In Stuttgart, Maria Sharapova contests her first clay tournament of the season after almost a month since her last competitive match. Her return from a long injury layoff in the second half of 2013 has yielded just two semifinal appearances this season in Brisbane and Miami. While Sharapova may be reasonably happy with her tennis, which has shown glimpses of her trademark aggression, she is approaching a tenuous period of her career.

Arriving in Stuttgart at her lowest ranking in four years, Sharapova will be glad to arrive at a tournament where she’s never lost. She’ll be even happier that her nemesis Serena Williams has opted to take a short break. But, no matter the result that she registers in Germany, Sharapova will head deeper into 2014 with off-court distractions and a declining ranking as younger rivals emerge to challenge her.

At just 27 years of age, Sharapova often seems to have had a career of someone 10 years her senior. Since turning pro on her 14th birthday, she has won 29 career singles titles, including all four Grand Slams. Known for her fearless style of play as well as her trademark grunt, she has truly left a lasting impression on the women’s game. As she regroups once again from a shoulder injury, however, she may be losing some of her focus in her 14th complete season on the WTA Tour.

A key facet of Sharapova’s play that has diminished since her injury layoff is the killer instinct in her game. Whether this is due to a lack of confidence or just a lack of mental presence on the court is unclear, but it is something she will need to address. She has looked physically capable of standing toe to toe with the best in the game this year, even long-time nemesis Serena Williams in a Miami semifinal. But physical fitness will carry her only so far without the competitive appetite that has defined her.

Another long-standing aspect of Sharapova’s career is her off-court business dealings, which presently could serve as a distraction. Much publicity has arisen from her investments of time and effort in her Sugarpova candy brand and a new skin care line announced at the beginning of April. While suffering a lack of confidence during her most recent injury lay-off, Sharapova may have given a thought to life after tennis should she not have been able to fully recover.

However, the return from such an injury is not uncharted territory for the Russian. Sharapova was forced to take a lengthy injury layoff between July 2008 and May 2009 due to the same right shoulder injury that has caused her most recent hiatus. On the comeback trail after undergoing surgery, she reached the final in her seventh tournament and won her ninth tournament in Tokyo. She ultimately would complete her career Grand Slam at Roland Garros in 2012, three years after her return. So this situation isn’t anything that Sharapova hasn’t experienced before.

But the difference is that when Sharapova was just 21 years old when she was confronted with the same career-threatening injury in 2008. She had headlined the upcoming young stars of her generation after a meteoric rise that saw her reach world No. 2 at just 19. Six years after that injury layoff, she’s one of the more experienced players on tour with young emerging players like Canadian Eugenie Bouchard and Romanian Simona Halep eager to topple the charismatic Russian.

It may appear to be a case of same problem, slightly older model as Sharapova looks to get back on track in Stuttgart, her sixth tournament of 2014. If she does fall before the semifinals there, she will drop outside the top 10 for the first time in four years. This might not trigger any steep decline in Sharapova’s ranking over the next six months. But it may well serve as a timely wakeup call for the Russian heading to Paris, where she has recorded her best consistent grand slam results in the past three years.

This week, Sharapova will be buoyed by the fact that she’s never lost at the Porsche Arena. She also holds a winning record over every other seeded player in the tournament. While she hasn’t had an outstanding year by her lofty standards, she’ll take confidence from her Miami result and will look to stamp her authority over the field as we near Roland Garros.

There is only one person who can answer all the questions surrounding Maria. And it is time that will tell us what answers she finds.