Maria Sharapova entered women’s tennis at a time when people knew only two names: Serena Williams and Venus Williams. She became a third wheel in that competition after she took down the mighty Serena at the 2004 Wimbledon championships.
After, she became a natural competitor to Williams’ sisters’ legacy, and even Serena admitted that no player pushed her to her limits as Sharapova did in her career.
However, that rivalry spirit didn’t turn out so well for Sharapova’s character. She was seen as distant in the locker room. Tabloids reported that she didn’t engage much in off-court friendships and some players publicly hinted she wasn’t “warm.”
Recently on her new publishing platform, “Pretty Tough with Maria Sharapova,” the former Russian tennis star spoke at length about how false tags like “the ice queen” and “b*tch” followed her throughout her tennis career.
“I was early in my career — maybe even a teenager still — when I was labeled with “the ice queen” moniker that followed me for the rest of my tennis playing days,” Sharapova wrote. “The idea that I was cold and aloof was so ubiquitous by the peak of my career that I was once asked on late-night television why I thought I’d earned “a reputation for being kind of a bitch.”
In her substack, Sharapova revealed that she came across this after she announced her retirement, where she discovered she was “more respected than loved.” One thing Sabalenka has learned over time through her experiences at conferences and in boardrooms is that this “experience isn’t unique to me.”
After learning and experiencing a lot in her new ventures that followed, Sharapova is okay with these tags as she believes “mental resilience and relentless drive are essential to success.”
Maria Sharapova Shares Premier Details About Her “Pretty Tough” Show
Maria Sharapova recently informed fans about her new podcast “Pretty Tough,” where she will invite top women across industries (sports, business, entertainment) and talk in length about women’s ambition in an unfiltered way.
“I present Pretty Tough, my new show about striving for excellence without apologies,” Sharapova wrote. “It redefines how we talk about women’s ambitions and explores the multifaceted nature of what makes us who we are… The first episode premieres on April 22.”
“I want to talk to women leaders who have given themselves permission to move forward, take action, and believe in something greater than just other people’s opinions of them,” Sharapova added.
Some of the early guests on Sharapova’s “Pretty Tough” podcast are Zoe Saldaña, Jeanie Buss and Chelsea Handler.
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