The cold war is history: Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova mingle again

Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams

Their fierce rivalry may have prompted enmity between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova on court, but the pair have long since buried the hatchet.

As players they wanted little to do with one another but they have put the rivalry behind them with Serena confirming the pair had a friendly chat when they met back in 2021.

In 2022, Sharapova and auctioneer husband Alexander Gilkes welcomed their first child so both the former tennis stars are now also mothers.

In their first meeting since the birth of Theodore Gilkes, Sharapova and Williams ran into each other at the Moncler Genius fashion show in London.

In an Instagram stories post, Sharapova shared a selfies taken with Serena Williams at the fashion show amidst other updates from her day in London.

https://twitter.com/josemorgado/status/1627816733145694210

There are plenty of parrelels and shared interests when it comes to Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.

Both are active in their retirements from tennis keeping busy starting numerous initiatives and both have used the substantial capital acquired across their playing careers to make significant investments.

Sharapova admitted her loathing for the word retirement while Serena shunned its use altogether as she preferred to ‘transition away’ from tennis.

In truth, transition is far more appropriate a term for what Serena has done, given that she got started on her post-playing career before she hung up her racket.

Sharapova’s earliest investments were into the world of confectionary and saw her launch her own premium candy line, Sugarpova.

She has also invested in companies like Tonal, Therabody, Supergoop and Rove Furniture.

“I was always considered a tennis player,” she told Forbes in 2021. “I just didn’t want to be defined by this one thing, and although I knew that I was good at it, I felt like I had a lot more to offer.”

She singles out humility and a willingness to learn as key attributes in tennis and business.

“It took me more than 15 years to get to a professional stage, so whatever I continue to do in this next chapter, it will just take time,” Sharapova says. “I don’t want to go into a room and be the smartest one in the room because then I’m not learning.”

Meanwhile, Serena Williams might be poised to become the first tennis player to become a billionaire thanks to her investments.

She has targeted bringing diversity to venture capital and her portfolio is evidence of her casting a wide net while also having a discerning eye.

Williams also invested in fitness company Tonal back in 2019 and has seen that company’s worth skyrocket.

Together with her sister Venus she also owns a stake in the Miami Dolphins, widely considered an NFL franchise on the up.

She was part of a consortium that bid to takeover Chelsea but was unsuccessful, although many might consider that a bullet dodged given the complex situation at Stamford Bridge these days.

As it is, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova likely had plenty to talk about on a night out in London.

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