Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova has announced her retirement from tennis with immediate effect.

The 32-year-old Russian, one of just 10 women in history to complete the ‘career Grand Slam’ by winning all four majors, won five Grand Slam titles in total, collected 40 professional titles – including 36 at WTA level – and ranked at No. 1 in the world for 21 weeks.

Sharapova won the first of her five Grand Slam titles as a 17-year-old at 2004 Wimbledon, bursting on to the global tennis scene with victory over Serena Williams in the final.

She went on to win the 2006 US Open, beating Justine Henin, the 2008 Australian Open, defeating Ana Ivanovic, and Roland Garros in both 2012 and 2014 with wins over Sara Errani and Simona Halep, respectively. 

She also won a silver medal at the London 2012 Olympic Tennis Event, falling to Williams in the final.

“Tennis showed me the world— and it showed me what I was made of,” said Sharapova in an article announcing her retirement for Vogue and Vanity Fair.

“It’s how I tested myself and how I measured my growth. And so in whatever I might choose for my next chapter, my next mountain, I’ll still be pushing. I’ll still be climbing. I’ll still be growing.”