couple? No. It was my life, and it was good. I always
knew I had him, right there, fighting for me.
I was quickly ranked number five in Florida for age
ten and under. Even then, I tried to set myself apart.
No emotion. No fear. Like ice. I was not friends with
the other girls, because that would make me softer,
easier to beat. My biggest edge is that persona.
She started hearing about the unbeatable Wil-
liams sisters. She faced off against Serena in March
2004, losing to her at the Miami Open. But three
months later, at just 17, she stunned the world by
beating Serena at Wimbledon.
Serena and I should be friends; we have the
same passion. But we are not. I think, to some
extent, we have driven each other. Maybe that’s
what it takes. Only when you have that intense
antagonism can you find the strength to finish her
off. Who knows? Someday, when all this is in our
past, maybe we’ll become friends.
When the match was over, Serena hugged me.
She said something like “Good job.” And smiled.
But she could not have been smiling on the inside.
What I heard when I came in to the locker room
was Serena Williams bawling. Guttural sobs. I got
out as quickly as I could, but she knew I was there.
People often wonder why I have had so much
trouble beating Serena; my record against her is 2
and 19. To me, the answer was in this locker room.
I think Serena hated me for being the skinny kid
who beat her, against all odds, at Wimbledon.But mostly I think she hated me for hearing her
cry. Not long after the tournament, I heard that
Serena told a friend—who then told me—“I will
never lose to that little b.... again.”
Maria continued winning, landing sponsorships
and commercials. But she was dogged by injury and
had little time for dating. Relationships with Sasha
Vujacic, an L.A. Laker, and Grigor Dimitrov, a fel-
low tennis pro, didn’t last.
I want the house and the kids, but that seems so
far in the future. My life is just city after city. And
there are very few men who can take being second
to whatever is happening on the court.
In the winter of 2015 she was thinking ahead to
retirement, around the time she would turn 30 in- The positive drug test changed everything.
I figured all I had to do was explain myself and
it would be fixed. I was wrong. Some people came
to my defense. But the newspapers called me a
cheater and a liar.
Nike suspended her contract, and she was devastat-
ed. But after two court hearings her initial two-year
suspension from tennis was reduced to 15 months.
I was overjoyed. It was not perfect—nothing is.
But a huge weight had been lifted. The wording of
the report was even better than the verdict. They
cleared my name. I heard from so many young girls
who had been inspired by my example and my life.
It’s interesting. Before all this happened I was
thinking only about how I would make my exit.
Now I think only about playing. As long as I can.
As hard as I can. Until they stop me. And I want
to see them try.•
Excerpted fromUNSTOPPABLE: My Life So Far by Maria Sharapova, to be published September 2017 by Sarah
Crichton Books, an imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Copyright © 2017 by SW19, Inc. All rights reserved. PEOPLE August 21, 2017^71
What is
meldonium?
Sold over the counter
in Russia and Eastern
Europe as a treatment
for heart ailments,
the drug was added to
the banned list
because it may aid
oxygen uptake and
endurance. Along
with Sharapova
(above, at the press
conference where
she revealed her
suspension), more
than 60 other
athletes tested
positive in the ban’s
first year.Feeling
the Love
“The fan reaction has
been very welcoming,”
says Sharapova (at
the Bank of the West
classic in July). “Their
loyalty made my return
that much sweeter.”FROM TOP: LACHLAN CUNNINGHAM/GETTY IMAGES; JAYNE KAMIN/ONCEA/USA TODAY SPORTS