Sharapova talks fears and worries in Player's Tribune

Maria Sharapova has had her highs and lows during her brief 2017 season, going 5-3 in three events and not playing at all since Rome thanks to a leg injury. The Russian has revealed all in a new write-up for The Player's Tribune, opening up about her injury, her fears, her haters and her comeback.

"Before my first match back from suspension, it seemed like everyone in my life only wanted to know one thing: How I was going to feel...And I had no clue. there simply wouldn’t be any way to train for what was to come..." she writes. "I was just going to have to step out onto that court, and take a deep breath, and have no clue."

She also goes into her relationship with her mother, a topic she has kept closely guarded her entire career. That's probably because Sharapova's mother never comes to her matches.

"The night before my return match, in April, I was talking with my mom. She usually travels with me, but never goes to matches. Seriously — my mom’s probably been to like three matches in 10 years."

The 30-year-old addresses her critics, which include a slew of WTA players, and explains why she won't engage with them.

"I’m aware of what many of my peers have said about me, and how critical of me some of them have been in the press. If you’re a human being with a normal, beating heart, you kno … " she says. "And I don’t think it will ever not be weird or hurtful to go through."

The former No. 1's fans also get a big mention—a group that has been pressed to find a reason to stick with Sharapova over the last year.

"Opening up to my fans, and even to the idea of fandom, is not something that has always come naturally for me," she says. "It’s not that I haven’t appreciated my fans — completely the opposite, of course. I cherish my fans, and I know how essential they’ve been to my success. I know all of that."

Sharapova will next play in Stanford, thanks to a wild card.

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