".

As players struggled with the conditions at Melbourne Park, Sharapova also battled at nearby Kooyong before her match against Siegemund was stopped.

The Russian former world number one, who was trailing 7-6 (7-4) 5-5, said organisers made the right decision.

"We played over two hours and I actually started feeling a little bit of a cough coming up to the end of the second set," Sharapova told SBS.

"But I've been sick for a few weeks so I thought it was something to do with that.

"When I heard Laura speak to the umpire and said she was struggling with it as well I was like, 'Okay, thankfully I'm not the only one' and then the umpire came down and said let's just play one more game.

"We were out there for over two hours so I think from a health standpoint it was the right call from the officials."

Bushfires have ravaged Australia in recent months and led to concerns over the air quality at the year's first grand slam.

Qualifying, and practice, were postponed early on Tuesday before play resumed, although Dalila Jakupovic retired from her match after having difficulties breathing.

Dalila Jakupovic was a set to the good against Stefanie Vogele when the Slovenian suffered a coughing fit, eventually dropping to her knees and requiring assistance.

She was taken off the court and, speaking after the match was called off, the world number 180 expressed her surprise that it even went ahead, given the poor air quality.

"I was really scared that I would collapse," she said. "That's why I went onto the floor because I couldn't walk anymore.

"I don't have asthma and never had breathing problems. I actually like heat.

"The physio came again and I thought it would be better. But the points were a bit longer and I just couldn't breathe anymore and I just fell on the floor.

"It's not healthy for us. I was surprised, I thought we would not be playing but we don't have much choice."

Across the city at the Kooyong Stadium, former world number one Maria Sharapova's match against Laura Siegemund was called to a halt for the same reason.

The Russian was trailing 7-6 (7-4) 5-5 in the Kooyong Classic clash when play was suspended and Sharapova said officials had "made the right call".

Bushfires have ravaged Australia in recent months and led to concerns over the air quality at the year's first grand slam, which begins on Monday. 

Elina Svitolina, a quarter-finalist in Melbourne in each of the past two years, expressed her frustration at the perceived lack of action over the issue.

She tweeted: "Why do we need to wait for something bad to happen to [take] action?".

The tweet was accompanied by a graphic which showed the air quality to be "very unhealthy".

Sharapova retired last week aged 32, revealing her body had become a "distraction" after being troubled by injury problems for much of her career.

The former world number one was out for nine months following a first operation in 2008 and coach Joyce had to work on remodelling the Russian's powerful serve in order to prolong her career.

Sharapova won the French Open twice following her return to take her major haul to five and complete a career Grand Slam, but could not add to that tally after a 2014 triumph at Roland Garros.

Joyce, who coached the global icon from 2004 to 2011, says it was a huge achievement just to come back from the surgery early in her career and is sure there would have been more major glory if she had not been so unfortunate with injuries.

He told Stats Perform: "What a lot of people don't realise is her coming back from that shoulder surgery was a win itself.

"We tried to do everything to not have surgery, but it got to a point where nothing we did was helping her.

"When the doctors went in I was there with her and the doctor came after about 30 minutes and said, 'Listen, I couldn't really do much, she had a tear in her rotator cuff, the way her shoulder is built I could have tightened it up, but then she could maybe not ever serve again'.

"He said he just cleaned it out, but told me I am the coach and have to figure out when she comes back if there is something mechanically she is doing or whatever.

"We'd had about a year of changing her service motion and trying different things, she went through a period where she was double-faulting, so people were questioning what we were doing and why she couldn't get the serve in.

"She had a great serve, but at the time her shoulder wasn't strong enough to do her normal long motion. She got back to the top 10 basically without one of her biggest weapons.

"The rest of her career I think she managed it, she could still serve big but I don't personally think it was anything like before she had the injury. I think if she hadn't hurt her shoulder she could probably have won double-digit grand slams.

"For her to come back and win the French Open a couple of times, because clay was her worst surface when she was younger, was because the serve is not as important on clay.

"For somebody to transform their game in a way to win more grand slams on their worst surface is incredible, it shows her resilience and determination."

Sharapova – a five-time grand slam champion – confirmed her retirement on Wednesday, having struggled with injuries in recent years, while she also served a 15-month ban for testing positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open.

The 32-year-old, who finishes her career at 373 in the WTA rankings and with 36 singles titles to her name, won her first grand slam at Wimbledon in 2004, aged 17.

Despite being one of the biggest names in tennis, Sharapova dismissed any idea of prolonging her time on the court, meaning her last appearance will be the defeat to Donna Vekic in the Australian Open in January.

"I don't feel I need to go on the court for the entire world and every fan to know that this is my last time on the court," Sharapova said in an interview with the New York Times.

"Even when I was younger, it was not the way I wanted it to end. As I think you've seen throughout my career, my perseverance has been my greatest tool, my greatest strength.

"But I've started feeling like it was becoming a weakness, because the stubbornness that was keeping me going was keeping me going for wrong reasons."

Having decided she should soon call it a day while flying from Australia to Los Angeles following her defeat to Vekic, Sharapova added that the death of basketball icon Bryant – who she said had been an "incredible sounding board" for her during her career – on January 26 made her mind up.

"We were supposed to see each other like three days after the crash," Sharapova said.

"I think we all seem at times in our journey like larger than life because of what we do, but everyone at the core is incredibly fragile.

"And if anything it just opens up your eyes to what really matters in life, so that was a moment where I had a really good think about my future as well."

Sharapova acknowledged it is difficult to leave her tally of grand slam titles at five, yet she has no regrets over calling time on her career.

"Look, would I have loved to have a sixth, a seventh, an eighth Grand Slam trophy?" she added. "That number sounds better, but I could have had zero, and I got myself to a pretty incredible place."

A five-time grand slam champion, Sharapova has struggled with injuries in recent years while she also served a 15-month ban after testing positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open.

Announcing her decision to step away from the game in Vogue and Vanity Fair, she wrote: "How do you leave behind the only life you’ve ever known? 

"How do you walk away from the courts you’ve trained on since you were a little girl, the game that you love — one which brought you untold tears and unspeakable joys — a sport where you found a family, along with fans who rallied behind you for more than 28 years?

"I'm new to this, so please forgive me. Tennis — I'm saying goodbye."

Sharapova finishes her career at 373 in the WTA rankings but spent much of her time on the circuit challenging for the game's biggest prizes.

Having moved from Russia to Florida aged six to pursue a tennis career, Sharapova's star continued to rise and, having turned pro in 2001, she made her first appearance at a Tour level event in 2002.

A year later she won her first WTA title at the Japan Open and her first grand slam success arrived aged 17 at Wimbledon in 2004.

By then she was well established as the pin-up girl of women's tennis and one of the most marketable athletes in the world.

Four more grand slam successes followed.

Sharapova, who ends her career with 36 WTA titles, wrote: "Wimbledon seemed like a good place to start. I was a naive 17-year-old, still collecting stamps, and didn’t understand the magnitude of my victory until I was older —and I'm glad I didn't.

"My edge, though, was never about feeling superior to other players. It was about feeling like I was on the verge of falling off a cliff — which is why I constantly returned to the court to figure out how to keep climbing.

"The US Open showed me how to overcome distractions and expectations. If you couldn't handle the commotion of New York - well, the airport was almost next door.

"The Australian Open took me to a place that had never been a part of me before - to an extreme confidence that some people call being 'in the zone'. I really can’t explain it - but it was a good place to be.

"The clay at the French Open exposed virtually all my weaknesses - for starters, my inability to slide on it - and forced me to overcome them. Twice. That felt good."

Her second success at Roland Garros came in 2014 but, by then, injuries were starting to take their toll and the last of her 10 appearances in a grand slam final ended in defeat to Serena Williams at the 2015 Australian Open.

The announcement she had failed the test for meldonium – a drug developed for heart patients that Sharapova claimed she took due to a magnesium deficiency and a family history of diabetes - not only did irreparable damage to her image but also ended her status as a serious contender.

Sharapova protested her innocence and saw the initial two-year suspension reduced on appeal but her results since returning have been largely underwhelming.

She did reach the semi-finals of her comeback event, the Stuttgart Grand Prix, in April 2017 but her sole success was in a minor WTA International tournament in Tianjin. 

Her final match was at the 2020 Australian Open, a 6-3 6-4 first-round defeat to Donna Vekic.

Reports suggest she has earned over $30million in endorsements over the course of her career while she owns her own sweet brand – Sugarpova.

And it is those business interests she will now focus her time on.

She concluded: "In giving my life to tennis, tennis gave me a life. I'll miss it every day.

"I'll miss the training and my daily routine: Waking up at dawn, lacing my left shoe before my right, and closing the court's gate before I hit my first ball of the day.

"I'll miss my team, my coaches. I'll miss the moments sitting with my father on the practice court bench. The handshakes — win or lose — and the athletes, whether they knew it or not, who pushed me to be my best.

"Tennis showed me the world — and it showed me what I was made of. It’s how I tested myself and how I measured my growth.

"And so in whatever I might choose for my next chapter, my next mountain, I’ll still be pushing. I’ll still be climbing. I'll still be growing."

The former world number one and five-time grand slam champion shocked tennis by announcing she had tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open.

Sharapova explained she had been taking the substance since 2006 for an irregular heartbeat and a history of diabetes in her family and claimed not to have realised the medicine had been added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list at the beginning of 2016.

Then aged 28, Russian Sharapova was provisionally suspended from March 12, with Nike halting its sponsorship until the investigation was complete.

In a press conference at a hotel in Los Angeles, Sharapova said: “For the past 10 years, I have been given a medicine called mildronate by my family doctor, and a few days ago, after I received the ITF letter, I found out that it also has another name of meldonium, which I did not know.

“I failed the test and I take full responsibility for it. I let my fans down, I let the sport down that I have been playing since the age of four and I love so deeply.

“I know with this I face consequences and I don’t want to end my career this way and I really hope I will be given another chance to play this game.”

Sharapova was initially banned for two years but this was reduced to 15 months on appeal.

The former Wimbledon champion returned to competitive tennis in April 2017 before retiring in February 2020.

Sharapova had struggled with chronic shoulder problems for some time and the five-time grand slam champion and former world number one had dropped to 373rd in the rankings.

The then-32-year-old said it would be a wrench to walk away, writing: “How do you leave behind the only life you’ve ever known?

“How do you walk away from the courts you’ve trained on since you were a little girl, the game that you love – one which brought you untold tears and unspeakable joys – a sport where you found a family, along with fans who rallied behind you for more than 28 years?

“I’m new to this, so please forgive me. Tennis – I’m saying goodbye.”

Having announced her talent by winning Wimbledon at the age of just 17 in 2004, Sharapova went on to establish herself as one of the greats of her era – among her contemporaries, only Serena and Venus Williams won more slam singles titles.

Sharapova added the US Open title in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008 before twice lifting the trophy at Roland Garros, in 2012 and 2014. She is one of only 10 women to achieve the career Grand Slam.

Her impact on court was trumped by her profile off it, with the Russian the world’s highest-earning female athlete for much of her career.

In 2016 came the bombshell announcement that she had failed a doping test for the cardiac drug meldonium, which had been added to the banned list at the start of that year.

Sharapova was banned for two years, reduced to 15 months on appeal.

She returned to action in April 2017 but was unable to reach her previous heights, peaking at a high of 21 in the rankings and reaching just one more grand slam quarter-final.

In July 2022, Sharapova became a mother with the birth of her son Theodore and has taken up pickleball in her post-retirement life.

Earlier this month, she partnered up with John McEnroe to take on Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf – in Pickleball Slam 2 – losing out on the one million USD (£789,000) prize.

Joyce had never met the youngster before that day in Los Angeles, where it was Sharapova's father, Yuri, who was urging the ATP Tour player not to give his daughter an easy ride.

By the time he was nearing the end of his playing career and Sharapova was in her mid-teens, Joyce was being instructed by coach Robert Lansdorp to "kill" the Russian during practice matches after being employed as her hitting partner.

Little did Joyce know he would soon be calling the shots, not only hitting them, after being appointed as Sharapova's coach in 2004.

The American saw the "eye of the tiger" in Sharapova, who retired aged 32 last week, during such one-sided hitting sessions that laid the foundation for a successful seven-year alliance.

Joyce, who helped the global icon win two grand slams and become world number one, told Stats Perform: "The first time I met Maria I think she was nine years old, I was on the tour at the time and when I was back home in LA I used to go and take a lesson with Robert, who was my coach growing up.

"One day he asked if I'd take a hit with this young Russian girl who had come in to take a lesson, he said she's awesome and tried so hard.

"She came on the court and I remember it like it was yesterday. I'd never really hit with a nine-year-old, so I was taking it easy and then her Dad, who couldn't speak English that great at the time, was telling me I could hit harder.

"Maria was diving around the court, running after the ball, I kind of developed a little bit of a relationship with her then.

"It turned out when she was 15, 16 I was playing the last couple of years on tour but my Mom was really sick with cancer, so I was spending a lot of time at home and making a little extra money as a hitter for Maria and I could still beat her pretty bad at the time.

"By the time I was travelling with her full-time, it was not like being with a complete stranger.

"Looking back, I knew she was special. Of course I didn't know at nine, I had no idea then, but by the time she was like 15, she was already trying to play some pro events.

"You could tell at 14, 15 she had this competitive drive and kind of like the eye of the tiger. I remember sometimes I'd be hitting with her and Robert would say 'play a couple of sets' and I'd say 'Robert, listen, how do you want me to play? Make it close?'

"He'd be like 'no, kill her.' I'd feel bad I'd be beating her 6-1 4-0 or something and she'd be trying so hard just to win a game. I notice that drive from her straight away, she loved to compete.

"I could see a lot of things I could improve on, so once I started working with her full-time, I could work on her taking the ball early, strategy, improving her forehand etc.

"The one thing that sticks out with her is that when she was playing from the first tournament almost until the end, I always knew whoever she was up against would have to go through hell to beat her, as she never gave up. She had this belief that she was always in it until the last point."

Joyce, now coaching Timea Babos, believes the five-time major champion will be a big loss to tennis.

"I remember going to South America to play a couple of exhibitions when she was about 21, we went to Chile and there was probably 20,000 people there. Then we went to Argentina and everywhere we went everybody knew her," he said.

"There is a certain aura about some athletes and she definitely had that. Everywhere she went there were big crowds, whether she was practicing or playing, everyone in airports would know her, walking down the street. That is special and doesn't come around often.

"There are so many girls playing now who probably look up to Maria. They might say they don't like her or this and that, but you think of a girl that is mid 20s or so, when she won Wimbledon [aged 17] they were young kids, so for sure they are looking up to her.

"They might not admit it now, but she would have been looking up to her when they were kids."

Sharapova, 32, endured an injury-hit 2019, playing just 15 singles matches – winning eight – and slipping to 147th in the rankings.

The Russian suffered a first-round loss at the Brisbane International on Tuesday, but will take her place at Melbourne Park.

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley confirmed on Wednesday that the 2008 champion would be given a chance at the year's first grand slam.

"We will give Maria Sharapova a wildcard," he told a news conference.

Sharapova has struggled to find her best form since returning from a 15-month drugs ban in 2017.

The five-time grand slam champion has reached the quarter-finals of a major just once in her past eight attempts, including making a fourth-round exit at the Australian Open last year.