6 Ways To Be A Stronger Woman, According To Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova is currently ranked the third best female tennis player in the world and is the world’s wealthiest female athlete. She has multi-year contracts with Nike and Evian in addition to her designing gig for Cole Haan.

Sharapova’s family fled her hometown of Nyagan, Russia when she was a young girl, just four months after the Chernobyl explosion. They eventually landed in Florida where Sharapova attended the prestigious Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy at the encouragement of tennis great Martina Navratilova, who had seen a 6-year-old Sharapova on the court in Russia and instantly sensed greatness. By 18, she was the best female player in the world. 

But today, the 28-year-old’s injury-prone career has tested her physical strength as much as it has tested her mental and emotional fortitude. After all these years on the court, Sharapova has learned a trick or two. The Huffington Post spoke with her about how to recover with grace, brush off labels, appreciate her body and other general tips for being a bad-ass.

1. Find strength (and pride) in your weaknesses.

“I have battled back from shoulder injuries several times over the course of my career. The road to muscle recovery is long and tedious. It requires that you stay patiently focused on long-term benefit. These rehabs have been a personal struggle for me but in the end, they make me feel proud. To battle back from injury and regain my position at the top of my game — multiple times over the span of a decade — makes me feel powerful.”