I Love Being A Businesswoman In The Candy World: Maria Sharapova

The former world number one Maria Sharapova has recently revealed how much she enjoys the role as a Sugarpova investor. In an interview to Glamour Magazine, Sharapova said, “I love being a female businesswoman in the candy world because it’s completely different to my day job.” She invested in the famous sweets brand which was launched in 2012 and since then the growth is noticeable.

She further added her venturing into something that is totally new to her. “What’s been interesting is coming into a career in which I didn’t have a lot of knowledge. From that perspective, that was difficult, but I forced the questions that men and maybe women didn’t think about because they were in there every single day so that I enjoy,” she claimed.

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After more than three-month break due to injury, Sharapova made a comeback at Mallorca Open tournament last month, said, “I’ve learnt a lot; I know what works and what I want to do with it,” said Sharapova. The five-time Grand Slam winner learned a lot of things along the way: “I’ve learnt to take responsibility. When you’re on a call and a lot of the time they’re a lot older than I am that are much more experienced in the industry, but I feel like I have to take the lead and I’ve learnt how to handle that.”

The five-time Grand Slam champion, Sharapova's career graph has been side-lined since February after undergoing a surgery on a long-standing shoulder injury which has troubled her since 2008. Talking about her aim in the business world, Sharapova expressed, “I want to give people the space to contribute to my company, but you are the driver of it.”

On the attempt to make men and women get equal pay in sports, Sharapova concluded, “I still feel like it’s a debate.”

“Female athletes are fighting for that equality, which is the right thing to do but is it right to still be doing it in 2019? No! It’s another thing we have to fight for, and we do because it’s part of our profession and part of our life. I want equality across the entire board and across all sports,” she added.

READ: In Comeback Mode: Maria Sharapova Gets Wildcard Entry To Stuttgart Open

Between 2004-2012, Sharapova played in seven WTA finals, winning Wimbledon in 2004 and two Birmingham crowns.

Before the injury, Sharapova has been struggling to get back to highly anticipated return since her 15-month doping ban that ended in 2017. Her last on-court appearance was at the St Petersburg Open in her native Russia in January, eventually losing the French Open to Ashleigh Barty at round16 of the Australian Open earlier in the month.

READ: 83-Yr-Old Granny Is A Tennis Champ

When asked about the biggest advice she got in her life, the Russian player said, “You always have to keep your feet on the ground. My mother is an incredible example of that. When I’d have a tough patch, she’d say, 'life is like a zebra'…

…You have a white line and a black line. When things go well, it’s not going to keep going. That’s the trajectory of life. You’ll always have ups and downs. When everything is taken away from your life and you’re stripped down of all the luxuries, what do you live for?' That’s a really inspiring question,” she added.

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Sharapova is very active in off-court activities but she aims to get success in tennis too, “I have one priority. That’s always been my sport. The feeling of being an athlete. When you used to travel and you have to fill out immigration forms and it says what is your occupation, my favourite thing was to write, ‘athlete.’ When I wake up and put on my sports gear, I love the feeling of knowing I was better at my craft.”

“With that in mind, I’ll wake up and do a few work emails unrelated to my sport, but I’ll get on the court and I’ll train, and my mind is 100% there. When I’m off it, there’s not much I can do so I like challenging myself and putting on my businesswoman hat on. It’s nice to have other things going on in your life. It’s helped me become better at my sport,” she said.

Feature Image Credit : The Indian Express

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