"That's a really tough question": Maria Sharapova laughs off what it would take for her to return to tennis

Maria Sharapova answered questions from her fans and talked about the possibility of returning to professional tennis.

The former world No. 1 is one of the most iconic tennis players of the last two decades, winning 5 Grand Slam titles, including the 2004 Wimbledon championship at just 17 years old, defeating world No. 1 and multiple Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in the final.

Sharapova retired in 2020 at the age of 32 due to persistent injuries that hindered her performance in the later years of her career. In a recent Instagram Q&A session, the Russian athlete responded to a fan's question.

“What would motivate you to play in a tennis match again?” some fan asked.

"That's a really tough question. I don't know the answer," Sharapova responded on her Instagram story.

Sharapova has shared photos from Abu Dhabi and acknowledged that she will attend the upcoming Formula 1 Grand Prix race at the Yas Marina Circuit. “Are you here for the F1 race?”

“I am, I will see you shortly," Sharapova wrote.

Russian tennis player is active on social media and has often shared photos and videos of her physical training sessions. A fan also asked: “Your work-out posts were really inspirational can we expect more of those in the future?”

"You're right. I should record them more often. It's just very strange to workout and recording yourself working out. But I guess that's the thing. I should get a new tripod," the Russian stated.

The former tennis player recently commented in an interview with Tennis Canada. Sharapova talked about her stubbornness to sustain her career.

"Toward the end of my career, I tried very, very hard to get my body back in shape and injury-free. A lot of that came from my stubbornness because I truly believed I could repair my ligaments and my tendons in my shoulder just if I worked harder," Sharapova said.

"Sometimes, you have to let go of that stubbornness in order for there to be more beautiful things in your life to open up," she added.