After Maria Sharapova announced her retirement on Wednesday morning, Ben is joined by Tumaini Carayol of The Guardian for an emergency episode to discuss her career and its many highs, lows, and controversies.
After expressing some relief that she's stopped, we discuss what made Sharapova keep pushing on through the pain so long, and also what our early memories of her career were. We discuss her arrival as a star, and then the darkening of that when she tested positive for a newly-banned substance in early 2016, which complicated and muddled a career which was already likely on its downhill.
We also share some of our favorite memories of Maria, and what made her such a tremendously satisfying antagonist on the tour--particularly for Serena Williams, whom she was a distant second behind in the end.
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Episode 337: Draw Me Like One of Your French Opens, 2022
Episode 336: Was Wimbledon Right to Ban Russians and Belarusians?
Episode 335: José Morgado on Tennis Twitter
Episode 334: Harvey Fialkov, Miami Maven
Episode 333: Rick Macci on ’King Richard’
Episode 332: Ash Barty Goes Out On Top
Episode 331: Indian Wells - Fritz Breaks Through; Swiatek Soars
Episode 330: Dayana Yastremska on Escaping the War in Ukraine [Reupload]
Episode 330: Dayana Yastremska on Escaping the War in Ukraine
Episode 329: The Men in Mexico (with Mike Cation)
Episode 328: Our Woman in Dubai (with Reem Abulleil)
Episode 327: Adiós, Delpo
Episode 326: Australian Open - Nadal and Barty’s Fairytale Endings
Episode 325: Australian Open - Semifinal Showdowns
Episode 324: Australian Open - The Slam After the Storm
Episode 323: Djokovic’s Deportation Debacle is Done
Episode 322: 2022 Australian Open Draw Preview
Episode 321: Deciphering Details of Djokovic’s Deportation Drama
Episode 320: Djokovic’s Exemption and The Vibes
Episode 319: Wrapping Up Tennis in December (With Reem Abulleil)
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