Unstoppable, Maria Sharapova
Unstoppable, Maria Sharapova
19 Rating(s)
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Unstoppable
My Life So Far

Bestseller

Author: Maria Sharapova

Narrator: Maria Sharapova

Unabridged: 8 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/12/2017


Synopsis

This program is read by the author.

From Maria Sharapova, one of our fiercest female athletes, the captivating—and candid—story of her rise from nowhere to tennis stardom, and the unending fight to stay on top.

In 2004, in a stunning upset against the two-time defending champion Serena Williams, seventeen-year-old Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon, becoming an overnight sensation. Out of virtual anonymity, she launched herself onto the international stage. “Maria Mania” was born. Sharapova became a name and face recognizable worldwide. Her success would last: she went on to hold the number-one WTA ranking multiple times, to win four more Grand Slam tournaments, and to become one of the highest-grossing female athletes in the world.

And then—at perhaps the peak of her career—Sharapova came up against the toughest challenge yet: during the 2016 Australian Open, she was charged by the ITF with taking the banned substance meldonium, only recently added to the ITF’s list. The resulting suspension would keep her off the professional courts for fifteen months—a frighteningly long time for any athlete. The media suggested it might be fateful.

But Sharapova’s career has always been driven by her determination and by her dedication to hard work. Her story doesn’t begin with the 2004 Wimbledon championship, but years before, in a small Russian town, where as a five-year-old she played on drab neighborhood courts with precocious concentration. It begins when her father, convinced his daughter could be a star, risked everything to get them to Florida, that sacred land of tennis academies. It begins when the two arrived with only seven hundred dollars and knowing only a few words of English. From that, Sharapova scraped together one of the most influential sports careers in history.

Here, for the first time, is the whole story, and in her own words. Sharapova’s is an unforgettable saga of dedication and fortune. In this new audiobook, she brings us inside her pivotal matches and illuminates the relationships that have shaped her—with coaches, best friends, boyfriends, and Yuri, her coach, manager, father, and most dedicated fan, describing with honesty and affection their oft-scrutinized relationship. She writes frankly about the suspension. As Sharapova returns to the professional circuit, one thing is clear: the ambition to win that drove her from the public courts of Russia to the manicured lawns of Wimbledon has not diminished.

Sharapova’s Unstoppable is a powerful audiobook memoir, resonant in its depiction of the will to win—whatever the odds.

About Maria Sharapova

Born in Nyagan, Russia, Maria Sharapova moved to the United States when she was six years old. At seventeen, Sharapova beat Serena Williams to win Wimbledon. She reached the number-one world ranking at eighteen, and has held that ranking a number of times since. To date, she has won five Grand Slams. She lives in Manhattan Beach, California.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Bharath on February 12, 2022

I remember watching Maria Sharapova play and generally liked her style & demeanour – she could exude a steely determination & confidence. I did not know too much beyond that of her life and the book summary was enticing. Maria’s family lived in Belarus, just about 80 miles from Chernobyl. She took u......more

Goodreads review by Daniel on September 21, 2017

Actual rating: 4.5 stars A pro athlete really dies twice. At the end, like everyone else, but also at somewhere closer to the beginning, when she loses the only life she's ever known. While I have been known to seldom read nonfiction, every now and then I find myself curious to read the au......more

Goodreads review by Barbara on September 18, 2017

2.5 Unstoppable is easy to read but lacking in real depth. Maria Sharapova's personal story of coming to America at a very young age (without her mother) with a dream to become a tennis superstar is intriguing. The problem is her memoir is superficial. The reader never really learns her real feeling......more

Goodreads review by Olivia on September 04, 2017

The Most Brilliant Autobiography for Tennis Fans I love tennis, but I’ve never been a particular fan of Maria (or Masha, as I learned from the book) Sharapova. Despite this, I couldn’t put down ‘Unstoppable’. I was hooked from the first word to the last. This book is not your usual memoir of a top pr......more

Goodreads review by Gary on September 19, 2017

Firstly I would like to point out that I am neither a huge Tennis fan or have any particular allegiance to Maria Sharapova but I was drawn to this book by the description I read about the book. This is the story of a 6 year old girl who was taken by her father from Russia to Florida in an effort to......more


Awards

  • Financial Times Books of the Year
  • Boston Globe Best Books of the Year