Unstoppable

My Life so Far

By: Maria Sharapova

Narrated by: Maria Sharapova

Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Unstoppable written and read by Maria Sharapova.

The fiercely honest, fearless, darkly funny autobiography of global tennis star Maria Sharapova

In the middle of the night, a father and his daughter step off a Greyhound bus in Florida and head straight to the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. They ring the bell, though no one is expecting them and they don't speak English. They have arrived from Russia with just seven hundred dollars and the conviction that this six-year-old girl will be the world's next great tennis star. They are right.

This is Maria Sharapova's gripping and fearless autobiography, telling her story from her roots in the small Siberian town her parents fled to after the Chernobyl disaster, through her arrival in the US with nothing and her phenomenal rise to success - winning Wimbledon aged just seventeen - to the disasters that threatened her career and her fight back. Here the five-time Grand Slam winner gives us candid insights into her relationship with her father, who gave up his job and life in Russia to dedicate himself to his daughter; the truth behind her famous rivalry with Serena Williams; the injuries and suspension controversy that threatened to end it all; and her recent battle to get back on court.

Told with the same combative, no-holds-barred attitude as her game, it's a story of crazy luck, mistakes, rivalries, sacrifice, survival and, above all, the constant, unwavering determination to win.

©2017 Maria Sharapova (P)2017 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

An illuminating account ... Unstoppable is about everything that made Sharapova the kind of unflappable competitor who wouldn't let a 15-month service interruption, or the very vocal disapproval of her peers, come between her and her ambition. This is the bildungsroman of a controversial champion, a portrait of the athlete as an uncommonly driven young woman (Julia Felsenthal)

A fascinating and well-written insight into her struggles, triumphs, obsession with Williams, Russian pessimism and the roots of that famous haughtiness (Simon Hattenstone)

I love Maria

I recommend any athlete book that focuses more on the journey than on personal lives so I was naturally drawn to Maria’s no nonsense cut and dry style of story telling . It read smoothly and gave an insight into her mindset pretty much like a Russian doll - keep your eyes peeled for as each layer comes off. She doesn’t hide her vulnerability, nor does she shy away from calling out BS whether from Serena or anyone whose wronged her - simply because she wasn’t traditionally “warm and friendly “ with her colleagues , and richer and prettier. Her life , her father , her mother , Dimitrov’s insight, her loyalties - everything is a perfect recipe for inspiration. She and Rafa are my favourite people. And I would recommend her and his book to anyone looking to get inspired .

I recommend it to every tennis/sports fan

The most interesting thing for me was hearing the story as the author tells it. She does a really good job there. I'm a huge women tennis fan but not Sharapova's biggest fan, and it helped me understand her and her game a little bit more. Beyond the rivalry with Serena, the many struggles and hard work from childhood to became one of the most important tennis players is truly remarkable in many ways; I think the title is the best way to describe her. I really enjoyed it, definitely changed my perception of lots of things.

OMG! Where do I begin? I absolutely loved it!!!

A fantastic book I would recommend everyone to read.

All the struggles Sharapova went through, how she overcame them, the lessons she learned along the way captured beautifully.

It's a story. A story of a dream of a father and a daughter. There are love, war, betrayal, good luck, bad luck, reaching the peak and then falling down due to an injury, then getting back again on top. The book starts with her 2016 ban on dope test failure and ends with this event again. Sharapova perfectly recounts how she faced everything-- from being a little girl with a big dream to the ultimate status of stardom-- and her becoming one of the best female tennis players in history.

I also love the way Sharapova tells the story. Brutally honest-- no sugar coating. She has that no BS attitude that I loved most. She opened up about the rivalry between her and Serena Williams, about her past relationships, her coaches and everything in between with such a clear cut mentality-- it was wonderful.

At last, I would say that the fact that Sharapova herself read the story made this book a fantastic thing to listen. I was feeling lucky that Sharapova herself is telling the story of her life, to me, an ordinary person.

Exceptional!

This book reveals everything you ever wanted to know about one of the most beautiful, intelligent, diligent and richest women in the world. The story of her father and herself is astonishing. This book is really well read. It is such a pleasure to listen to her voice while working. I read the book and listened to the audio book and then bought the book for my niece. There are very real life lessons in this book that you can apply to your own life. Her philosophy is made very clear. What I have taken from this is that pure will and determination can take you very far. Maria Sharapova is a true role model.

I’m not a tennis fan, but I couldn’t put it down.

Enjoyed every minute of this book. It kept me up past bedtime. Even had me reaching for my phone, when my hands should have been on the steering wheel. And I wish she’d write some more. If you enjoyed Ronda Rousey’s book you’ll probably enjoy this too.

Some of my favourite parts:

“No one can be great everyday. Can you get it done on the ugly days when you feel like garbage and the tank is empty? i’ve been close to flawless on a few lucky afternoons, I can count them on one hand. But it’s usually a question of figuring out how to win with what ever I’ve got. There’s so many matches I have won just by figuring out how to sneak by.”

“If you want to survive you have to have a short memory. It’s important to remember but it’s more important to forget. Learn what you can and remember what you’ve learned. It’s best just to forget.”