The hatchet has finally been buried! Ever since a 17-year-old Maria Sharapova stunned Serena Williams at the Wimbledon final in 2004, the battle between the two became one of the fiercest in tennis history both on—and seemingly off—the courts for more than 15 years.
So when Sharapova found out that she was being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, she knew exactly who to call: her ultimate archnemesis, who had beaten her in 20 of their 22 head-to-heads over the course of 15 years.
“I am probably the last person you expected to see here tonight, but honestly, a few years ago, I probably would have said the same,” Williams said from the stage of the ITHF’s Horseshoe Piazza and Court in Newport, Rhode Island, Saturday evening. “A few months ago, Maria texted me that she needed to talk… When I called her, she asked me if I would introduce her into the Hall of Fame, and before she even finished her question, I said, ‘Yes!’ loud, immediately, with my whole chest, because, of course, it's Maria. I was honored.”
For nearly 13 minutes, Williams—who retired in 2022 and needs to wait until 2027 to be considered for the ITHF—raved about Sharapova, even addressing that infamous 2004 loss.
“She calls it the highlight of her career, and I call it one of my hardest losses,” Williams said. “The match didn't just make her a champion, it actually made her a star. It launched one of the most talked-about and controversial rivalries in tennis. For more than a decade and a half, every time we faced each other, the atmosphere shifted. It was thick. The tension was real, the fire was real.”
With each match, more tinder was hurled into the flames. “Behind all that fire, there was something else,” the 43-year-old American said. “Even though we didn't talk about it—maybe we really couldn't back then—we really respected each other immensely because to survive at the very top of the sport, you need resilience. You need toughness. You need to show up every single day year after year. And Maria did just that.”
In fact, the 23-time Grand Slam winner admits now that the pressure propelled her. “There are only a few players in my career who challenged me to be the very best every single time we stepped out on the court, Maria Sharapova was one of them,” she said. “Whenever I saw her name next to mine in the draw, I made sure I practiced harder.”
But at the Saturday night ceremony, there was a distinct sense of levity between the two. Williams teased Sharapova for her trademark grunts and referred to inside jokes and gossip the two had swapped. And at two points in her speech, Williams even jokingly called for security, saying, “I have a heckler here,” referring to Sharapova, as the newly minted Hall of Famer burst into laughter.
Clearly the two are just as amused by the shocking turn in their relationship, as Williams eagerly shared the “short version” of how they went from foes to friends.
“I think we have Anna Wintour to thank for that,” Williams said, explaining that they had both been invited by the fashion editor to “this little party called the Met Gala,” year after year. “It's one of the most intimidating rooms you’ll ever be in. Actors, musicians, designers, influencers, the creme de la creme. Everyone is dazzling, and somehow you still feel underdressed.”
That fish-out-of-water setting organically drew them together. “If you're an athlete, you eventually find other athletes in the room,” Williams said. “Because you know each other and you're on the grind year after year, Maria and I found ourselves at the same tables, at the same events, and talking to each other a little bit more. With no Grand Slam match, the next day, our guards were down, and little by little, we started to see each other differently.”
She explains that it just kept growing. “One year was small talk, another year was real conversation. And then one day, it just clicked this person I spent years battling across the net like we actually like each other,” she said.
Ahead of the ceremony, the pair spent an hour on the phone together as Williams interviewed Sharapova for the speech, though they admit that they spent the greater part of the call gossiping and laughing. But Williams also recognized all the precise ingredients that made Sharapova such an icon: “She's always on time, always focused, always disciplined, right on the dot, always prepared. That's Maria.”
The American went on to praise how Sharapova pivoted those skills into entrepreneurship and business. “She changed how women not only approached tennis, but sport and opportunity,” she added. “She showed us that you could be fierce on the court and strategic off the court and unapologetically yourself the entire time—and she always gave with her head high, proud, strong, classy and yes, with that signature grind.”
But ultimately, what Williams connected with the most was her passion for family: “Today, her biggest joy isn't only a trophy, it's her son, Theodore. She's taken that same focus, that same fire, and poured into being a mom, a great mom, steady, calm and thoughtful.”
In fact, those traits were familiar to Williams. “She actually reminds me a lot of Venus, and the more I get to know her, the more I think about the things we share, we can share in the future.”
Now instead of staring each other down on the courts, they’re more likely to be found teasing one another as their friendship gets dialed up a notch. “I think she could have been my sister, the yin to my yang, the calm to my storm. So don't be surprised when I'm calling her with all the dramas in my life because that's what sisters do.”
As Williams summed up best: “Maria and I were once the fiercest of rivals. We had our differences to the world. We looked miles and miles apart, but the truth is, we weren't. 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. And what's really wrong with wanting to be your best? Nothing. In fact, it's what drove us, that's what made our rival so electric and so iconic.”
The fun-loving atmosphere continued as Sharapova took the stage and realized Williams didn’t physically hand her the Hall of Fame cast racquet trophy.
“She forgot to give me the trophy—god forbid Serena gives me the trophy! I’ll just take it myself,” she said before herself going into a nearly 19-minute speech, thanking those who made her career, including Williams.
“Serena did more than just sharpen my game,” she said. “She helped crystallize my sense of identity as a competitor. It's a gift to have someone who motivates you to reach those heights. And I'll forever be grateful for bringing out the best in me, which you really did.”
Sharapova was just one of the three Class of 2025 inductees into the ITHF, alongside 16-time Grand Slam doubles champions Bob and Mike Bryan, who were introduced by their coach David Macpherson, who called the 47-year-old identical twins, the “Navy SEALs of tennis.”
For the brothers, the sport was always about family. “To be able to spend that much time with your parents is really a dream for any kid,” Bob Bryan said at a press conference on Friday. And that emotion rang true on stage Saturday, as Mike said to their parents Wayne and Kathy, “This honor belongs to you as much as it belongs to us,” while reminiscing about moments in modest hotels and Waffle Houses early in their career.
The ceremony was the culmination of a reimagined induction format, now as a three-day-long Induction Celebration to honor the incoming class at the historic Newport Casino, where the first US Open—then called the U.S. National Championship—was played in 1881. Set in the idyllic harborside haven of Newport, known for the grandeur of its Gilded Age mansions, as well its seaside eats, like Black Pearl’s clam chowder and Del’s Lemonade, the festivities took over the city, with The Tennis Wave court on Bowen’s Wharf and the glitzy Colouring Fashion party at the Marble House mansion, an extravaganza that looked ripped out of The Great Gatsby. On the grounds of the ITHF were the Fit for Fame Blazer Dinner, Fitz and the Tantrums concert, and live podcast recordings of McEnroe’s The Tennisworthy Podcast, Served with Andy Roddick, and Love All with Kim Clijsters.
One of most thrilling events was the debut of the Celebrity Pro Classic with Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, and the Bryans playing on the grass Stadium Court with Hollywood celebrities Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black), Angela Kinsey (The Office), and Hannah Berner (comedian and Giggly Squad podcaster).
Berner, who had played college for the University of Wisconsin, quickly won over the crowd for her not-so-giggly grunts and full-body collapses onto the grass. Her favorite partner was Clijsters, who she grew up watching. “Playing with her was like painting with Picasso—you just feel like you're so close to greatness,” she told USOpen.org. It turns out the four-time Grand Slam champion and honorary president of the ITHF herself was the one who reached out to Berner after watching her We Ride at Dawn Netflix special, inviting her to hit a few balls in New York City before officially extending the invite.
Aduba, who had played tennis as a kid, said this was her first time on grass, but looked every part the tennis star, paired up with Roddick for the first match. “If I was a star, then they were a galaxy,” she said of the retired pros. Roddick even let her in on the secret behind his powerhouse serve by telling her to “lift the ball, like you’re letting something float into the air.”
Kinsey started the tournament in the umpire seat, but was floored by the opportunity to hit on the historic grounds. “Everyone has just been so encouraging, but I think I could have played better,” she said, though she did hit a couple winners against the Bryans, who she even chest bumped with. Getting emotional, she revealed that her mom introduced her to the sport while she was growing up in Indonesia, and now she has passed the tradition on to her daughter. “I just love tennis so much and I love the community here, and this has just been a dream—all of it!”
That feeling transcended everyone at the ITHF all weekend, including Sharapova herself. “There's the feeling that you have to walk through those halls,” she said at the Friday press conference. “You realize you're a small part of such a bigger piece of this history of our game and [what] all the athletes accomplished… I didn't realize how special that would feel.”
