Nearly 3 years since announcing her departure from tennis, Maria Sharapova is about to return to competition. However, in this re-release, “Russian Doll” tries a completely new sport.
Specifically, Maria Sharapova will participate in the Pickleball Slam 2 tournament taking place in February 2024 in Florida, USA. This is a tournament for players who have won the Grand Slam in tennis with a prize of up to 1 million USD.
Pickleball was “born” by Joel Pritchard in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, near Seattle Washington and has developed into a fun, popular sport in the US as well as Canada. Pickleball is a combination of table tennis, badminton and tennis. Pickleball is played both indoors and outdoors, on a field with length and width like a badminton court, but the net is placed close to the ground like tennis, and the court lines are divided into squares like table tennis. The plastic ball is shaped like a rattan ball but smaller in size. Athletes can play singles or doubles.
Although it is a new sport, pickleball has quickly created a trend because it is highly competitive and easy to play. At Pickleball Slam 1, the pair of Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi won the championship against the pair of Michael Chang and John McEnroe.
Sharapova has been practicing pickleball for the past few months. Sharapova admitted that she feels nervous because she has not played in front of a crowd since retiring from the WTA Tour in 2020. However, the former Russian tennis player is ready to rise to the challenge and show that she is still a competitor. redoubtable. “Dare I say that I don’t play much and am a bit nervous and stressed? Don’t bother, I can’t wait to see you there, please follow us, cheer us on”.
Sharapova aims to win at Pickleball Slam 2. The Russian beauty will pair with John McEnroe – who has a lot of experience in this sport, to compete with husband and wife Andre Agassi and Stefi Graf.
Fans are looking forward to Sharapova’s return. Her career has been both successful and controversial, but Sharapova has excelled in winning 5 Grand Slam titles.
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