Maria Sharapova reveals where she and Serena Williams stand after rumored beef

07/07/2024 12:00 AM

Maria Sharapova has shared that she and Serena Williams have actually developed a solid relationship in their post-tennis life as they now occasionally message one another and chat a little. 

Very early in the Sharapova and Williams rivalry, there was a talk that the two tennis superstars didn't like each other. And that was something that followed their rivalry throughout their careers but it was also something that was always adding something extra to their matches. 

But the times of Sharapova and Williams facing each other on the court are long gone as their last meeting came five years ago at the 2019 US Open. Shortly after that match, the Russian tennis legend walked away from pro tennis in 2020 January while the American tennis icon ended her career at the US Open two years ago. 

Since retiring, Sharapova - now 37 - has welcomed her first kid and she has also been heavily focused on running her businesses. On the other side, 42-year-old Williams is in a similar position since she also gave birth to her second child last year and she is also now more focused on the business world. 

And during her visit to Wimbledon and a conversation with Tennis Channel, Sharapova had a revelation to make.

“Now we get to reflect on the past and have a good laugh about it. Also seeing her, she has two kids now, and an incredibly strong business platform. Yeah, we have a lot of fun – we have some good chats on our phones," Sharapova said on Tennis Channel.

Maria Sharapova visits the TC desk and talks her current friendship with Serena Williams 💫 "Now we get to reflect on the past and have a good laugh about it." pic.twitter.com/IMmbBCLLjI

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) July 3, 2024

As mentioned above, for basically a decade and a half it was believed that Sharapova and Williams disliked each other - not only on the court but also on a personal level. And truth to be told, the Russian and the American didn't look like friends on the court nor did they have any warm moments together during their pro careers. 

But just recently, Williams suggested that it was just two competitors wanting to win and nothing else.

“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?'" Williams said on The Serena Collection in May.

After Sharapova finished the 2004 season with a 2-1 head-to-head record versus Williams, she never again won any of their matches as the American won all of their 19 matches played between 2005 and 2019. 

While Sharapova finished her career with five Grand Slams, her first Slam victory was always the most memorable one since she was just 17 when she became a Slam champion at the most prestigious tournament in the world. That year at Wimbledon, Sharapova ousted former world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport before also dismantling Williams 6-1 6-4 in the final.

To this day, Sharapova remains the youngest Wimbledon champion. 

And several months ago, Sharapova explained what happened the day she met Williams in the Wimbledon final and what led to her dominant win. 

"It was a moment itself when I really felt the weight. It was the fact that Wimbledon in my eyes growing up was ‘The Event, The Tournament,’ the place where as a professional you want to end up, you want those French doors to open to Centre Court. And it did and it just happened to be the final for me," Sharapova said on the Dax Shepard podcast last December. 

"It’s interesting it was one of the first few times in my career as a young girl that I felt what it was like to be in the zone. You know when athletes speak about being in the flow, in the zone, I had that moment in the middle of the tournament, and it was in the fourth round. 

"It was not that I had that much experience in the Grand Slam tournaments, just two weeks before it was my first time getting into the quarterfinals at the French Open. Even though I lost, it was a huge victory. 

"I found myself in this flow state in the middle of the event playing someone who also should’ve beaten me. But I won that match so confidently and so routinely. It felt like I was letting go of all the repetitions, I was letting go of any fear that I had. I just allowed the moment and my skill to shine through."

After 2004, Sharapova appeared in one more Wimbledon final - she lost to Petra Kvitova in 2011 - and she was also a semifinalist on three other occasions.