Unstoppable Book Summary - Unstoppable Book explained in key points

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Unstoppable summary

Name: Unstoppable
Rating: 4.6 (38 reviews)
Author: Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova

My Life So Far

4.6 (38 ratings)

28 mins

Topics

Autobiographies Women's Stories Success Inspiration

Table of Contents

Unstoppable
Summary of 13 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 13

What’s in it for me? Learn where success really comes from.

What does it take to be a great tennis player? Well, it takes many things – with great talent, strength of will and the courage to endure injury and criticism among them. Sharapova fits this mold better than most. Indeed, her position as one of the world’s greatest tennis players is predicated on her innate ability, her determination and her confidence.

But Sharapova’s autobiography isn’t just a logbook of wins and losses. What sets it apart from other autobiographies is Sharapova’s way of storytelling and her particular perspective on the world.

Reading these blinks, you’ll learn how to face difficulties with good humor and calm. Most importantly, you’ll learn that no success can be achieved alone, but only with the support of friends, family and kind souls who believe in you and your talents.

In these blinks, you’ll also find out

how much young players can make in sponsorship money;
what kind of tennis serve can really damage your shoulder; and
why Wimbledon is the best of all the Grand Slams.

Maria Sharapova grew up in a loving home in Sochi, Russia, and she played a lot of tennis.

It was after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster that two Belarusians, Yelena and Yuri, left their home and headed to Siberia. After they had settled in Nyagan, these two had a daughter, Maria Sharapova, who was born on April 19, 1987.

But Yuri Sharapov detested life in Siberia, and so he soon moved his family to a small apartment in Sochi, a Russian sea resort on the eastern shore of the Black Sea. Maria Sharapova was two years old.

A few years later, on one particularly auspicious day, Sharapova’s father took her down to a tennis court in Sochi. He’d been given a racket as a joke by his brother. While her dad was practicing, the bored Sharapova snatched up an idle racket and started whacking balls herself.

It felt right – almost immediately so. Her ability to concentrate on the game was incredible. Taking notice of this innate ability, her father soon started taking the four-year-old Sharapova to lessons with a proper coach.

Sharapova’s early years weren’t entirely devoted to tennis, however. Her home was a lively place, often filled with friends, and family members visited regularly, too.

She read and wrote stories with her mother, who taught Sharapova the Russian alphabet and insisted she read all sorts of literature and other stories – everything from Pippi Longstocking to Russian poems.

Nonetheless, tennis soon became the major preoccupation of Sharapova’s childhood, and her father ferried her to practice and tournaments.

Her parents were, in many ways, very protective of her. Sharapova still remembers how she used to watch the local children playing from her apartment window. Other than to play tennis, she really wasn’t allowed out much.

Sharapova’s coach was immediately convinced of her talent, and 1993 marked a turning point.

It wasn't long before it became clear that Sharapova wasn’t just a talented tennis player – she was extraordinary.

Sharapova’s first real coach was Yuri Yudkin, a local legend, even if he was a bit of a boozer. Yudkin saw her potential immediately. Yes, she was talented – but more importantly than that, she could remain focused for hours at time.

Getting to the United States was hard for Sharapova, and further tribulations awaited her there.

Sharapova’s father, Yuri, knew what had to be done. They had to make it to Florida in the United States, where tennis legends like Anna Kournikova and Serena and Venus Williams had trained.

In particular, Yuri wanted to get Sharapova onto the national junior team of the Russian Tennis Federation. At the time, the team was practicing at the Rick Macci Tennis Academy, in Boca Raton, Florida, preparing for a tour.

Life in Florida was difficult for Yuri, but Sharapova began to flourish.

Sharapova and Yuri had more luck in Bradenton. Initially, Sharapova faced two problems. She was physically smaller than the other players and, because of this, she had to use a cut-down hand-me-down racket. But she adapted quickly, and Bollettieri soon fixed her up with funding that allowed her to practice for free and eat meals with the other players.

But life wasn’t easy, especially for Yuri.

Sharapova started playing with Sekou Bangoura, but it didn’t go well.

The other children at the academy came from an utterly different background – and their rich and snobby parents couldn’t stomach the idea that their offspring were being beaten by this strange little Russian girl. Consequently, Sharapova was booted out of Bollettieri’s academy.

So Sharapova began playing tennis at a rival academy down the road, El Conquistador. However, problems cropped up there, too.

The Sharapovas moved in with a friend, Bob Kane, but they eventually returned to Bollettieri.

It was a crisis. Father and daughter were homeless and didn’t know where to go. Then Yuri remembered his friend Bob Kane, whose son, Steven, was training at Bangoura’s academy.

Kane had a generous streak and the means to back it up. He let Yuri and Sharapova stay at his house. They ate with the family and even used their private tennis court.

Sharapova signed with IMG and Nike, and began training with two amazing coaches.

At the age of 11, after her early successes, Sharapova caught the eye of the famous sports agency International Management Group (IMG), and they represented her. They started paying her $100,000 a year. The idea was that they would recoup their investment and profit by taking a cut once she became a successful pro, which was an unusual deal for someone so young. Nike did the same, sponsoring her with $50,000 a year.

It was at this time that two people entered her life who would change it forever.

Sharapova struggled at first with her new teenage body, but she learned to harness its power.

When she hit 14, Sharapova experienced a growth spurt. Suddenly, she occupied a new body, and, at first, she didn’t know what to do with it; she crashed to a few defeats because it felt so gangly. But soon she acclimatized to the situation and put this losing streak to an end.

It was a challenge, but this chain of losses forced her to learn new ways of keeping up her spirit when things became difficult. She learned that quitting gets you nowhere.

After a bumpy start, Sharapova claimed victory at Wimbledon in 2004.

In 2003, Sharapova turned 16. Finally, she could compete with the seniors and wasn’t limited to the junior circuit any longer.

That being said, her first Grand Slam tournament – the Australian Open in Melbourne – wasn’t an auspicious start. She didn't even win a single match. However, Sharapova, as always, didn’t let loss bring her down. She knew she had to keep fighting her way up the rankings.

Sharapova rose to number one in the world ranking, but she wasn’t content to tread water.

For Sharapova, that Wimbledon victory marked the start of some great years. In fact, by the summer of 2005, she was at number one in the world rankings.

She hadn’t added some fancy new skill to her repertoire or gotten stronger or faster or better at serving – nothing like that.

Despite winning another Grand Slam, 2008 was a tough year.

2008 should have been a fantastic year. After all, Sharapova began it by winning the Australian Open. But it turned out to be a year of serious change.

For starters, she switched coaches and stopped training with her old friend Robert Lansdorp. She was sad to let him go, but sometimes you have to change things up a bit to grow as a player.

Sharapova recovered from her surgery and won the 2012 French Open.

After her grueling year, Sharapova needed a comeback more than ever.

She didn’t want to be remembered as a promising star who’d never recovered after an injury. She was determined to get another Grand Slam title. But she hadn’t managed to win one since her surgery.

Sharapova failed a drug test, but the experience impelled her to keep on playing.

Now in her late twenties, Sharapova’s thoughts turned to retirement and a comfortable end to her career. Then, out of the blue after the 2016 Australian Open, in Melbourne, she failed a drug test.

In February, Sharapova received a letter from the ITF, the International Tennis Federation, saying they’d found a substance called meldonium in her urine. At first, it didn’t seem like a big thing – she’d never taken any drugs to improve her game, after all. And what on earth even was it?

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What is Unstoppable about?

Unstoppable (2017) tells the personal story of Maria Sharapova, the internationally renowned and respected tennis star. It chronicles her life, from when her family fled Belarus after the Chernobyl disaster, through to her relocation to the United States and her incredible career achievements. Sharapova’s autobiography offers a testimony to the power of strong will and unwavering determination.

Best quote from Unstoppable

That was my gift. Not strength or speed. Stamina. I never got bored.

—Maria Sharapova

Who should read Unstoppable?

Aspiring young athletes
Tennis fans and players
Dreamers and lovers of inspirational stories

About the Author

Maria Sharapova, a true tennis superstar, has won five Grand Slam titles. Born in Belarus, Sharapova moved to America with the help of her father, and it’s there that her career as a professional tennis player began. She’s been ranked number one in the world multiple times.

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