Maria Sharapova Reveals Her Next Chapter

WHY I DECIDED TO WRITE A BOOK AND TELL MY STORY

THESE PAST FEW WEEKS HAVE BEEN JAM-PACKED with shoots, podcasts, fittings and meetings—all while keeping on schedule with my training. I’m about to embark on a media tour for my new book, Unstoppable, and I’m overwhelmed, humbled and thrilled by the outpouring of love and support from my devoted fan base. Why write a book, you might ask? On one hand, it’s to tell my story and, on the other hand, it’s to understand it. In many ways, my childhood is a mystery—even to me. I’m always being asked the same questions: ‘How did you get here?’ ‘How did you do it?’ ‘What went right?’ ‘What went wrong?’ If I’m known for one thing, it’s toughness. People see my ability to keep going when things look bad and they want to know where that quality comes from. Since everyone hopes to have their own chance at success, they seem to want to know how to acquire it. Truth be told, I’ve never figured it out myself. Sometimes, I think if you look too deeply, you might destroy it. But it’s my life and now I feel like I want to talk about it. When I have responded to reporters in the past, I have never told them everything I know. Maybe now is the time to open the door for more questions, to make sense of my life, and to explore the early days before I forget. It’s a story about sacrifice, what you have to give up. But it’s also just the story of a girl and her father and their crazy adventure. In fact, this year added even more to it with my amazing travels to Nashville, France and Portugal (I’m still dreaming about the delicious tiny pastry called Pastel De Nata)—plus, lately, getting to spend some quality time on the weekends with family and friends, which I cherish, when I can take a break from my grueling weekday training schedule. As for my book, it’s so exciting to see the pre-orders coming in! I simply hope people take away from it every kind of lesson—both the good and the bad.