Maria Sharapova has been reflecting on her life after retiring from her highly successful career in professional tennis.

The 36-year-old's success on the court came in the form of five major titles in women's singles, including being only the tenth woman to achieve the career Grand Slam, as well as an Olympic silver medal and 36 WTA titles.

However, in February 2020, the Russian announced her retirement from the sport in an article for Vogue magazine. In the announcement, she conveyed the difficulty of leaving behind the sport she had devoted herself to since she was a child.

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"How do you leave behind the only life you’ve ever known? How do you walk away from the courts you’ve trained on since you were a little girl, the game that you love—one which brought you untold tears and unspeakable joys—a sport where you found a family, along with fans who rallied behind you for more than 28 years?

I’m new to this, so please forgive me. Tennis—I’m saying goodbye," she wrote.

Sharapova loves having outside view to tennis

However, Sharapova recently revealed in an interview with People that she has adapted well to life after tennis, and actually loves seeing the sport from the outside.

"I'm very happy with where I am at this stage of life. I appreciate what the sport has taught me and where it's taken me, but I definitely love seeing it from the outside now," she said.

This is something that Sharapova is almost doing literally this week at the US Open, as she attends the New York major as a spectator. Indeed, the 2006 US Open champion who resides in Florida said that she really enjoys going to watch the Slam and that it's the only one that she's attended since retiring.

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"I love it. I love having an outsider's perspective. I love watching the new generations unfold, and the sport in general. In fact, I think the US Open is the only tennis event that I've been to in person since I retired.

It's a really special one, with the energy of the crowds there," she explained.

Two years into her retirement, Sharapova also experienced a major event in her personal life when she became a mother, welcoming her son Theodore with British entrepreneur fiance Alexander Gilkes.

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Maria Sharapova made an appearance at the US Open tonight.

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