Maria Sharapova was not the type to look back at her achievements. By participating in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, she gave her the opportunity to do just that.
“Wow, there were a lot of sacrifices. There were a lot of hard work,” she said Friday the day before she was enlisted alongside dominant doubles siblings Bob and Mike Bryan. “And boy, it was worth it.”
Sharapova, one of 10 women to win an individual career grand slam, became an instant star when she won Wimbledon in 2004, beating two-time defending champion Serena Williams in the final. Sharapova was also the first Russian to reach number one in the WTA singles rankings, winning the US Open in 2006, the Australia Open in 2008, and the French Open in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova also helped Russia win the team competition now known as the Billy Junking Cup in 2008, winning a silver medal in singles at the 2012 Olympics, losing to Williams in the final.
Sharapova has won millions of dollars more in approved deals than prize money, and has appeared on the cover of fashion shoots and Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit versions.
Sharapova retired in 2020 at the age of 32 after a 15-year career and a 15-month doping ban suspended by multiple shoulder surgeries after testing positive for the newly banned drug meldonium at the 2016 Australia Open. (The penalty for the first two years was shortened by the Sports Arbitration Court.
Sharapova took a tour of the Modification Hall in Newport, Rhode Island on Friday and said she was whimsical as a teenager as a lead ceremony approached to reunite with people who were very important in her career.
“You have a sense of having to walk through those halls,” she said. “You realize you’re just a small part of all the athletes who have achieved something bigger like this, the history of our games and what they have.”
The twins, who won a record 16 major titles in men’s doubles, spent 438 weeks as the first double spare by Bob and Mike Brian. (Mike Bryan is a career leader with 18 major men’s doubles titles. He won two for Jack Sock, and Bob was injured in 2018.)
They also won the 2007 Davis Cup title and won the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics. This is an opportunity that has already attracted attention during the hall exhibitions.
“It’s incredible to just walk and see all the people we idolize and their artifacts there, then go down the hallway and see the shirts we wore at the Olympics,” Bob Brian said. “I’m humble.”
Hall President Patrick McEnroe was captain of the Davis Cup winning team in 2007. This is the last for Americans. Bob Brian was the captain of the US team that didn’t end the drought in Spain last year.
“I know it was very important to them because I play in that Davis Cup and the Olympics in their country,” said the brother of Hall of Fame John McEnroe. “I grew up, my siblings and I, our parents, if you had the opportunity to represent your country, you would do it.”
About 16 hours before the introduction ceremony, Sharapova said the speech was about 80% written. In the rare instance of being on different pages, Brian quized whether they would bring one speech together or give two.
“I think I’m going to wing it,” Bob Brian said.
