Sharapova had finished a late training session and was walking toward the parking lot — headphones in, mind somewhere else, replaying serves and mistakes. But halfway through the dim corridor behind the arena, she felt it.
A presence.
Not a sound. Not a voice. Just… someone.
She slowed down. The footsteps behind her slowed too.
She sped up. They sped up.
Sharapova pulled out one earbud, pretending to adjust her bag, and in that split-second of silence the truth hit her: there was someone back there. Close. Too close.
Her heartbeat jumped.
She turned the corner sharply, then stopped. She listened — breath held, eyes sharp like she was reading a serve coming at 190 km/h. The footsteps returned… and then they suddenly stopped.
“Who’s there?” she asked, trying to sound calm.
No answer. Just the faint sound of something shifting in the dark.
Sharapova took a step back. Another step. She reached into her pocket to grab her phone — but before she dialed, a figure finally emerged from the shadows.
Not a fan. Not a security guard. And definitely not someone who should have been there at that hour.
And in that exact moment, Sharapova realized the truth: She wasn’t imagining it. She had been followed.
What happened next shocked even the arena staff — and it’s the reason her team changed her security protocols the very next day.
