Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova surprised tennis fans on Saturday when Williams walked out to introduce Sharapova into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
The two tennis stars shared a long rivalry that Williams described Saturday as “so electric and so iconic.”
Both Williams and Sharapova opened their remarks by acknowledging the unlikelihood that Sharapova would ask Williams to introduce her and that Williams would actually do it.
“I know I’m probably the last person you would be expecting to see here tonight, but honestly, a few years ago, I probably would have said the same thing,” Williams said.
But it’s less shocking when Williams and Sharapova revealed that they’re no longer rivals, but friends.
Why Serena Williams introduced Maria Sharapova at Hall of Fame
The pair appeared to show pure excitement as Williams walked onto the stage as what she described as Sharapova’s “former rival, her former fan and now her forever friend.”
Williams and Sharapova traded jabs and laughter in their speeches like close friends would and shared a long embrace at the conclusion of Williams’ remarks.
Williams even jokingly called for security twice to escort Sharapova, whom Williams called a “heckler,” out of the ceremony.
Williams shared that Sharapova had texted her a few months ago and asked to talk to her. Williams’ reaction is proof of how their relationship had evolved.
“Maria texted me that she needed to talk, and so, I thought, ‘Uh oh, what’s going on? What’s going down? Where do I need to jump in? What do I need to do?’” Williams said. “But 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."
Serena Williams’ and Maria Sharapova’s rivalry
Williams then addressed the rivalry that had existed for over a decade.
“Now, let’s be real. 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,” she said.
She called her 2004 Wimbledon loss to Sharapova, which started the rivalry, one of her hardest.
“For more than a decade and a half, every time we face each other, the atmosphere shifted. It was thick. The tension was real. The fire was real,” she said.
On Saturday, Sharapova said she’d never forget Williams’ quote to the New York Times following the match when she said, “She’s kind of like me. She doesn’t back off. She keeps giving it her all.”
“As an athlete and a competitor, I’ve always found it hard to admit when other players shared any of my best qualities. When it came to Serena, it was especially difficult because I recognized that she shared many of those same qualities and she capitalized on them as well if not better than I did. She certainly has the trophies to show us,” Sharapova said.
Despite their rivalry, the two shared a mutual respect for their resilience and toughness, Williams said.
The rivalry may appear lopsided based on the wins — Williams had a 20-2 career record over Sharapova, per the International Tennis Federation — but Williams practiced harder “whenever I saw her name next to mine in the draw.”
“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.
To begin her speech, Sharapova poked fun at the rivalry.
“Who would have thought? Serena Williams interviewed me for a full hour to prepare for today’s speech. That’s when I realized it was really game on. Serena, I thought that maybe today you’d let me win, just this once. But you may have won the speech competition,” she said.
The 2025 inductee dedicated nearly four minutes of her 21-minute speech to her rival turned friend.
“Serena did more than just sharpen my game. She helped crystalize 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, forever be grateful for her bringing out the best in me, which she really did,” Sharapova said.
How Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova became friends
Williams’ and Sharapova’s rivalry started evolving into a friendship at the MET Gala, according to Williams.
“Maria and I found ourselves at the same tables, at the same events and talking to each other a little bit more, and with no grand slams match the next day, our guards were down,” Williams said. “Little by little we started to see each other differently.”
Then “it just clicked” that the two liked each other.
“She actually reminds me a lot of Venus (Williams), and the more I get to know her, the more I think about the things we share and we can share in the future,” Williams said.
She then highlighted Sharapova’s honesty, loyalty and earnestness.
“If I didn’t know her better, 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. So what started as a rivalry turned into an enormous amount of respect and what grew from respect has turned to friendship,” Williams said.
According to Sharapova, they “were cut from the same cloth” with fathers who dedicated their lives to helping their daughters reach their potential to be champions and as athletes
“Once we fulfilled that potential, we both knew no other way than to fight our hearts out. We left everything out on the lines of the court, every single match we played. We both hated to lose more than anything on this earth, and we both knew that the other was the biggest obstacle between ourselves and the trophy,” she said.
After both of their tennis careers came to an end, Williams and Sharapova saw past the rivalry and formed a strong friendship.
“Once the lights dimmed on our careers and they locked the gates behind us, we brought our guards down,” Sharapova said.
She then told Williams, “I’m grateful, I’m so deeply grateful for you being here, for our friendship. This means the world to me.”