Maria Sharapova‘s former coach, Michael Joyce, stated in a recent interview that people don’t realize how big of an achievement it was for the recently-retired WTA star to even get back to tennis after her serious shoulder injury that destroyed one of her biggest weapons, her serve, and that had she not had that severe health issue she would’ve won more than ten Grand Slam titles.
Sharapova didn’t compete for nine months following a first shoulder surgery in 2008 and she had to completely change her service motion, trying different things, to minimize the wear and tear on her vulnerable body part.