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 289: Locked Inside, with Taro Daniel
Episode 288: Remembering Tom Perrotta
Episode 287: Working in Tennis (With Katie Spellman)
Episode 286b: Remember When? 2020, Part 2
Episode 286a: Remember When? 2020, Part 1
Episode 285b: A 2021 Roundtable, Part 2
Episode 285a: A 2021 Roundtable, Part 1
Episode 284: What's Up Down Under: Australian Open 2021 Outlook
Episode 283: The Year in Men's Tennis (with Ricky Dimon)
Episode 282: Catching Up (With Courtney!)
Episode 281: A Woman Speaks Out; Tennis Stays Silent
Episode 280: A Bit on Bubbles
Episode 279: Does Tennis Love You Back? (With Jessica Luther & Kavitha A. Davidson)
Episode 278: Tennis Channel CEO Ken Solomon
Episode 277o: 2020 French Open Day 15 - Nadal Wins Easy 13th
Episode 277n: 2020 French Open Day 14 - Iga Swiatek Wins Big
Episode 277m: 2020 French Open Day 13 - Final Showdowns
Episode 277l: 2020 French Open Day 12 - Iga Swiatek's Mental Strength
Episode 277k: 2020 French Open Day 11 - Setting Up Semifinals
Episode 277j: 2020 French Open Day 10 - GIFs Given and Taken
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