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Maria Sharapova has never been the type to look back on her accomplishments. Joining the International Tennis Hall of Fame has given her a chance to do just that.
“Wow, there was a lot of sacrifice. There was a lot of hard work,” she said on Friday, a day before she was to be enshrined along with the dominating doubles brothers, Bob and Mike Bryan. “And, boy, was it worth it.”
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One of 10 women ever to win an individual career Grand Slam, the telegenic Sharapova became an instant star when she won Wimbledon in 2004, beating two-time defending champion Serena Williams in the final. She also won the U.S. Open in 2006, the Australian Open in 2008 and the French Open in 2012 and 2014 and was the first Russian to reach No. 1 in the WTA singles rankings.
Sharapova also helped Russia win the team competition now known as the Billie Jean King Cup in 2008, and she claimed a silver medal in singles at the 2012 Olympics, losing to Williams in the final.
And she earned millions of dollars more in endorsement deals than prize money, appearing in fashion shoots and sharing the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition with supermodels.
Sharapova retired in 2020 at age 32 after a 15-year career that was interrupted by multiple shoulder surgeries and a 15-month doping ban after she tested positive for the newly banned drug meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open. (The initial two-year penalty was shortened by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which ruled that she bore “less than significant fault” in the case and could not “be considered to be an intentional doper.”)
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Sharapova got a tour of the remodeled Hall in Newport, Rhode Island, on Friday and said she was giddy like a teenager as the induction ceremony approached to reconnect with people who had been so important in her career.
“There’s the feeling that you have to walk through those halls,” she said. “You realize you’re a small part of such a bigger piece, the history of our game and all the athletes that just accomplished what they have.”
Twins who won a record 16 major titles in men’s doubles together, Bob and Mike Bryan spent 438 weeks as the No. 1 doubles pair. (Mike Bryan is actually the career leader with 18 major men’s doubles titles; he won two with Jack Sock while Bob was injured in 2018.)
They also helped the U.S. to the 2007 Davis Cup title and won the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics — an occasion that is already noted in the Hall's exhibits.
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"Just walking through and seeing ... all the people we idolized and their relics in there, and then coming down the hallway and seeing our shirt that we wore at the Olympics is incredible,” Bob Bryan said. “It’s humbling.”
Hall president Patrick McEnroe was captain of the Davis Cup-winning team in 2007 — the last for the Americans. Bob Bryan was the captain of the U.S. team that failed to end the drought in Spain last year.
"That Davis Cup and playing for their country in the Olympics, I know was very important to them," the younger brother of Hall of Famer John McEnroe said. “Something that I grew up with, my brother and I, from our parents, was that if you had ever had the chance to represent your country, you do it.”
About 16 hours before the induction ceremony, Sharapova said she had her speech about 80% written. In a rare instance of being on different pages, the Bryans quibbled over whether they were going to give one speech, together, or two.
“I think I’m going to wing it,” Bob Bryan said.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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