Were Serena Williams Maria Sharapova friends or enemies?

• Sharapova now runs a string of businesses in the US
• Serena William is also retired
• Serena has always denied that she hated Sharapova

Serena Williams Maria Sharapova friends narrative remains questionable even after their retirement. They were the finest tennis players of their time but they were not the best of friends.

Considering how competitively fierce tennis is, there was little room for them to be friends and it was always evident. You could pick their low energies from any match they were playing together and off-court too. Have things changed now that they are retired?  This article looks into how Serena and Sharapova relate.

SERENA WILLIAMS MARIA SHARAPOVA FRIENDS STATE

The retired tennis star has spoken about her relationship with Sharapova. Serena, a mother of two, refuted allegations that she had a frosty relationship with Sharapova. She explained that what appeared as a strained relationship was very normal for two tennis players competing against each other.

Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. Photo/Sports Illustrated

Despite the retired American tennis player greatly dominating their head-to-head matches, they both enjoyed one of the fiercest rivalries on the WTA Tour for 15 years. A major contributing factor to their friendship was the widespread perception that they had a grudge.

Now that they are both officially retired from tennis, the 23-time Grand Slam champion said there was no enmity between her and Sharapova.

“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?'” she said on The Serena Collection.

WHY WAS SERENA WILLIAMS RIVALS WITH MARIA SHARAPOVA?

Serena Williams Maria Sharapova friends subject goes back to 20 years ago when the fierce rivalry between them started. Sharapova won her maiden Wimbledon championship in 2004 at the age of just 17, defeating Serena in the championship match.

The American was again vanquished by Sharapova in the WTA Finals later in 2004. There was discussion regarding Sharapova’s capability to challenge and defeat Williams after her two early victories against her.

Serena presumably listened to all of the comments made at the time and took great inspiration from them and proved a point. She accomplished an extremely remarkable feat by winning 19 straight sets against Sharapova in matches played between 2005 and 2019, culminating in a 20-2 head-to-head record against the Russian-born entrepreneur.

Maria Sharapova with Serena Williams. Photo/Eurosport

They were the most hyped tennis players on the WTA tour for 16 years. At one time, Sharapova who went into business after retiring accused Serena Williams of meddling into her private life. She said that Serena spoke about her in media interviews which was wrong.

Beyond tennis, the sour Serena Williams Maria Sharapova friends status back in the day was complicated by tennis player Grigor Dimitrov. He dated Serena and later dated Sharapova between 2012 and 2015. While none of the parties involved ever spoke about how this turn of events affected them on a personal level, it was likely that it dented their relationship.

HOW MANY TIMES DID SHARAPOVA PLAY SERENA?

Sharapova who now runs a string of businesses in the US played Serena 22 times, 20 of which the latter won. But, it was never a rosy affair for Serena playing against Sharapova who always staged admirable brilliance in her games.

In her memoir from 2016, Sharapova talked at length about her biggest tennis rival whom she faced for 16 years. She acknowledged that during the 2002 Wimbledon champions which Serena won after beating her sister Venus Williams; she [Sharapova] lacked the energy to applaud her.

Sharapova in her memoir added that she always felt that Serena hated her for the 2004 Wimbledon defeat.

“I think Serena hated me for being the skinny kid who beat her, against all odds, at Wimbledon… She’s never forgiven me for it.”

ARE WOZNIACKI AND SERENA WILLIAMS FRIENDS?

Caroline Wozniacki and Serena Williams are good friends despite competing fiercely against each other 11 times.  She told Vogue in an interview that Serena supported her return to tennis after her first retirement.

“Serena and I had dinner a few weeks ago, and when I told her my plan she just said, “Wow—good for you. I’m going to cheer you on every step of the way, and if you ever need anything, I’m here.” She’s always been there for me. Serena doesn’t get nearly enough credit for getting to so many Grand Slam finals after having Olympia.”