SMART SCHEDULING KEY FOR SHARAPOVA

WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen

With the 2016 Olympics in Rio looming, Maria Sharapova strikes a balance between her busy off season and her tough training blocks.

Published December 14, 2015 12:13

Smart Scheduling Key For Sharapova Maria Sharapova

LOS ANGELES, CA, USA - Olympic fever is picking up steam in the tennis world. Speculation about qualification, representation, and doubles pairings has already begun. We've already seen France's Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic announce their intention to pair up in 2016, presumably to prepare a run at a doubles medal in Rio. This week saw Roger Federer and Martina Hingis confirm their intention of representing Switzerland in the mixed doubles competition.

While much is up in the air, one thing is certain: the 2016 schedule will be a grueling one. With the Olympics sandwiched between the Rogers Cup and the Western & Southern Open this summer, one of the big storylines heading into the season is how players plan to adjust their schedules to build in necessary blocks for rest and training.

"[I'm] looking at building a bit more of a break after the Australian Open and seeing how things unfold," Maria Sharapova told WTA Insider. "I'm not crazy on building a concrete schedule. I know we must plan in advance and sign up for tournaments and I'm usually pretty good at those commitments. But next year's a little bit different, there's no doubt about it."

It's no secret that Sharapova holds the Olympics close to her heart. "That's all my grandfather talks about and it just becomes annoying," she joked. "I just grew up with it. I grew up being surrounded by the Olympic culture." She carried the flag for Russia the opening ceremonies at the 2012 Olympics in London where sent on to win a silver medal. She also worked with NBC during the 2014 Winter Olympics in her hometown of Sochi, Russia.

So with the Olympics looming, how will the game's best balance their desire to build their tennis legacies on the tour while also going for gold? Sharapova's 2016 scheduling is somewhat complicated by her injury-interrupted 2015 season and busy off-season. The World No.4 played just one match - which ended in her retirement - between Wimbledon and the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global due to injuries to her leg and arm. But she finished her season on a high note, scoring three Top 10 wins en route to the semifinals at the WTA Finals and winning both her singles matches in the Fed Cup final to end the season.

Sharapova's off-season has been a busy one. She was able to squeeze in a short vacation with friends, but much of the time has been spent developing her Sugarpova chocolate line, playing the International Premier Tennis League in Japan, and preparing for this weekend's eponymous exhibition, Maria Sharapova & Friends, presented by Porsche, on the campus of UCLA.

"I didn't know in the middle of the year that I would be part of the Fed Cup final," Sharapova told WTA Insider. "I didn't know that I would be missing four months. When Fed Cup came on the schedule I knew my off-season was short. If I knew I would be playing Fed Cup I probably, most likely, would not have played IPTL but I made that commitment before the Fed Cup decision was made. When I'm healthy and committed it's tough to get out of that. [Withdrawing] is not something that I'm a fan of or enjoyed doing."

Sharapova said her training sessions have been going well and she's happy to report her tough physical conditioning block went off without a hitch. So far she's seen no signs of the annoying injuries that derailed her 2015 season.

"Probably the rest of the girls are more ahead of me in terms of preparation," Sharapova said. "I just came off more physical training. Not as much time on the court yet as maybe if I started a few weeks before." Despite that heavy load, Sharapova put on a solid show over the weekend, edging Madison Keys 6-7, 6-1, 11-9 in their exhibition match on Saturday.

Now it's time to build towards the Australian start of the season, where Sharapova hopes to replicate the solid start she had down under last year, where she won the Brisbane International and advanced to her first Australian Open final since 2012.

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