The list of nominees also includes, in addition to the 37-year-old Sharapova, the American duo Bob and Mike Bryan, as well as Canadian Daniel Nestor.
The WTA said that over the next month, an official voting group of tennis journalists, historians and Hall of Fame representatives will cast their votes.
The voting process takes into account achievements on the pitch as well as impact off the pitch and the role the athlete has played in advancing the game.
For the sixth year, fans will also have the opportunity to cast their votes in an open poll that will run until September 12.
Sharapova could become the third Russian inductee into the International Tennis Hall of Fame after fellow players Marat Safin and Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
Sharapova is one of the most successful women’s tennis players of all time, having spent a total of 408 weeks in the top five of the WTA rankings, and is one of only 10 players to have won singles titles at all four Grand Slam tournaments.
Sharapova has won five major titles, starting with her first at Wimbledon in 2004 at the age of 17, followed by US Open (2006), Australian Open (2008), and French Open (2012 and 2014).
Sharapova also won the season-ending title in Los Angeles 2004, as well as
Silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics.
In 2016, Sharapova was banned from playing for 15 months after testing positive for the banned drug meldonium.
After the period expired in 2017, Sharapova struggled to regain her position but fell prey to a number of injuries, and her world ranking dropped to 373, the lowest number she had reached since August 2002.
Sharapova announced her retirement from tennis in 2020 at the age of 33.
Source: Agencies
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2024-09-04 14:40:39
