Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova in a photo: suddenly pretty best friends?
A joint photo of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova in a private setting? It was actually unthinkable. The tennis world is now all the more astonished.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Sep 20, 2021, 10:42 pm
Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova weren't the very best of friends in their careers - to put it mildly. After Sharapova had surprisingly triumphed against Williams in the Wimbledon final in 2004, Williams cried "in a frightening way" in the locker room , Sharapova declared in her autobiography Unstoppable . And she, Sharapova, heard that. "I think Serena hated me for being the skinny kid who hit her, against all odds, at Wimbledon. And I think she hated me for taking something that was hers. I think she hated me because I saw her in her weakest moment. But most of all, I think she hated me because I heard her cry. She has never forgiven me for that. "
Williams' revenge has succeeded: 20: 2 was the clear record for Williams in direct comparison, from 2005 until Sharapova's career end in 2020 she could no longer win. No matter how well she played: Serena never allowed herself a moment of weakness in the duel between the two. And a relationship away from the tennis court? Seemed completely unthinkable.
And then: A photo from the Met Gala in New York suddenly appeared last weekend. On it: Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams (with sister Venus). Laughing.
Venus Williams: "We love Maria"
As the? Venus Williams cleared up now. She and Serena had talked about Sharapova the day before, how nice it would be if she played again. Then, at the Met Gala, the sisters met her and told her just that. "We were so happy to see each other. We hugged, laughed, told stories ... and then there was the photo." Conclusion: Even if you have been hard on each other on the tennis court for years, you love and respect each other.
Interesting in retrospect: Already in her autobiography in 2017, Sharapova had philosophized about a possible friendship after the end of her career. "Serena and I should be friends: we love the same thing, we have the same passion," she wrote. "Maybe if it's all in our past, maybe we'll become friends. Or not. You never know something like that."