Maria Sharapova stepped onto the stage with Gayle King on April 22 at the TIME100 Summit in New York City with a story that reached back more than two decades and landed squarely in the present. She was there to talk about the launch of her new podcast and her induction last year into the Hall of Fame, but the conversation quickly turned to Serena Williams, the rival who helped define her career.
Sharapova, who grew up in Russia and moved to the U.S. at age 7 to chase tennis, became a global name when she upset Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon final at 17. She went on to win five Grand Slam titles, add an Olympic medal and retire in 2020. Last year, Williams introduced her at the Hall of Fame ceremony after Sharapova said she called Williams personally to ask for the honor, a request that reflected how far their relationship had moved from competition to mutual regard.
“I have had some of the toughest moments and some of the biggest victories on the court here with Serena, and, at the end of the day, we have so much deep respect for each other, and there was no one that I see, other than her, up on stage,” Sharapova said at the summit. It was the kind of line that only makes sense from someone who spent years on the other side of the net from Williams and now speaks about that era as part of her own history, not just tennis history.
Her appearance in New York also pointed to the career she has built after tennis. Sharapova has sat on the board of Moncler, served as a global ambassador for Nike and invested in or advised companies including Supergoop!, Bala Bangles, Tonal, Therabody, Public.com, MoonPay and Cofertility. In April, she announced Pretty Tough, a podcast described as a series of interviews with powerful women about their pursuit of achievement without apology. The first episode includes guests such as Zoë Saldaña and Jeanie Buss.
That next chapter is tied to the one she left behind. Sharapova said she does not play that much tennis anymore, but movement still drives her day in other forms. “I find things that keep my body active. Movement is such a big part of my life, but in different forms,” she said. She also noted that the body does not always feel the same once the highest level of competition is gone, a blunt acknowledgment from a champion who knows what peak form once felt like. For Sharapova, the point now is less about reliving the rivalry than using it as fuel for what comes next. “Why not do things that expose our better sides?” she said.
