Maria Sharapova GalleryEarly in her career Sharapova's first and second serves were regarded as powerful, and she was believed to possess one of the best deliveries on the Tour. Since the beginning of 2007, however, problems with her shoulder have reduced the effectiveness of her serve. The shoulder injury not only resulted in her inconsistent first serves, but also her hitting high numbers of double faults. Two-time US Open singles champion Tracy Austin believes that Sharapova often loses confidence in the rest of her game when she experiences problems with her serve and consequently produces more unforced errors and generally plays more tentatively, while tennis writer Joel Drucker remarked that her serve was the "catalyst for her entire game", and that her struggles with it left her "unmasked."
In her return from layoff in 2008 to 2009, she used an abbreviated motion, which was somewhat less powerful, and though producing aces also gave a very high number of double faults. After her early loss at the 2009 US Open, Sharapova returned to a more elongated motion, similar to her pre-surgery serve. She has since been able to produce speeds greater than before, including a 121 mph serve hit at the Birmingham tournament in 2010 – the fastest serve of her career.
However since her shoulder operation Sharapova has been unable to control her serve. This led to numerous of faults, as she can't feel how much power she is generating. The new action led to an elbow injury but under Thomas Hogstedt it has improved but can still be erratic.
Maria Sharapova Gallery
Maria Sharapova Gallery
Maria Sharapova Gallery
Maria Sharapova Gallery
Maria Sharapova Gallery
