Serena Williams Drops Polar Opposite Take on Maria Sharapova’s Myth-Breaking Admission on Their Friendship

With greatness came rivalry for American tennis legend, Serena Williams. During her illustrious career, she had fierce battles with other renowned players like older sister Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki. But the most unforgettable was Maria Sharapova, whom Williams dominated on the tennis circuit. While the American legend won 20 matches against Sharapova, the latter only managed 2 wins in their 22 encounters. Earlier this month, the younger Williams sister exposed Maria Sharapova’s surprising revelation on their relationship.

Although there was mutual respect on the court, Williams and Sharapova were seldom found together off the court when they played. However, to everyone’s surprise, Sharapova recently revealed that the two share a great equation now that they’re retired and even text each other. On the other hand, Serena Williams had a contrasting opinion when asked about her relationship with rivals now that she’s not dominating the WTA charts anymore.

During an exclusive interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Williams revealed, “I was close to a few players that I’m still really close to. I mean, not really close, but close-ish to. One of my best friends is Caroline [Wozniacki, who came out of retirement last year], so we’ll always be close. That’s just a different kind of relationship, though.” Even during her playing days, Williams was good friends with Wozniacki and the two often went for outings together.

However, Williams shared a contrasting equation with Sharapova and she went on to explain, “But there’s other players that I’ve always gotten along with and I will always get along with. 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.” If their regular Met Gala meet ups are anything to go by, they might be headed in the right direction!

On May 6 at the Met Museum, Sharapova posted a hilarious series of videos where she was trying to get a picture with the Williams sisters together. But when she found Serena, Venus had disappeared, and vice versa. Of that day, Serena told Harper’s Bazaar, “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.”

While they were building professional lives for themselves, competition often got in the way for Sharapova and Williams. But as Serena said, “now that we’re in a different part of our life, I have so much respect for her. And obviously, I did when I was playing too. I had to gear up to win every single time, but it’s a different kind of respect now.”

But on the other hand, Williams admitted to trying to be just friends and not have a relationship with Sharapova yet, the latter admitted that they talk regularly with each other on their phones. As a result, Sharapova’s candid revelation of her relationship with Williams came as a surprise to many.

Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams’ relationship

While Williams retired in 2022, Sharapova called an end to her career in 2020. During their playing days, the two had an intriguing rivalry and their relationship was cold, even if the dominance was one-sided on the American’s part. However, after retirement, they shared common interests like fashion as well as business, which became a major factor in the two getting on with each other.

During an interview with Tennis Channel, Sharapova talked about her relationship with her former nemesis, “Now, we get to reflect on the past and have a good laugh about it. Yeah, you know, and also seeing you know her she has two kids now and also an incredibly strong business platform. Yeah, we have a lot of fun, we have some good some good, good chats on our phones.”

The two are enjoying their retirement life away from the hectic tennis schedule and with their close ones. It is heartening to see how post-retirement life can rekindle the bonding of two of the biggest rivals in women’s tennis.