Maria Sharapova reveals why Coco Gauff can transcend tennis

07/05/2024 11:00 AM

Maria Sharapova was one of the stars who were present in the crowd (ine her case at the Royal Box) at Wimbledon. The Russian, who conquered the Championships in 2004 at the age of 17, beating Serena Williams in the final, treated herself to a few days in London with her family and, on the occasion, returned to the laws (and the stands) of the most famous tennis club in the world.

Maria Sharapova shocked the tennis world winning #Wimbledon aged 17 in 2004 🏆 20 years later to the day, she is back at SW19 in the Royal Box 😍 pic.twitter.com/fDZ497FO2p

— Eurosport (@eurosport) July 3, 2024

Sharapova shared on Instagram some snapshots in which she and her young son Theodore were on the Centre Court of the All England Club, showing her son his name on the famous Wimbledon champions wall before watching the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, the reigning Wimbledon champion, practice. Maria also met her countrywomen Elena Vesnina (back on the court after her second pregnancy) and Mirra Andreeva.

Family’s Saturday at Wimbledon 👨‍👩‍👦🌱🇬🇧 #MariaSharapova [Alexander IG]https://t.co/yCzcVkeXT1pic.twitter.com/r7SM3uPolH

— Sharapova News (@NewsSharapova) June 29, 2024

Twenty years after her legendary Wimbledon victory, Sharapova was interviewed by Tennis Channel, talking about, among other topics, the rise of the young American Coco Gauff.

"I think Coco has a voice and a platform that will transcend sports. As we know now, tennis is not just sport: it's fashion, it's art, it's culture, it's having a platform, and I think she does that. She was the brilliant ability to bring all of those elements together. I was waiting for Coco to get there. So, I remember going to the first round of her match, which was tough at the US Open, and then I went home and thought about coming back and just wanting to see her win because I think she has such an incredible head on her shoulders," she said.