‘We will always be rivals’- Sharapova on Serena Williams

Maria Sharapova, has been struggling to return to her old self again, after her much publicized doping ban. Injuries and a lack of confidence seems to have plagued her return to professional tennis. And it hasn’t helped, that she has had to part ways with with her long time coach, earlier this year. Another big name who is still finding her way back to her best self, is Serena Williams. Serena Williams, has looked rusty, since her return to professional tennis, after a long motherhood related hiatus. The two, as we all know, have a history.

Sharapova opened up about her relationship with Serena Williams, in her book ‘Unstoppable: My Life So Far.’  She portrayed Williams as intimidating, and later on revealed, that it was important for people to talk about their rivalries in their autobiographies. Although Serena Williams has just lost twice to Sharapova, the Russian had denied Serena Williams a grand slam title.

‘Over the years, many things were said about our relationship and rivalry. We should be celebrated for what we achieved. We have very different backgrounds, but both of us found a way to get to the top. I have much respect for what she did and her ability to keep fighting to have successes,’ said Sharapova.

‘This is very special’, continued Sharapova. “I think we have a professional relationship. It would have been strange if in the book I didn’t speak about one of my greatest rivals. There are many autobiographies of tennis players and sometimes the greatest rivals are not mentioned in their book. I think it’s very strange.”

She was also asked if she would ever be friends with Williams, after their respective careers ended, to which Sharapova smiled and replied: ‘I don’t think so. At the end of the day, we will always be opponents. Since a young age, when we had never played against each other, I was feeling this competitiveness. I wanted to get to that level and show that I can beat her.’