Was Sharapova's 'Sugarpova' name-change a publicity-stunt?

Sources close to the United States Tennis Association have revealed that Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova''s proposed name change to Sugarpova was merely a publicity stunt after she sacked coach Jimmy Connors

According to The New York Post, Sharapova was exploring temporarily changing her name to Sugarpova for two weeks, and she had approached a Florida court about the possibility.

Maria Sharapova. Pic/ AFP

If given permission, the story said, she could then potentially be called Sugarpova during match play.

Sources expressed that people were thinking the player had made the worst decision in her career after sacking Connors and she wanted to improve her image.

The player later decided she would not change her name.u00a0

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