So long Masha!
Maria Sharapova fuels retirement talk with mysterious press conference
Maria Sharapova will make what her agent says is a “major announcement” in a press conference Monday in Los Angeles, sparking speculation that the tennis star might retire.
Max Eisenbud declined to reveal anything further, but Sharapova has battled a string of injuries lately. Over the weekend, she dropped out of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells because of a left forearm injury. Last summer, she had to withdraw from the U.S. Open with a right leg injury.
Sharapova, who turns 29 next month and is ranked seventh in the world, hasn’t competed since losing to Serena Williams in an Australian Open semifinal earlier this year.
She has enjoyed greater success off the court, with Forbes rating her the world’s most marketable female athlete for the 11th straight year with an income of almost $30 million a year through earnings, endorsements and off-the-court ventures, according to Forbes last summer.