5 wholesome things Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova have said about each other
By
Yamini Issar
Modified Aug 14, 2024 01:39 GMT
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Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova shared a rather one-sided but still, highly talked about rivalry during their playing days. Both players attained a lot of success during their respective careers and were singles champions in all of the four Grand Slams.
With a 20-2 win-loss record that Williams has over Sharapova, the American has been a dominant figure in the latter’s tennis career, something that was extensively talked about by the Russian in her book, “Unstoppable: My Life So Far”. Referring to the historic 2004 Wimbledon final where Maria Sharapova beat Serena Williams, the former wrote:
“In analyzing this, people talk about Serena’s strength, her serve and confidence, how her particular game matches up to my particular game, and, sure there is truth to all of that. ”
“But, to me, the real answer was there, in this locker room, where I was changing and she was bawling. I think Serena hated me for being the skinny kid who beat her, against all odds, at Wimbledon.”
Serena Williams did not like the way Sharapova brought the incident up in her book and claimed “the book was 100 percent hearsay.”
However, as both tennis players have now retired from the sport, they have cleared the air about the supposed dispute that existed between the two and now have good things to say about each other.Let’s take a look at a few wholesome statements that Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams have made about each other over the years.
#5 “We were like the guys in Challengers [the movie], but way more hot. So let me put this on the record, y’all – that she could be my tennis ball.”
Serena Williams hosted the 2024 ESPY Awards last month and as part of the former same, the 23-time Grand Slam champion addressed her rivalry with Maria Sharapova and dedicated a song to the Russian. The song also happened to be a tribute to Jamie Fox’s infamous song “Can I be your tennis ball,” that he dedicated to Serena Williams in 2003.
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Talking about Sharapova, Williams changed the lyrics of Fox’s song and sang:
“She could be by tennis ball, tennis ball. She’s Russian, blonde, and very tall. People say we had a feud, which was presumptuous and kind of rude.”
“Besides that, I beat her 20 times; just want it clear, don’t have to rhyme. She always gave me her best shot. We were like the guys in Challengers [the movie], but way more hot. So let me put this on the record, y’all – that she could be my tennis ball.”
#4 “Serena Williams has marked the heights and the limits of my career — our stories are intertwined.”
In continuation to Williams’ mention in Sharapova’s book, there have been several instances where the Russian has pointed towards the rivalry that she has had with Williams and how it has impacted her career.While there have been incidents that were not well received by the American, the very prominence that she had in Unstoppable, Sharapova’s memoir reflects her dominance throughout the last two decades and there is one such statement that stands out:
“Serena Williams has marked the heights and the limits of my career — our stories are intertwined.”
#3 “We always love seeing each other. At the Met Gala, I literally was looking for her. I was like, “Where’s Maria? Where is she at?” I think she’s a super cool girl.”
Since evolving away from tennis in 2022, Serena Williams has spoken more about her tennis career, how she navigated all the challenges she faced and how life has been since then.
In continuation to the same, the former World No.1 delves more into her journey in the ESPN + documentary ‘In the Arena’ and spoke with Harper’s Bazaar about the same amongst several other things. Similarly, when asked about her relationship with her rivals, Serena Williams claimed that while it was slightly lonely being on top and the friendship she shares with Caroline Wozniacki.The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion brought Sharapova up in her answer and said (via Harper’s Bazaar):
“I think Maria [Sharapova] is someone that I think I would love to … not have a relationship with, but I think we could be friends.”
Addressing the media attention their rivalry got and reconnecting with Sharapova after retirement, Serena Williams further said:
“We always love seeing each other. At the Met Gala, I literally was looking for her. I was like, “Where’s Maria? Where is she at?” I think she’s a super cool girl. And it’s not a shame, because I don’t regret it, but I think we both had to be incredibly competitive. And now that we’re in a different part of our life, I have so much respect for her.”
#2 “It was just competitive. She was winning. I was winning, you know, we both wanted to win, and I don’t think it was personal. It was just, ‘Do you want to win?”
Serena Williams was recently featured in an interview with Chris Jackson from ALT, alongside husband Alexis Ohanian where in addition to profiling the tennis star’s trading cards, the American spilled the beans on the apparent animosity between her and Maria Sharapova. Williams claimed that there was no beef between the two and it definitely did not exist anymore.She stressed on that fact that being a part of the WTA circuit at the same time, their equation was driven by competition more than anything. She said (via Tennis.com):
“Not anymore. I mean, was there ever beef? I guess. It was just competitive. She was winning. I was winning, you know, we both wanted to win, and I don’t think it was personal. It was just, ‘Do you want to win?'”
The interview came out soon after the two were seen at the Met Gala, clicking selfies and posing together alongside Serena’s elder sister, Venus Williams.
#1 “Now we get to reflect on the past and have a good laugh about it. Yeah also seeing her, she has two kids now and also an incredibly strong business platform.”
The year 2024 marked 20 years to Sharapova’s historic victory at the 2004 Wimbledon championship where the 17-year-old defeated the two-time defending champion to clinch the said title.
To celebrate the two-decade milestone, Sharapova was back at the All England Club in the first week of this year’s Championship. She discussed her journey from that moment to her retirement amongst several other things, with Tennis Channel.Talking about being back as a spectator, she said (via WTA):
“It’s been nice to reconnect. … I love watching the sport. I love supporting all the great names and the new generation that’s coming up. It’s a very different feeling being back.”
Sharapova also spilled the beans on her then opponent and long-term rival, Williams and the relationship they share 20 years after their match.
“Now we get to reflect on the past and have a good laugh about it. Yeah also seeing her, she has two kids now and also an incredibly strong business platform. Yeah, we have a lot of fun. We have some good chats on out phones.”
While Williams is happily married with two kids, Sharapova has a 2-year-old son with fiance and businessman Alexander Gilkes.
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