Serena Williams clears air on if there may be ‘beef’ between her, Maria Sharapova

Serena Williams has shut down claims that there’s and ever was a beef between her and Maria Sharapova because the American tennis legend claims all the things that occurred between them was nothing else however two nice gamers being very aggressive. 

For 15 years, Williams and Sharapova had one of many greatest rivalries on the WTA Tour regardless of the American closely dominating their head-to-head. And a giant a part of a lot hype surrounding their rivalry got here from the truth that many believed that there was some form of a feud between the 2 and that they did not like one another in any respect.

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Now with each Williams and Sharapova well-retired from tennis, the previous 23-time Grand Slam champion was requested immediately if there was a beef between her and the Russian tennis legend.

“Not anymore. I imply, was there ever beef? I suppose. It was simply aggressive. She was profitable. I used to be profitable, you realize, we each needed to win, and I do not assume it was private. It was simply, ‘Do you wish to win?'” Williams stated on The Serena Assortment.

Serena Williams says the meat between her & Maria Sharapova wasn’t private, they have been each simply aggressive

“Is there beef there?”

Serena: “Not anymore. I imply, was there ever beef? I suppose. It was simply aggressive. She was profitable. I used to be profitable, you realize, we each needed to… pic.twitter.com/ytooiTYHXY

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) Could 21, 2024

What made the Williams and Sharapova rivalry so attention-grabbing?

In 2004, Sharapova was only a 17-year-old teenager when she upset Williams within the Wimbledon last for her first Wimbledon title. Later that 12 months, Sharapova defeated Williams once more on the WTA Finals. Sharapova’s two early wins over Williams led to some speaking concerning the Russian as somebody who had the sport to problem and beat the American. 

Presumably, Williams heard all the things that was being stated on the time and used it as a giant motivation to show everybody mistaken. Then very impressively, Williams received 19 consecutive matches versus Sharapova that have been performed between 2005 and 2019 to complete with a 20-2 head-to-head versus the Russian. 

In 2013, Williams and Sharapova additionally traded public jabs at one another because the Russian wasn’t pleased after believing that the American took photographs at her non-public life in one in all her interviews. 

Though Williams dominated Sharapova of their conferences for a few years, their matches all the time drew a lot of consideration and in the end have been some of the hyped on the Tour.