“In tennis, you either lose or win,” Maria Sharapova talks about her biggest career lessons, motivations and more

Sharapova also revealed how her dad helped her develop a coping mechanism against failures.

“In tennis, you either lose or win,” Maria Sharapova talks about her biggest career lessons, motivations and more

Maria Sharapova at Armchair podcast (Image via Armchair website)

Maria Sharapova ended her tennis career with five Grand Slam titles to her credit. But the Russian ace was also on the opposite side of the result the same number of times. She went on to lose five Grand Slam finals in her illustrious career.

Overall, Sharapova had a 645-171 Win-Loss record in her career. While she was known to dominate the court almost every time she stepped on it, there were quite a few heartbreaking defeats as well and Sharapova considers them more important.

Like any elite sportsperson, Sharapova valued failures more than success and the reason is pretty simple- failure teaches more than success does. Sharapova, in a talk show, emphasized the importance of failures and also pointed out how tennis is a bit different from other sports in treating the players who end on the opposite side of the result.

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The Russian ace who hung up her boots in 2020 talks about how tennis treats players differently. Sharapova pointed out that while in other sports, the player or the team that loses gets applause and a runner-up trophy, in tennis, the player either loses or wins.

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.
Maria Sharapova said on the Armchair podcast.

Maria Sharapova talks about developing coping mechanisms against failures

The former World No.1 also talked about developing a coping mechanism against failures with the help of her father. Sharapova then pointed out how a defeat sets up a player for a win while also testing the bond between the players and their teammates.

Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova (Image via Tennis Canada)
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 tough conversations.

Notably, Maria Sharapova stayed at the top for most of her career. However, the Russian had to go through a rough phase when she was banned from the tour over doping. Although she got her ban reduced by nine months, Sharapova could not endure the constant criticism she faced after that scandal. Eventually, she decided to call it a day.

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