Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams are widely regarded as two players who had one of the great rivalries when it comes to women’s tennis over the years.

The pair have 29 Grand Slam titles between them – although Williams is doing some heavy lifting there with 23 of those and many regard the younger of the two Williams sisters as the greatest of all time.

Williams helped to form the career of Sharapova, albeit indirectly. She was on the other side of the net when the Russian defied the odds to lift her maiden Wimbledon crown at just 17-years-old.

It would be Williams who would go on and dominate the sport. Sharapova was the best player in the world during her career but her spell at the top was brief and she ultimately struggled to overcome Williams whenever they met.

Sharapova and Williams had a great rivalry and the pair always had great matches. Although there was no official needle, both players desperately wanted to beat each other and Sharapova has previously cited why she thinks Williams wasn’t overly warm with her.

Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Maria Sharapova explains why Serena Williams hated her

This isn’t official – even Sharapova doesn’t know for sure – but if there ever was any beef between Williams and the Russian, she thinks she’s almost certain why that might have been the case.

Taking a look back at the official autobiography of Sharapova aptly titled Unstoppable, she’s cited the reason why she believes that Williams was so desperate to beat her after that famous Wimbledon final.

It all boils down to what Sharapova saw and heard Williams do after their final in 2004 and she believes that it was something that tarnished the pair’s relationship over the years.

In the book she explains: “I went to the locker room alone. Serena had left the court as soon as she could without making a scene. I did not notice it and wouldn’t have thought about it if not for what was going on when I got to my stall.

“Having your own private stall means that, even though you cannot see your opponent, you can hear her. And what I heard, when I came in and started to change clothes was Serena Williams crying.

“I got out as quickly as I could, but she knew I was there. People often wonder why I have had so much trouble beating Serena; she’s owned me in the past ten years. My record against her is 2 and 19.

“In analysing this, people talk about her strength, her serve and confidence, how her particular game matches up to mine and sure there is truth to all of that, but, to me, the real answer was there, in this locker room. where I was changing and she was sobbing.

“I think Serena hated me for being the skinny kid who beat her, against all the odds, at Wimbledon. I think she hated me for taking something that she believes belong to her. I think she hated me for seeing her at her lowest moment. But mostly I think she hated me for hearing her cry. She’s never forgiven me for it.”

Williams bossed Sharapova in Grand Slam matches

Sharapova certainly had a point in her autobiography when claiming that Williams had her number over the years with the record actually standing at 20-2 in favour of the 23-time Grand Slam champion.

The pair met 10 times in Grand Slam matches. Remarkably the Wimbledon final of 2024 was the only time that Sharapova came out on top against the legendary player much to her dismay.

Still, the rivalry was brilliant. Okay, there was some beef over the years but in elite sport there will always be that needle, especially between two players of this nature who simply boast a win-at-all-costs persona out on the court.