Former Serena Williams’ Coach Spills the Beans on Her Arch-Rival Maria Sharapova’s Major Conflict With Her Father at 11

Published 04/25/2023, 5:21 PM EDT

Rick Macci has invested his time in several elite legendary players. Over the course of his career, Macci coached several big names in the tennis realm, including Maria Sharapova, the Williams sisters, Andy Roddick, and Jennifer Capriati. The ex-coach is super active on social media and keeps sharing stories of celebrity tennis players he has coached in the past.

A few days ago, he shared a story of Venus Williams during her debut game at Oakland. Now, the American Hall of Famer coach has come up with another memory of Maria Sharapova.

Macci shared how the father of Maria Sharapova wanted her to be a southpaw!

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During her initial tennis career, Sharapova was under the guidance of the Williams sisters’ ex-coach, Rick Macci. After four years of coaching the Williams sisters, Macci was associated with Sharapova. Although Sharapova was not associated with Macci for a longer duration, he ensured to give his best to the Russian prodigy to scale up her tennis skills. Being a full-time coach of Sharapova, they both have good memories of their time together.

Recently, he shared a memory of Sharapova when she was just 11 years old. During her initial period in tennis, Sharapova was excellent as a left-hander and her father wished to keep that as her preferred side. However, in the end, she made her choice to play as a right-hander.

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Macci, reminiscing about the incident, tweeted, “When I coached @MariaSharapova at age 11 she was so amazing left-handed her dad Yuri 100% wanted her to switch from righty. We trained 1 month as a lefty. But in the end Maria was right!”

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When I coached @MariaSharapova at age 11 she was so amazing left handed her dad Yuri 100% wanted her to switch from righty.We trained 1 month as a lefty.But in the end Maria was right!
— Rick Macci (@RickMacci) April 25, 2023

In earlier interviews, she has talked about her left-hand strokes. She often prefers her left-handed forehand shot to hit with extra power. When she chased down a ball and didn’t have time to smack a two-handed backhand, going with the left hand would be her last effort.

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Being a heartthrob of tennis, Maria Sharapova climbed the ladder to success in her early career. The five-time Grand Slam champion made her debut as a professional in 2001 on her 14th birthday. She played her first WTA tournament at the Pacific Life Open in 2002.

Watch the story: Serena Williams pays tribute to Roger Federer.

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Written by:

Piyush Rishi is a Tennis writer at EssentiallySports. Having completed his Bachelor’s in Journalism, Piyush chose to follow his passion, i.e.

Edited by:

Tony Thomas

Former Serena Williams’ Coach Spills the Beans on Her Arch-Rival Maria Sharapova’s Major Conflict With Her Father at 11

Macci shared how the father of Maria Sharapova wanted her to be a southpaw!

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