Title: “Serena Williams Didn’t Want to Lose to Me Again; I Say She’s Owned Me”: When Maria Sharapova Acknowledged Her Struggles Against the American Icon
In the realm of women’s tennis, few rivalries have been as lopsided yet emotionally charged as the one between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. Their history is filled with tension, fierce competition, and, on Sharapova’s end, an almost constant stream of frustration. Though Sharapova managed a landmark victory against Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon final—a win that propelled her to global stardom—her record against the American powerhouse has been dismal ever since. In fact, Sharapova has publicly acknowledged that Serena “owned” her, a statement that reflects just how thoroughly Williams dominated their encounters post-Wimbledon 2004.
The rivalry, if it can even be called that, ended with an incredible 20-2 record in favor of Williams, a fact that has often cast a shadow on Sharapova’s otherwise impressive career. Sharapova, who is herself a five-time Grand Slam champion, struggled to overcome the psychological hurdle of facing Williams. In 2013, Sharapova admitted, “Serena didn’t want to lose to me again.” By her own account, she recognized that Williams’s motivation was fuelled by that initial Wimbledon loss. Sharapova noted that Serena played their matches with an extra level of intensity, perhaps unwilling to ever relive the feeling of being bested by her younger, blonde, Russian rival on one of the sport’s biggest stages.
Sharapova’s comments were starkly honest and rare in an era when players seldom concede to being outclassed by a competitor. Her statement, “She owned me,” was a public acknowledgement of Serena’s supremacy, and it arguably added to the psychological edge Williams already wielded. Their matches often displayed Serena’s ruthlessness; she approached them not only to win but to make a statement. Sharapova’s 2004 Wimbledon win may have instigated this—turning every subsequent encounter into a kind of revenge mission for Serena. This head-to-head imbalance is, of course, more than just a statistic: it represents years of a complex, sometimes unspoken rivalry that has captivated fans and highlighted an undercurrent of tension in women’s tennis.
This tension, many have speculated, wasn’t purely competitive. Over the years, rumors swirled about the nature of their rivalry, often citing Serena’s distaste for Sharapova’s “ice queen” persona or Sharapova’s jealousy of Serena’s athletic dominance and charisma. In her memoir, Unstoppable, Sharapova herself wrote about the animosity between the two, even suggesting that it wasn’t just about tennis but personal resentment. Sharapova recalled an encounter after the 2004 Wimbledon final where she overheard Williams crying and expressing frustration over the loss. Sharapova speculated that Serena’s drive to beat her came from this deeply personal moment—a rare emotional vulnerability that Sharapova witnessed and perhaps unintentionally exploited.
However, what truly irked fans was how Sharapova often capitalized on her “rivalry” with Williams off the court, even as she continued to suffer defeat after defeat on it. By marketing herself as a fierce competitor to Serena, Sharapova was able to build her brand and gain endorsements, despite the lopsided match history. Many felt that this attempt to cast the relationship as an epic rivalry was, in fact, a media tactic designed to keep Sharapova in the same conversation as Serena. After all, Sharapova earned millions in endorsements and was the world’s highest-paid female athlete for years. She was criticized for “playing up” her adversarial relationship with Williams, even though she failed to truly challenge Serena in any meaningful way.
For some fans, Sharapova’s admission that “Serena owned me” was too little, too late—an afterthought following years of relentless promotion of a rivalry that didn’t really exist. While she finally acknowledged Williams’s supremacy, this honesty came only after Serena’s dominance had been firmly established and after many considered the rivalry settled in Williams’s favor. To some, this statement felt like an attempt at damage control, a way to salvage her narrative and appear humble in light of an otherwise dominant career that was haunted by a single player.
In contrast, Williams never seemed to care much for the rivalry narrative, letting her game speak for itself. Her unrelenting dominance over Sharapova was a testament to her focus, her discipline, and perhaps a tinge of spite. While Sharapova might have felt like her Wimbledon win was enough to cement her place in tennis history, Serena’s response was to ensure that it would never happen again. And she delivered on that promise almost every time they faced each other.
The story of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova’s so-called rivalry is, in many ways, a tale of media perception versus reality. While fans and pundits clung to the idea of a fierce competition, the record shows a different story—one of unbroken dominance, a rivalry only in name. Sharapova’s belated admission that she was “owned” by Serena may be the most honest assessment of their dynamic, but it also underscores how difficult it was for her to reckon with a legacy largely defined by one player. As fans look back, it’s clear that this rivalry was both a powerful narrative and a stark reminder that, in sports, only the score truly tells the story.