Maria Sharapova

Welcome to The Skills. In this session, Maria goes over what she will discuss in this course. She will talk about the impact of her life experiences on her career, the intangible skills that she has learned along the way, and some technical skills that have allowed her to become one of the best tennis players in the world.

To get her body and mind ready for any training session, Maria has a warm up routine that she sticks to. Learn some general warm up skills to add to your day, directly from Maria herself.

Hear Maria's first experiences with tennis, where she learned and played tennis. More importantly, you will hear what unique aspect of the sport drew her to tennis.

The first skill that Maria will cover is the forehand. This basic skill is something that every tennis player will need to learn to compete. Learn Maria's technique on how to perfect the first stroke, the forehand.

One of Maria's favorite shots is the Inside-Out Forehand. Hear her take on what makes this technique one of the most strategic skills in the game.

In this session, Maria talks about support. Even though singles tennis is an individual sport, she relies on her team. Hear how she built her support system and what she values in them.

Now that you have learned your forehand basics, let's move onto the next fundamental stroke of tennis and Maria's favorite shot to hit, the backhand. Here you will learn the importance of leveraging and strengthening your off hand.

With success comes pressure. Maria's "horse blinders" tactic is something that she has utilized throughout her career to handle overwhelming moments.

One of the most iconic skills in tennis, characterized by the famous "trophy pose," is the serve. In this session, Maria will discuss her technique and mindset behind her serve.

With a career in professional sports, pressure is an inevitable aspect of life. Learn how Maria maintains her focus while she is under pressure.

The return of serve is a very important skill to focus on. Maria talks through the skills needed for a successful return of serve and the strategy that is involved in it.

Losing is never easy for anyone, even Maria Sharapova. In this session, she gives advice on how to handle losses and failure, learn from them, and ultimately move on from them.

Now that you have the skills to carry out a rally, let's learn some extra skills to scoring some points. As one of the most exciting shots, learn how your grip and confidence play key roles in a successful volley.

Learning to be self-confident in your mind and body can be applied to so many facets of life. In this episode, Maria discusses her interpretation of a "strong body" and the importance of this idea in sport and daily life.

Tennis is much more than just skills and footwork. In this session, Maria talks strategy. Hear Maria's strategy that has helped her succeed in her professional tennis career.

Wimbledon is the most iconic tennis tournament in the world. The 2004 Wimbledon champion was Maria Sharapova. Hear her unique perspective on this historic tournament and what it took to win.

Drills are something that Maria believes are an integral part of success in tennis. In this session, Maria expresses how to use drills to hone skills so that they become second nature.

In this exclusive session, Maria shares her five go to drills. Learn the specific drills that helped shape one of the world's best tennis players, directly from her.

There are many interpretations of what success looks like. Hear Maria's experience with what success means to her and how the value of progress plays an important role.

In her final session, Maria provides advice to athletes and young people on how skills learned in tennis have become foundational skills in her life beyond the sport. Her advice comes from personal experiences and direct lessons that she has learned along the way.