During her illustrious tennis journey, the retired American tennis star, Serena Williams, has delivered some memorable performances on the WTA tour. There was hardly any opponent who could withstand her dominating style of play on the court. However, during the early noughties, the emergence of a young Russian on the WTA Tour made things difficult on the court for Serena.

It was none other than Maria Sharapova who shared a fierce rivalry with the 23-time singles Grand Slam champion throughout her career. Notably, Sharapova, with her incredible performances, stunned a plethora of fans by defeating Serena in the final of the Wimbledon Championships in 2004, and then again in the WTA Finals. However, she recently received a lot of backlash and criticism from the fans as they reminisced about her victory.

Fans criticize Maria Sharapova for her victory against Serena Williams

Since her debut in 2001, Sharapova has played against some of the best players on the WTA tour. Her rivalry with Serena Williams was widely regarded as one of the most heated on the tennis court. The Russian tennis star at the young age of 17 defeated Williams to secure her first Grand Slam title at the Wimbledon Championship in 2004.

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Later on, in the same year, Sharapova again defeated the American tennis legend in the WTA Finals, capping her breakthrough season. However, the 5-time singles Grand Slam champion recently received a lot of backlash from a plethora of fans.

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Notably, one of the fans mocked Sharapova for her 2-20 record against Williams. The fans stated, “And to add a very important note, it would be the very last time Serena ever lost to Sharapova ever again! Serena 20 / Sharapova 2″

During her tennis journey, Sharapova faced a doping ban for consuming the banned drug, ‘Meldonium,’ which is considered a performance enhancer for athletes. Notably, one of the fans mocked her by stating, “Meldonium star forever.”

Another fan criticized Sharapova by accusing her of “fraudulent ways” to win her matches on the WTA tour.

Despite their rivalry, Sharapova and Williams are now friends

A plethora of tennis fans have regarded Sharapova and Williams as fierce rivals on the WTA tour. However, it seems like, at present, the two retired stars have put their differences aside. They are now good friends despite their past battles on the court. Additionally, Williams was previously featured in an interview with Good Morning America where she talked about her relationship with Sharapova.

She further revealed that the Russian tennis star is her close friend now because both of them are moms. The 23-time singles Grand Slam champion went on to say that their motherhood has brought them close to each other. Williams also likes to call her former arch-rival to discuss her daily activities with her.

Will Sharapova and Serena forge a strong friendship like Navratilova and Evert?

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