New Delhi: Five Time Grand Slam champion and former World No.1 Maria Sharapova announced her retirement for tennis at the age of 32. The Russian tennis superstar  had struggled with a spree of injuries besides serving a 15-month ban after testing positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open.

Announcing her decision to step away from the game in Vogue and Vanity Fair, she wrote: "How do you leave behind the only life you’ve ever known?

"How do you walk away from the courts you’ve trained on since you were a little girl, the game that you love — one which brought you untold tears and unspeakable joys — a sport where you found a family, along with fans who rallied behind you for more than 28 years?

"I'm new to this, so please forgive me. Tennis — I'm saying goodbye."

During her glittering career, Sharapova bagged five grand slam titles, winning Wimbledon, the Australian Open and the US Open once, while clinching the French Open at Roland Garros twice.

Her retirement comes just three years after returning from her drugs ban following a failed test from the 2016 Australian Open, in which she tested positive for meldonium.

Sharapova became a professional on the WTA tour since 2001 and had been ranked world No. 1 in singles by the WTA on five separate occasions, for a total of 21 weeks. She is part of an elite club in women's tennis, and the only Russian, to hold the career Grand Slam. She is won a silver medal for Russia in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.