This is a really big day for me today.
But I'm so strong, and I'm going to get through it.
I'm gonna be honest, I'm going to be,
I'm going to prevail because I'm,
I know that my honesty and I know that my truth
Will get me through this,
And that's the most important thing.
I've had the most beautiful life,
And I know that this is a big moment
But, I'm gonna succeed, I'm gonna get through this.
I am, I know it.
The morning of, it was, I woke up
And I felt like I was preparing for a match,
Like it was match day, it was game day.
It's always really hard to be like,
I'm going to go out in front of the world
And say that I fucked up.
Hello everyone.
Thank you for being here on such short notice.
I wanted to let you know that a few days ago
I received a letter from the itf
That I had failed the drug test at the australian open.
I did fail the test, and I take full responsibility for it.
and maria sharapova
Will shed tears into the red clay.
The champion is maria sharapova.
- oh my god.
It's unreal, it's unreal.
- maria sharapova.
My life is a very small part of the universe.
Sometimes the ocean's very still and very solid,
And it's like ice,
And you only see its reflection,
And other times it's so turbulent and violent.
We go through our own stillness and our own shadows
And then we go through the waves,
But they always rise and then they fall
And they rise and they fall,
And sometimes it's followed by stillness
And then they come back up again and it's an evolution.
I think the one thing about life lessons
Is we never really know when they're coming,
And we actually, I mean, in my life
I sometimes didn't even realize
Or I was going through a lesson until I overcame it.
Especially after 2016 and reflecting on that,
And this is certainly a situation in my life
Where I did reevaluate and I did look back.
It just gave me a sense of,
I had an incredible career and I've had my fair share
Of small comebacks and injuries and surgery.
Oh, and that's me.
See?
Hi.
But yet, I've maintained a career since I was four years old
And I've had this gift of competing and playing tennis.
And all of a sudden, it's just taken away from you.
I was just about getting ready to go out and train.
I looked at my email and I received an email from the itf.
It was a subject line that caught my attention,
Where it had my name in the subject
And the emails that I usually receive from the itf
Were all very general, speaking about the latest news.
I opened it, and then it said something about a test,
A drug test that I did in australia.
It mentioned a name of a supplement or a substance.
I did not know it at the time.
I found myself on my ipad like 30 seconds later
Looking up what meldonium was.
I had never heard of that word, never seen it before,
And then a packaging came up which read mildronate
Which I had seen many years of my life
And I knew exactly what it was.
It's very important for you to understand
That for 10 years, this medicine was not on wada's ban list
And I had been legally taking the medicine
For the past 10 years.
But on January 1st, the rules had changed
And meldonium became a prohibited substance,
Which I had not known.
now to that bombshell announcement
Rocking the tennis world, maria sharapova.
the highest paid female athlete
In the world for more than a decade.
off the court, a sponsor's dream.
The fashion icon and business woman
Making a whopping 30 million.
the five time grand slam champion.
- Admitting she failed... - she failed a drug test.
at this year's australian open.
For as long as four years for a failed test.
she could face anything
Between two and four years.
she is labeled now a cheater.
She's 28-years old, that would be career ending.
Well, the moment after the press conference,
I deleted all my social media off my phone,
So that was step one.
And I think it was, it was to protect myself,
To protect my sanity in that moment,
To protect myself against opinions, against judgment.
the cheaters are always gonna be a step ahead
you cannot say, oh, that escaped me.
This is her career.
there's no doubt in my mind
That sharapova was taking this substance
To help her in her performance.
I don't think I've ever gone through my career
Questioning what other people thought of me.
It wasn't something that was very important to me,
And then something happens and you're like,
Well actually you're walking on the street
And you're like, do they know, do they not know?
What do they think?
And it would drown me.
It would literally just upset me
And make me feel so small,
And for a woman that's 6'2" and feels confident
Most of the time about what I do in my life
And the profession I'm in, it felt really uncomfortable
To feel that small.
My mom, she just made me feel like no matter
If I was ever not going to hit a tennis ball that,
That's okay.
She must've spent a few weeks sleeping next to me in bed
Just making sure that I knew that someone
Was always with me.
In a way, through this whole process
My dad's been incredible, incredible, and so calm.
He's able to control a situation when shit hits the fan.
He's able to take a step back and evaluate it
And reevaluate it, and be calm and collected and cool
And make the right judgment,
You know, making sure that things don't come out of anger.
'cause in a situation like that,
You can put blame on everyone.
I could blame this person, I could blame that person,
And it was never about blaming.
It was about taking control of it
And being like, we all fucked up, you know?
You, me, your mom, our team, but this is what happened
And now we're gonna find a way to get through it.
just listen to this.
No russian has ever one a single's title here at wimbledon.
And a new star is born here.
And maria sharapova, 17-years old,
Becomes the third youngest wimbledon champion of all time.
I just feel like maybe I'm a bit of a new, fresh air,
You know, in women's tennis,
Which is great because you haven't seen
A lot of 17-year olds win a grand slam lately.
So, maybe we're coming back to the old times.
the champion is maria sharapova.
The 19-year old has her second grand slam championship.
I started playing a pretty full schedule at that point
And I realized a total decline in my health.
My parents said, well actually we don't have a doctor.
We have an athlete that's a grand slam champion
That doesn't even have a family doctor.
- Nice.
And so that's the time when my father
Found a doctor in russia, because I was still a teenager.
Woah, woah, woah.
My father, he was kind of the captain of my team.
And america was very foreign to him,
Even though we'd lived here for years
He was still much more comfortable
Speaking to the russian doctor.
He was not a doctor that ever
Had any work done with an athlete.
He worked with immune systems of children,
And he was actually a pediatrician.
He did all those tests, and that gave me a list.
Actually, it was quite an extensive list
Especially for a teenager, of different substances
That he recommended that I take
And mildronate was one of the 10.
I was given this medicine by my doctor
For several health issues that I was having
Back in 2006.
I was getting sick a lot, I was getting the flu
Every couple of months.
I had irregular ekg results.
So, in russia mildronate was an over-the-counter substance.
It's taken almost like an aspirin back home.
From wada laboratories with an official stamp and signature
Saying all the substances that he had recommended
For me to take were completely permitted and legal.
I think around 12 times in 2015 and the previous nine years,
And everything was fine.
It was determined that meldonium was going
From the monitoring list to the prohibited list.
At the end of 2015, players were sent emails
And there was nothing about meldonium
Written front and center in any of them.
It was just very disappointing to learn
What other federations did in order to warn their athletes,
Because if I was warned,
When I would have received that email in January,
I would have at least known what the word meldonium was.
The itf knew that there was over 20 tests in 2015
That had meldonium in their system,
And some of them were my tests.
That's quite a large number, so,
The fact that they had that number
And didn't do anything extra with it is very alarming.
I'm very sure that maria did not know
This thing was on the list,
'cause we are so paranoid about taking anything
That is on that list.
If she was caught to be positive on the doping
For a certain substance, then there should be
Certain kind of a,
You know, consequences for that.
I think most people were happy that she was up front
And very honest and showed a lot of courage
To admit to what she had done and what she had
Neglected to look at in terms of,
Of the list at the end of the year.
She has such a very professional team.
From everybody in the tennis world
I think maria sharapova is the last person
That we expected this to happen to.
when there are four or five people on the team,
Everyone has a specific role.
So you have a physical therapist, a fitness coach,
When you go here, then you are here.
You see the difference?
I mean, it's such a small difference,
But it's a huge impact on the outcome.
- I think I, along with my team,
Got comfortable with the using and taking something
That was given to me for my health so many years ago
And never, ever crossed my mind
That I was ever taking anything for performance enhancing.
I had a system in place that worked for many years
On checking the substances.
I stopped working with the doctor in russia in 2013
'cause I wanted to take more of a natural approach.
One of the things I didn't have
After I stopped working with him
Was that point person that overlooked everything.
I continued to take three of the substances
Which he had always told me to take,
And mildronate was one of them.
I had let my manager know, and he had the responsibility
Of checking that every year.
Because of personal problems, issues,
What he had going on in his life in 2015,
He didn't check the list,
So that was his mistake
And my bigger mistake was not making sure
That he checked the list at the end of the year.
That was my mistake of being comfortable,
Of being satisfied that something was completely legal
And that there's no reason for me to have to double check.
I'm sorry, that doesn't hold together.
It was willful negligence to miss that.
I take great responsibility and professionalism
In my job every single day, and I made a huge mistake.
You're running a 30 million dollar a year sole enterprise.
You better make sure that the basis
For that commercial success, if nothing else,
Remains unassailable.
I can have so many reasons to be angry.
I can think of so many people, I can blame so many people,
Including myself, but that doesn't help you moving forward.
I could fire many people, and what would that do?
What would that change?
I know that with this, I face consequences,
And I don't wanna end my career this way.
I really hope that I will be given another chance
To play this game.
In early June, I got the official wording
And statement from the itf after my case was heard.
They had banned me for two years.
The maximum that I could've received was four years,
And the minimum was one.
I mean, two years meant I had no intent
Of performance enhancing, yet, it said
That I had a way of performance enhancing,
Which I think contradicts itself very openly.
The itf also made a big point about the fact
That I was concealing my use of meldonium,
Which is far from the truth as there was no reason
For me to hide something that was completely legal
For me to take.
It was all very hurtful and it was all very aggressive.
It just felt very violating.
The one thing that I've always wanted in my career was,
You know, I never felt like,
I don't need to be liked or loved by everyone,
And that's not realistic, but I wanted to be respected.
good morning everybody, thanks a lot
For taking the time in your morning.
I wanna make a few points, and then take any questions.
Don't give me less than I deserve.
No, I didn't ask for that.
I didn't ask for you to tell me I could go play tomorrow.
I appealed the time frame of two years to a neutral judge.
It was another chance, but it was the final chance
That I had, and it was the final verdict.
There was no other appeal and there was no other process,
And what I was gonna get, I was gonna have to live with.
- hello?
- 15 months!
- oh my god!
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!
All right, yes!
Oh, congratulations!
- Thank you.
oh my god, that's sweet.
I am, I am, I can come back in April.
I know.
I know, but those motherfuckers, I still wanted 12 months.
But it's okay.
It's all right.
It's okay, there's a reason.
There's a lot in me that's very much a portrait
Of someone that just fights,
And whether that's ugly, whether it's pretty,
I really don't care.
I just fight for what I believe is right,
For what I believe is my right and what is my voice.
Looking back at myself, I believe that in those moments
That's who I was, I was a street fighter.
As I was reading the report, I was just so,
You know, I just felt free
And I felt like, it was so comforting
To realize that a neutral panel
Had stated the language so clearly
And came out and said that we pretty much don't agree
With the itf verdict,
That maria had no intent in performance enhancing,
She did not violate those rules.
She did not mask or hide her use of mildronate
And meldonium, she is by no means allowed
To be called an intentional doper.
I mean,
I think those words are pretty clear and pretty strong.
What's the latest update?
- the latest, I'm getting,
- Bombarded?
- yeah, getting bombarded
By friends, family.
- I had statement is gold.
well I mean, I stood up from the beginning.
- I like people with no fear.
I like it.
- Have you spoken to your dad?
He's been off the, - I know.
I haven't, well, I spoke to him on the day
And he's like, "why are you crying?"
I'm like, "why am I crying?"
Uh, what the fuck do you mean, why am I crying?
It's already out, daddy.
Yeah, yes.
He just told me, no matter what happens in life
You need to sleep.
Thanks.
Okay, I love you.
I can't wait to get in that room right now,
'cause I can just see max.
- Good, we're in this room here.
Hey, how are ya buddy?
- Good, john,
Good to see ya. - Good to see ya.
We're this way, guys.
Morning.
- Oh, look who's here.
I thought you might have lost some weight since Friday.
- monitoring everything.
- Hey rich. - How are you?
- Good.
- I'm great.
Have her go to gma, and then they get two interviews
They don't get it first, but at least they get two spots.
- I don't have nay money left.
I don't have any money left from all the shrink bills
That I had to pay to get through this thing.
You really understand who your true friends are
And who your, during a process like this.
Her sponsors have been amazing.
I mean, every one of them had the right
To terminate the contract if they wanted to,
And everyone but one stayed.
To see them happy with the results is just great,
So, you know.
Maybe we're all a little better from it,
But, it's been tough.
We've been through a lot together,
Been together since she was 12 years old,
And had some amazing moments, I mean, incredible moments
Of my life from winning grand slams
And then you're dealt this.
- Maria sharapova is here.
In your mind, it was an honest mistake.
When I got the email that I had made a violation,
I right away knew that my comeback was starting that moment.
This type of story, in any athlete's career,
Is rightfully damaging.
It's not good for anyone.
No one wins in this situation.
Not the athletes, not the organizations,
Not the sponsors, nobody.
I don't think setting goals is really smart
In this position, and I don't wanna say
That my goal is to play the next olympics
Or it's to play that many wimbledons.
Like, that'd be great, and it would be great
But who knows what's gonna come up in life?
That's the way I wanna treat my life and my career.
I think the way that I'm preparing
Is that I'm actually not,
And I think that's because, through my whole career,
I've always prepared for a tournament
That's next week, or a tournament in two weeks.
I think during a time when I had so much uncertainty
And so many question marks,
I just learned how to be present in a situation.
It also gave me a chance, like when you have this one path,
And for me that's been tennis since I was a young girl.
There's always that, you're almost scared
Of what is life without what you've had for so long.
You know, the moment where you're like,
Wow, if I don't have that every single day,
What am I gonna do?
The middle of last year, I wore a t-shirt
And it said, be back in five minutes.
And the next thing I knew was my fans
Started posting their pictures wearing the t-shirt.
They were going around the world and finding the t-shirt
And then posting their pictures.
I mean, there must've been hundreds and hundreds
Of these posts, which was so special.
I think it just really makes you realize
That so many people care about what you do,
And really appreciate not just tennis, but who you are.
Yeah, I think it just made me realize
How many supporters I had.
maybe they thought you meant,
Like I'll be back, I'm coming back in five minutes.
Right, which was far from five minutes.
More like 15 months.
I needed to add a one in front of the five.
In this past year, I just felt like
I was actually able to take control of what I wanted to do,
What kind of workouts I wanted to have,
Where I wanted to travel, who I wanted to see,
Who I wanted to spend time with,
Who I wanted advice from, and that felt really good.
I'm in the city going to shoot a story
With annie leibovitz for April's vogue issue.
I'm also gonna be in the new ocean's movie.
I'm not sure what exactly I'm doing
Or how big of a role, how big or small of a role I have,
But it'll be great to be a little piece of the ocean's movie
That's gonna be filmed in the night time at the met.
But first I'm going for a workout,
'cause what do you do when you land in new york city?
You go and work out.
Working out to music, I've never done that in my life.
It's good for me, good for my mind,
And it's something I started with
From the first day in March, of my comeback,
So I feel like I need to keep it up.
No one told me that I had to go and get stronger on a bike,
You know, no one told me that I had to go
In this hot room that's 105 degrees and do hot yoga,
But something, something developed in my mind
Where I was like, I'm doing this for my body.
I'm not doing this for roland garros,
I'm not doing this for a tournament in china,
I'm doing this for me, I'm doing it for my health,
I'm doing it for my sanity,
I'm doing it to be strong.
The reason I got into different types of training
Is because I'm an individual that gets bored
With a lot of the same training and a lot of repetition.
I'm a better athlete when I'm motivated by new things.
The one thing with boxing, I was always a little bit scared
And fragile because I was just so susceptible
To getting injured.
That time away from playing tennis
Gave me a chance to do work
Where I wasn't afraid of getting hurt.
One, two, three, two, step back.
and boxing is invigorating because,
Even though it's so different to tennis,
There's a lot of quick steps,
There's a lot of foot work involved,
There's that having a strong base.
I think the biggest thing it gave me
Is a sense of concentration,
Which I could really, really correlate to tennis
Because when you're out on the court,
No matter what's going on in your life
You have to be so focused on your game.
- Hit it.
I have the passion to challenge myself in other areas,
To do different things.
And, I've always wanted to study.
I started doing research and then I realized
That I had a connection from harvard.
They did a harvard case study on me many years ago,
On my agent and I.
I called a professor there and I said,
"look, I have three weeks' time
"until I have to get ready for my next hearing,"
And I said, "I wanna study."
There were summer programs happening at the time
And I took two courses.
Looking back at it, I think it was more of a choice
To be in a controlled environment
Where I wasn't the subject,
Where people in the room, and there were about 50 of them,
Were not interested in my life and my stories
And my problems.
They were there to learn from someone
That was conducting a class,
And that, to me, was freedom, really.
If, in the morning I wake up
And I don't wanna be better at something
Or I don't wanna be challenged,
It would feel like a wasted day.
I think I've always been scared of being one-dimensional,
And I think it's also a choice that you make as a person,
As a woman, and an individual
On what you wanna do with your life.
I think it scares me to think that
I won't have things to do when I finish my career,
And so that has always pushed me and driven me
To take meetings which I would never know
If they would turn into something,
Or meet people which I don't know
If they would have any influence or business with me
In the future, but I do it 'cause I love
Seeing where it can take me.
I have a few set days during the year
Where I commit to my sponsors
And usually we try to bundle them all together
So I don't have too many days that I have to commit.
So like today, we did an event with supergoop
And we're following it up with a shoot for head
Who's been a long-time racket sponsor of mine.
And then we move on to this set
Where we're gonna do action.
This won't makes sense just 'cause
I don't hit a slice much often.
- Yeah, that's kinda...
- Talk about non-authentic.
do you think that would work a bit better then?
- Yeah, that's better.
- looks good.
Yeah, nice.
- One more test. - Okay.
One more test, yeah.
You know, these days are obviously really nice
Because I get to see the people
That are actually behind all the work that I get to do
And the product that is created,
So a little bit more on a personal level
Which is nice, and just to hang out
With the crew that does my hair and makeup
And I've known for so many years
Is always really fun as well.
I put a lot on my plate,
And I sometimes put so much on my plate
That I need a day or two to recover
Where I'm just like in bed
And I just need to be by myself
And I'm just drinking ginger tea for 48 hours
And I get back on the horse.
But, I do a lot and I think the only thing
That people remember, are people's actions.
I wanna say things with my actions,
And whether that's on the court
Or whether that's off the court,
I believe in that so much.
I think one of the things that my career and life
Has provided me is to be able to have a voice.
I actually decided to write a book in 2015,
Well before anything had happened.
In the beginning of 2016 I obviously
Have added a few extra chapters to that book,
And maybe made the publishers happier
'cause then maybe it would sell a few extra copies,
But that was definitely not in my plan.
I think I was a little bit, I questioned
Why I wanted to write a book
Because I've always been a very private
And simple individual, and I never,
I don't think a big part of me allowed
Many people into my life.
I think there wasn't a time or a moment
Where I said I'm gonna be more open
Or I wanna share more of my life.
I think it just comes with experience
And it comes with personal growth.
I think my form of friendships has always been,
When can I see this person
Or when can we make time to see each other?
'cause all my friends have jobs in very different fields
And they live all around the world.
For once, they weren't relying on my schedule,
So that was, I think that simplicity
Of going to a simple dinner
That's maybe later than I would ever go to
Because I don't need to be on the courts at 9:00am.
You know, I can come to the courts at 11:00am.
I think having that freedom and having that flexibility
Really gave me the chance to have
Those simple moments with my friends
And not do it on a time clock.
Pink.
I did a lot of spur-of-the-moment trips
Where I thought about a place I wanted to go
And I would just make plans and I would do it,
And I would see who can come with me.
But there was no doubt that I'd have that hunger
To come back, and my friends were actually asking me,
Like, "so, when do we lose you?"
I was like, "well, I think that time has come."
So it's January, and I'm not in australia
At the australian open.
Instead I am watching the australian open
On television with 102 fever,
And a really sexy voice.
Gonna pick up a lotta men with this voice.
And a big box of kleenex.
Sometimes I look back at moments where,
You know, I think that I was,
I was really sad or that I was really tough on myself.
But I look back on that and I was like,
Wow, that was challenging.
That was really, really hard.
In this time, I personally realized
That vulnerability was actually cool,
There's something very raw about it.
One of the biggest victories I've had this year
Is that I'm coming back on April 26th,
And that's a huge victory on its own.
I fought really hard for that,
Internally and externally.
I thought about it and I wanted it and I asked for it.
I asked it from lawyers, I asked it from the arbitrators,
I asked it from myself, and I got that.
And now you wanna almost prove
That everything that you've gone through was worth it.
I think I'm most excited and most nervous
About what I will be able to bring
For myself out of this situation.
If I didn't feel nervous and if I didn't feel butterflies
And if I didn't feel excited,
Then I probably wouldn't be coming back.
Like that just, then what for?
So we're back at my memory lane
Where it all began for me in america,
In florida at the img academy.
I'm spending a few weeks doing a training block
Of two and a half weeks at the academy.
Long days, just spending time on the courts
Spending time off the court in the gym,
Running, and a little bit of everything, really,
But just setting the tone for my body again, and my mind.
I think the biggest challenge I have ahead of me
In training blocks is the repetition.
Hitting balls and playing points
And getting that feeling of doing it over and over
Without many days off.
perfect, those four were great.
challenging my body on the court now,
Back to the movements, back to the side steps,
Back to the quick change of directions.
And doing it repetitively.
- yeah.
Yes, now you're putting your weight on.
- So I think that, in itself,
Will be challenging and difficult,
But I think my body's ready for it.
It's had time to be ready for it.
I think I'll start with three weeks
Of just grinding, coming to the courts 9:00am,
Starting with warm ups, spending a few hours on the court,
Doing a cool down core stretch,
Working on my shoulder a little bit.
Lunch break, a little nap.
I love to take naps.
- come on.
Yes.
Come on, pick it up.
Yeah.
Focus on the left leg, left leg, yep.
doing a session in the gym.
just work on the mechanics,
That's improving your efficiency.
Yes, yes, yes, I like that one.
Last one.
and then I do about an hour, hour and a half
Of treatment work on my body every evening.
- Two more.
Three.
Don't push too much.
- So, turns into long days.
But the one thing that is really important for me
Is the recovery aspect of training,
And that's always, that's the tricky balance
Is understanding how much is enough,
How much is too much, when do you need the time off.
I'd rather feel fresh and my body feel like it's ready to go
And feel a little bit rusty,
And maybe not have the best timing
Because that comes, that comes with just doing
What you've been doing for years on end.
I mean, I've never really been in that situation
Where I have this period of time
To really include training blocks.
Usually one training block and you're ready
To go to a tournament, but now it's a little bit different
Because I have a couple of months
Instead of just a few weeks.
I think the great thing about having a full-time team
Is that you're able to put a plan in place.
You have my father, who's very much involved
In my career still.
You have the coach, a fitness coach,
You have a physical therapist,
You have a hitting partner.
All this force that you create
Is just going in one direction,
In one direction.
I would say the leader of my team is sven,
Who's been my coach for about three years now.
- Okay, hold on one second.
So, the reason why I want you to have, even now,
You don't have the same pressure on the right side.
Enough, I'm just telling you
The reason why your left leg is stronger, yeah?
Yes or no?
- Yes.
So, unconsciously even, you wanna push off on your left.
That's just a fact.
- So can I ask you a question?
So was I, five days ago I had more weight
On my back foot than I do right now?
- This is how you're, - no.
right now, can I, can you just stand like this?
- Question, am I not standing
The same as I was five days ago?
- no, but, no.
- Okay.
Meaning, no, sorry, sorry, sorry,
Wait, wait, wait, no, no.
You were not having enough weight on that right side.
I understand, but is it the same as it was...
Even before, yes, yep, exactly.
- the same?
- The same, the same thing.
but it wasn't such a,
No, because I've now added this,
That means that I'm adding you a little bit extra.
I mean, we're always progressing.
It's always.
he's a guy that comes with a lot of experience,
Not just experience on the court
But experience of handling other people
In a team environment.
I think, as a coach that's one of the biggest
Responsibilities as a leader
Is when you're able to handle
And adjust and understand everyone's role in a team.
Should we have like a realistic goal then?
- Yeah.
No, 30 is good.
- 30, we have... - 30 is good.
- Let's start from the 30, okay?
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven,
Eight, nine, 10, shit.
Five, six,
Two.
I'm an embarrassment to my country.
That's okay, they weren't in the world cup.
- 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.
One, six, seven, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24,
25, six, seven,
28, 29, go!
30.
- That's a drop shot.
Good, come on.
yutaka's my fitness trainer.
I've worked with him ever since I was a young girl.
- Stay loose,
Stay loose.
Five seconds,
Four, three, two, walk.
walk.
he will go above and beyond anything
That's in his job description.
He's just the most loyal team member
I think I've ever had.
It's a family, this is a family,
So whatever happens and we back her,
Then we let her know that we are behind her.
Not just me, it's just the whole team.
And go!
So you go stairs all the way, boom, boom, boom, boom.
I'll run with you, okay?
Walk back, that's the one,
Two times.
Use your arms, use your arms!
Get it up, get it up, get it up.
Good, come on.
You're doing good.
All those team members have different roles,
But they all have one mission and one goal
And so the coach's role, sven's role,
Is to make sure that each one of those team members
Is on that ride.
And they're all from different parts of the world.
Sven is dutch, and everyone else, culturally,
Has a different background, and so working with that
Is also very interesting,
'cause, you know, one can be loud and one can be shy.
How does everyone get along in that environment?
- Is this the sauce?
- yeah.
all of a sudden they're in the kitchen.
- Only when I'm cleaning.
Basil, and tomatoes, zuppini, onions, olives
All together.
I like to add some cumin.
I really don't discriminate.
I look forward to every meal.
Yutaka. - 100%.
That's true, yutaka eats the most.
Yutaka is in a really bad mood when he's hungry.
Well, I'm actually running my ass off.
That's what we're dealing with, okay?
While you're on the sidelines with a phone.
- But I'm focusing.
- Checking my heart rate.
- Yes, here we go.
So we haven't had, or no, we had the russian meal.
We had a russian meal, but it was my mom and, uh.
- No. - Yeah.
- But she make a good salad.
- You should shut up.
When was the last time you made something in the kitchen?
I spend more time with my team year-long
Than I do with my family or I do with my friends,
And they become part of your family,
So you better get along, you better like them.
Where does my dad fit in?
Oh gosh.
That is a good fucking question.
I think my dad's just, he's a dad.
He overlooks everything,
And I've understood from a very young age
That when he was quiet and he was content
Was when he was happy,
And when he speaks
That's usually when he, what he wants to say
Is very important and you should listen to him.
That's what, that's his tone of voice.
So we do one from middle, two inside out,
One from middle again, four balls.
- This is far from a vacation.
I know that the results from the sacrifice
That I put into this, they've always been
And they will be very rewarding.
But, to get there, what you must put in
Is difficult.
So I'm back in la, just a few weeks away
Until I head off to germany,
And I've been playing points and matches
And it's such a different ballgame.
It's so different than just training,
And also really frustrating because for 12 months
I didn't compete and I didn't play those sets.
What was so natural to me, being in certain circumstances
And knowing how I felt when I was down in a match
Or staying focused when I was ahead in a match,
I feel like I'm re-learning on the court
Which is a very different feeling.
I think the one challenge with mental preparation
Is that you never actually know what you're gonna feel like
In a particular moment, so you can prepare
In so many different ways, but until you get
To that first city that you're competing at
Or until you walk on to the court
And until you play the match
And until you leave the grounds after the match
And until you do it over and over again,
You don't know what your feeling will be, and I like that,
'cause that's what makes it exciting.
I'm one of the biggest competitors out there.
I realize that everyone has a great work ethic,
Especially in my sport.
You can't be playing 20 tournaments a year,
Traveling around the globe,
No matter if you're 100 in the world,
And not have work ethic.
It takes more.
get it up, up, up, up, up, up, up, up.
I know what I have beyond a work ethic,
You know, the will and not letting anyone stand in my way.
There's been so much talk in the last few weeks
About wildcards,
And a lot of the players
Have been playing in the us hardcore tournaments
And weighing in on whether I deserve
To be back in the game and welcomed
With the invitation and wildcards.
It's been interesting to just be on the side
And not have anything to say about it.
It's not an easy place to be at.
My mission is the first match and the match after that,
And whether it takes me to paris
Or whether it takes me to london, I don't know,
But I hope so.
I really do believe that I deserve to be there
And I deserve to be playing there.
It's been hard and rewarding and challenging,
And all those mixed emotions.
I think to come back for everyone that's surrounded me
In this time, my team, my coach, my parents, my friends,
And I think deep down inside
I have this huge feeling of giving back to them,
Of them seeing me get my career back.
I'm doing it for them, maybe even more
Than I'm doing it for me.
It's how I feel, and it's how they've made me feel.
It's what they've given to me.
There's no way they would never see me on the court again.
I think of being out there, in myself, on the court,
Like, I feel that it's such a big part of my life
And it's such a big stage for me.
I'm a performer, and an audience buys a ticket
To watch me do my job.
And, no matter if I have a good day or a bad day
I'm just excited to have that feeling
Of performing again.
- maria sharapova.
I can only imagine how many people
Will be watching me play on that day.
Whether they love me or hate me,
Respect me or don't respect me,
They're curious, and so am I.