WTA:”That’s not what I want my kids to do.”

Maria Sharapova speaks unusually openly about her view of today’s tennis and the difficult moments in her career so far.

Sharapova won the third round of the China Open in Beijing against Simona Halep with a bitter 2:6 and 2:6 defeat.It was the Russian’s first defeat in her seventh match against the Romanian.After the match,”MaSha” answered the journalists’ questions unusually openly.

According to the five-time Grand Slam winner, tennis has changed fundamentally in recent years.In addition to physical fitness, there is above all mental strength and the unconditional will:”Everyone who plays here is doing a good job, otherwise they wouldn’t be here – the level is too high.It has become so much more physical and mental.Hard work is not enough these days.It may have been like that before, but it doesn’t matter now,”explained the 30-year-old.The current number 104 in the world goes even further.

The reason for her statement is a certain one:”There are incredible, great moments in this sport – and very bad ones.There were times when I left the court and thought I wouldn’t want my future child to have it,”Sharapova openly admitted.In such moments, the feeling is just so hard and frustrating.One would invest so much, employ so many people and it should simply not work, said Sharapova.Still,”MaSha” loves her career choice and enjoys the sunny side of the sport:”But then you work, keep going, fight your way through and the reward for that is so special and incredible.”

Sharapova had overcome the most difficult period of her career this year.At the beginning of the year, she made her comeback after a two-year ban on doping and has been fighting her way back up the world rankings ever since.

The world ranking list of women