“I like to train but I love to compete”

Sunday night Maria Sharapova joined the Orange County Breakers to take on Mylan World Team Tennis defending champions the San Diego Aviators at the Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, California.

The match marked Sharapova’s return to competitive play after a thigh injury forced her to retire early from the Italian Open and forced her out of the grass season. Without speaking in depth about the injury, Sharapova told press that she was now “doing well” after intense rehab training.

Sharapova explained the sudden addition of the WTT event to her schedule as a great opportunity to get more match time under her belt before getting back on tour, saying that train as you might, there is “nothing like going in front of a crowd.” The matches close to Sharapova’s home in Los Angeles are a way to “get back into playing groove” before the US Open tune ups. Specifically, she is looking forward her scheduled events in Stanford and Toronto.

Asked about her prospects for playing the US Open, she deflected the question and pointed out that between injuries and her suspension, she has not seen much competitive play in almost two years and needs to look realistically at the significance of every single tournament she plays, no matter how small it may seem to outside observers comparing it to her career grand slam achievements.

For now, Sharapova just wants to log as many hours of competitive play as she can. Sunday’s WTT match was all fun and games until Shelby Rogers and Sharapova took the court for their women’s singles set, when the casual atmosphere took a severe competitive turn. Sharapova’s signature intensity was on full display—she picked at her racquet strings when she faced the back wall and slapped her thigh when she waited to return the ball on game points. Rogers, coming off a three-set defeat against Kerber at Wimbledon, brought immense confidence to the set, which she won 5-3.

The flash of intensity quickly dissolved back into the WTT’s usual fun approach to tennis. Sharapova stayed late to sign every last tennis ball and take an unheard-of amount of selfies with every last member of the sellout crowd.

Sunday’s full results:

SAN DIEGO AVIATORS def. Orange County Breakers 17-14

Mixed Doubles - Ken Skupski\Andreja Klepac (Breakers) def. Raven Klaasen\Darija Jurak (Aviators) 5-1

Women's Doubles - Andreja Klepac\Maria Sharapova (Breakers) def. Darija Jurak\Shelby Rogers (Aviators) 5-1

Men's Doubles - Ryan Harrison\Raven Klaasen (Aviators) def. Teymuraz Gabashvili\Ken Skupski (Breakers) 5-1

Women's Singles - Shelby Rogers (Aviators) def. Maria Sharapova (Breakers) 5-3

Men's Singles - Ryan Harrison (Aviators) def. Teymuraz Gabashvili (Breakers) 5-0