Serena Williams made a dramatic appearance at Maria Sharapova’s International Tennis Hall of Fame induction.
You don’t expect someone who has a 20-2 head-to-head record against you to be the one introducing you on your special day, but it speaks volumes of the relationship the two now share that Sharapova was the one who asked her to do it and was standing and applauding with delight when Williams made her way to the stage.
Williams started off by saying, “Surprise! I know I’m probably the last one you’d be expecting to see here tonight but, honestly, a few years ago I probably would’ve said the same thing.”
Despite the lopsided head-to-head, the two were considered fierce rivals as Williams acknowledged. Sharapova had great power and precision in her game, but that was relative to anyone not named Serena. At the end of the day, you have to be great in your own right to go up against arguably the greatest of all time over 20 times.
“To the world, we looked miles and miles apart, but the truth is we weren’t,” Williams said. “We wanted the exact same thing at the exact same time: To be the very best. In our sport, only one person can walk away with the trophy. What’s really wrong with wanting to be your best? Nothing.
“In fact, it drove us. That’s what made our rivalry so electric and so iconic.”
How Did Serena and Maria Become Friends?
One of the key elements of the speech was Williams explaining how the ice was finally broken to form a friendship.
In the years since their rivalry, both have attended the Met Gala hosted by Anna Wintour. They had cordial, brief exchanges at the first meeting, but steadily expanded on conversations at following events.
The deeper conversations got, the more things clicked between the two and they were able to appreciate each other as humans instead of just competitors.
When Sharapova made her way to the stage, after a nice embrace with Williams, she jokingly criticized Williams for forgetting to award her the Hall of Fame trophy.
“She forgot to give me the trophy,” Sharapova said. “God forbid Serena gives me the trophy. I’ll just take it myself.”
Sharapova’s speech was enjoyable, too, crediting all those who had helped her along her journey. She admitted her emotions were getting the better of her but still showed the championship mindset in her preparation.
When there were technical difficulties with the teleprompter for her speech, she calmly waited before asking her husband to bring over her handbag where she had her speech printed out.
Sharapova then continued without missing a beat, finishing with great life advice for anyone listening.
“If there’s anything to take away from the speech, it’s this: Embrace the struggles and lean into the hard stuff,” Sharapova said. “Trust your instinct and rely on that resilience. I promise you, you’ll surprise yourself.”
