Serena Williams reignites feud with Maria Sharapova
Serena Williams has hit back over false claims Maria Sharapova made about her in her book titled Unstoppable: My Life So Far, which was released last year.
Williams said she was disappointed with the claims made about her, which she described as “hearsay”.
Sharapova – who Williams has beaten 18 times in a row and is about to face her fierce rival ahead of their French Open clash – wrote in her recent memoir that Serena “hated” her for hearing her cry after the 2004 Wimbledon final.
“I think the book was 100 per cent hearsay, at least all the stuff I read and the quotes that I read, which was a little disappointing,” Williams stated, after her third-round win at the French Open against Julia Georges.
“I have cried in the locker room many times after a loss, and that’s what I have seen a lot of people do. I think it’s normal.”
The tennis champ added, “It’s a Wimbledon final, you know. So, it’s just, like, I think it would be more shocking if I wasn’t in tears.”
Williams said she was stunned how much she was mentioned in the Russian tennis player’s book, but also upset that she was portrayed as disliking Sharapova.
“The book was a lot about me,” Williams said. “I was surprised about that, to be honest. You know, I was, like, ‘Oh, OK.’ I didn’t expect to be reading a book about me, that wasn’t necessarily true.”
Playing at the French Open, her first tournament since becoming a mum to Alexis Olympia last September, Williams continued, “I don’t have any negative feelings towards her, which again, was a little disappointing to see in that hearsay book. Especially having a daughter, I feel like negativity is taught. One of the things I always say, I feel like women, especially, should bring each other up.”
She added, “If anything, I feel like we should encourage each other, and the success of one female should be the inspiration to another, and I have said that 1000 times.”
Sharapova, who returned to competitive tennis in April 2017 after a 15-month suspension for doping, also wrote in her book: “Serena and I should be friends; we have the same passion. But we are not. I think, to some extent, we have driven each other. Maybe that’s what it takes … Who knows? Someday, when all this is in our past, maybe we’ll become friends.”