Moms and Dads
Maria Sharapova Welcomes Her Son, Theodore!
“He’s the most beautiful, challenging, and rewarding gift our family could ask for,” Maria Sharapova shares as she introduces her son, Theodore.
World-renowned tennis player and 5-time grand slam winner Maria Sharapova announces the arrival of her son, Theodore, in a sweet caption. “The most beautiful, challenging, and rewarding gift our little family could ask for.”
She and her fiancée, British businessman Alexander Gilkes, welcomed their son last July 15, 2022.
Maria Sharapova: One of the World’s Most Beloved Tennis Darlings
Maria Sharapova, one of the ten Russian women to achieve a career grand slam title in history, was probably one of the reasons why our little girls wanted to play tennis. Winning not just one but five grand slam titles with her strong baseline play and deep groundstrokes inspired girls that strength could also be found in grace, form, and a bit of physics.
She started at 6 years old by attending a tennis clinic held by No. 1 World Tennis Seed back then—Martina Navratilova. Until today, many consider her as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Determined to support Maria’s dream, her father, Yuri Sharapova, took a variety of low-paying jobs when they arrived in the US to fund her dream. This Included getting her a slot to train with Nick Bollettieri in the famous IMG Academy. The man had trained players like former World No. 1 tennis player Monica Seles and former Doubles tennis player, Anna Kournikova.
Hanging Up the Racket
However, the 5-time grand slam winner decided to hang up her racket in February 2020 at the age of 32. She cited chronic shoulder pain and wanting to pursue more meaningful things. “It became a hard and difficult process to manage. But together with my team, I realized that it was necessary to move forward. I could use many other better and perhaps more meaningful ways,” she shared during an interview with MARCA in 2020.
She also admitted how her suspension for using Meldonium—a banned substance in sports—gave her more perspective in 2016. The association then decided to shorten her suspension. Her use of Meldonium was more to address threatening medical issues such as “frequent cases of the flu, irregular EKGs, and preventive measures against diabetes as her family had a history of such”.
Tennis darling now a tennis mama!
Although focusing more on her business, Sugarpova, and wedding plans, Maria Sharapova has found more meaning in things beyond the court. In addition, she’s currently focusing on her program that mentors young entrepreneurs—something she started in 2018. Once again, congratulations to mompreneur Maria Sharapova on the birth of Theodore!
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