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Russian tennis star Sharapova says achieved enough, but not going to retire

After a 15-month long suspension for violating anti-doping regulations, Sharapova made her tour return in April at Stuttgart

© AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/. Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova told Canada’s TSN TV channel that she has achieved enough in sports and could end her career, but tennis is much deeper for her.

Sharapova, 30, played two World Team Tennis matches in the United States. The former world number one played women's doubles, teaming up with Andreja Klepac of Solvenia for a 5-1 victory over Croatia’s Darija Jurak and Shelby Rogers from the United States. In another match, she was beaten 5-3 by American player Rogers.

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World’s popular sports broadcaster ranks Sharapova 23rd in top-100 global athletes list

"As someone who is 30 years old, I achieved enough to call it a day. But there's something deeper. It's more than just the sport. It's something I've done all my life and my career. I wanted to continue that. That's where my focus is and not much else," Sharapova said.

Sharapova refused to say if she could enter the US Open, this year’s fourth Grand Slam event due on August 28-September 10.

"It's not something that I think about; it's not part of my job," she said. "Just because I have to be realistic that I haven't played in a long time. With the injury, it was almost like a two-year break for me. The importance and significance of every tournament is much more in my mind than what I can or cannot do at the U.S. Open."

After a 15-month long suspension for violating anti-doping regulations, Sharapova made her tour return in April at Stuttgart, reaching the semi-finals. She also participated in the Madrid Open where she lost in the second round, and retired injured from her second round match at the Rome Masters.

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The tennis player was expected to take part in a qualifying for Wimbledon as she had not requested the organizers to issue her a wild card for the main draw but Sharapova did not take part in the competition due to her injury.

In mid-June, organizers of the Women Tennis Association in Stanford (with $800,000 in prize money) granted Sharapova a wild card. The tournament will be held on July 31-August 6 at tennis courts of the Stanford University, California. She also received a wild card to take part in the WTA tournament in Toronto on August 5-13. Sharapova will also play in a match in China’s Tianjin on October 9-15.

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Maria Sharapova

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