Maria Sharapova “can’t throw, can’t pass and has no touch”, but she “willed her way” to several Grand Slam titles, according to her former agent Max Eisenbud.
Sharapova won her maiden WTA Tour singles titles at the age of 16 in 2003 and the following year she became the third youngest woman behind Lottie Dod and Martina Hingis to win the Wimbledon title after defeating Serena Williams in the final, just three months after turning 17.
In August 2005 she became world No 1 for the first time and she went on to complete a Career Grand Slam as she won the US Open in 2006, the Australian Open in 2008 and two French Open titles in 2012 and 2014.
While many of her peers on the WTA Tour were known for their power, Sharapova was known for her finesse and mental strength.
IMG Tennis’ Head of Clients Eisenbud was part of Sharapova’s journey since she was 12 and turned her into one of the most successful tennis players on and off court as she was one of the most marketable players during her heyday and also earned a fortune from sponsorship agreements
Speaking on The Tennis Podcast, Eisenbud joked about the five-time Grand Slam champion’s poor skills, but says she always made up for it in other ways.
“Besides being an amazing player at age 11 when I first saw her play, I think you all saw she was all business, she knew what she wanted, she’d dedicate her time and energy to becoming the best she could be,” he joked.
“I mean I tell people all the time she’s probably the worst athlete that, and I’ll tell her if she was here (laughing), the worst athlete to ever win a Grand Slam. She can’t throw, she can’t pass, she has no touch but she willed her way.”
He added: “I think she was the most mentally strong players to ever play the game and I would put her on that list with all that great champions, she just wasn’t the athlete that these other players were. She knew what she wanted in business, on and off the court, amazing young lady.”
Sharapova retired in April 2020, having won 36 WTA Tour titles – including five Grand Slams – one Olympic silver medal while she also spent 21 weeks at No 1 in the WTA Rankings.
She also won $38,777,962 in career-prize money earnings, which puts her fourth on the all-time list, although she is estimated to have earned $325m during her career from sponsorships, prize money and investments.
