In what was probably one of the top ten moments in tennis history, Serena Williams presented her long-time rival Maria Sharapova with the honour of being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025. In fact, Sharapova had personally asked Williams if she would do the honours when she had found out earlier in the year about the induction. It was a huge turning point for women’s tennis when the two ‘rivals’ whom the world had pitted against each other finally took control of the narrative, and how!

Williams’ speech was emotional from the get-go. In fact, from the very moment she stepped up onto the podium, years of one of the most talked about rivalries in women’s tennis were thrown back into the spotlight, with Williams’ saying straight off the bat, “All right, surprise, I know I’m probably the last person you would be expecting to see here tonight.” However, from there, she only built on the transformation of this relationship and how much respect the two have for each other today; she even went so far as to compare Sharapova to her own sister, Venus Williams.

“And today, her biggest joy isn’t only a trophy, it’s her son Theodore. She’s taken that same focus and that same fire and turned it into being a mum. 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 and what we can share in the future.” Williams said to an emotional Sharapova and the crowd at the International Tennis Hall of Fame ceremony. “Maria is honest, she gets to the point quickly, she’s earnest, she’s loyal, she’s family oriented, and at her core, she’s just a great person. If I did know her better, I’d think she could have been my sister.” 

After the dust settled on her last competitive match that came in the 2022 US Open, Serena Williams said, “I wouldn’t be Serena if there wasn’t Venus.” Perhaps Serena would still be Serena without Sharapova. After all, their rivalry leaned heavily in the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s favor (20-2). Yet, Williams did confess that Sharapova inspired her without even knowing it, forcing her to show up with her ‘A’ game whenever they met on court. Hence, the honor of sisterhood.

“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.” Williams concluded with the perfect turn of phrase to sum up the respect and ultimate love these two stars, who have been touted as rivals for two decades now, have for each other! And given how Serena Williams has taken every opportunity to throw banter at Sharapova, it’s pretty clear that she did mean it when she said that the Russian could be her sister.

When Serena Williams dedicated a song to Maria Sharapova

To think that just last year’s ESPY awards, Serena Williams poked fun at her longtime rival Maria Sharapova with a cover of Jamie Fox’s song for Williams many years ago. “She could be my tennis ball,” Williams started to sing, a reference that she didn’t fail to mention in her induction speech for Sharapova, which had its own banter.

However, though the ESPY incident might have seemed cheeky on the surface, the truth of the matter was, Williams did end up calling out the media and the general public, who had a gala time stirring the pot on their apparent feud. “People said we had a feud, which was presumptuous and kind of rude.” Williams sang. However, Williams didn’t fail to include, “Besides that, I beat her twenty times.” 

The fact that Williams and Sharapova have come out of that time in their lives not just with respect for one another, but with a deep bond, akin to sisters, is astounding, and really makes clear where the priorities of these players and human beings lie!