After a career of winning five Grand Slam titles, earning millions of dollars and a great reputation that became severely tarnished.

She will definitely be remembered for her major wins, her relentless struggles hitting delivered with a piercing shriek and also failing drugs test at the 2016 Australian Open.

The 32-year-old said: ‘How do you leave behind the only life you’ve ever had? How do you walk suddenly away from the courts you’ve trained on for so long, the game you love, one that brought you untold tears and unspeakable joys, a sport where you found a family, along with fans who loved you for more than 28 years?

‘I’m new to doing this, so please forgive me. Tennis, I’m saying goodbye.

‘I share this not to gain any pity, but to be fair: My body had become a distraction. Throughout my career, ​was it worth it?​ was never even a question, in the end, it always was.’

On Instagram, with a photo of her as a young child on the tennis court, she added: ‘Tennis showed me everything across the world and it showed me what I was made of.

‘It’s how I tested myself and how I managed to grow.

”And so in whatever I decide for my next chapter, my next mountain, I’ll keep pushing. I’ll still be climbing. I’ll still be growing.’

She burst into stardom by winning the 2004 Wimbledon final as a 17-year-old against the legendary Serena Williams, who later became a bitter rival, even though the American ended up with a superior head-to-head record in their encounters.

MySportDab understands The Russian was taken by her father to Florida as a child to a tennis game with the family having just $700 (£540) in hand.

Nick Bollettieri was the man who brought the idea of a tennis boarding school and he played a key role in Sharapova’s development into becoming a future Grand Slam champion.

Venus, Serena Williams, Andre Agassi and Martina Hingis all developed under Bollettieri to improve their game.

Sharapova’s last appearance at a Grand Slam saw her lose out in the first round of the Australian Open against Donna Vekic and that resulted her ranking dropping to 373 in the world.

She played only twice in 2020, including that loss against Vekic in Melbourne.