The Maria Sharapova Interview | Served with Andy Roddick

Summary

Served with Andy Roddick: The Maria Sharapova Interview (August 12, 2025)

Hosted by Andy Roddick and featuring insights from Jon Wertheim and more, this episode of "Served with Andy Roddick" delves deep into the illustrious career and multifaceted life of five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova. Released on August 12, 2025, the episode offers a candid and comprehensive conversation that tennis enthusiasts and general listeners alike will find both engaging and enlightening.

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Introduction

The episode kicks off with Andy Roddick welcoming listeners to a special edition featuring Maria Sharapova, a tennis legend who has won all Grand Slam titles at least once. Andy expresses his excitement about the upcoming discussion, highlighting that Sharapova's experiences offer unique insights into both her athletic prowess and her endeavors beyond the tennis court.

Winners and Errors Segment

Timestamp: 02:25

Jon Wertheim introduces a new segment titled "Winners and Errors," aiming to shed light on significant developments and overlooked stories within the tennis world.

• Victoria Mboko’s Breakthrough: Wertheim praises Victoria Mboko for her remarkable performance, emphasizing her mental strength and poise rather than just her physical prowess. He remarks, “This was a mental win as much as anything” (02:25).

• Cincinnati Upgrades: The discussion shifts to the rapid and impressive renovations in Cincinnati, which added ten courts in under a year. Wertheim lauds the enhancements, noting the positive feedback from both players and fans. He states, “Cincinnati's really become this sort of tribal regional tournament” (04:35).

• Philanthropy Highlight: Wertheim shares a heartwarming story about Francis Tiafo’s support for young talents like Russell Locko, demonstrating the community spirit within tennis. “Francis is a great guy. It's one of the substantive ways he's so well liked” (06:31).

Main Interview with Maria Sharapova

Timestamp: 15:38

Andy Roddick seamlessly transitions into the heart of the episode: an in-depth interview with Maria Sharapova. The conversation spans her journey from a young tennis prodigy to a business mogul and dedicated mother.

Early Career and Breakthrough

Sharapova reminisces about her early days, recounting pivotal moments that shaped her career.

• First Wimbledon Victory: Reflecting on her 19-year-old self winning Wimbledon, Sharapova shares, “I did, like, I basically washed my hair and just combed it before I went to the Wimbledon ball” (37:28), illustrating her grounded nature despite her rapid rise.

• Training with Robert Lansdorp: She credits her coach for refining her game, particularly her backhand and movement on clay courts. “Robert made you feel like after doing an hour's work of hitting out of the basket, you could literally close your eyes and hit the same spot” (50:00).

Overcoming Injuries

A significant portion of the interview delves into the challenges Sharapova faced with her shoulder injuries.

• Misdiagnosis and Recovery: Sharapova discusses her prolonged struggle with a shoulder injury, eventually diagnosed by Dr. David Alczyk. “For three months, I'm serving and I'm getting this, like, nauseating pain” (53:51).

• Mental Resilience: She emphasizes the importance of mental strength in overcoming physical setbacks. “You have to trust the process and trust this feeling. It comes with reps” (58:16).

Transition to Business and Motherhood

Sharapova articulates her strategic approach to building a life beyond tennis, balancing her role as a mother and a businesswoman.

• Early Investment Mindset: Understanding the finite nature of an athletic career, she planned early for her post-tennis ventures. “Any deal that I did, it was strategic in how we thought about the future of deal making” (67:05).

• Authenticity in Investments: She underscores the importance of being a consumer of the products she invests in, ensuring authenticity. “I am most of the time, their consumer. And I have a pretty good grip and understanding of why I use it” (78:27).

• Motherhood: Sharapova shares heartfelt insights into her life as a mother, balancing family responsibilities with her business pursuits. “I taught him how to throw and we looked at the snails and he learned something” (70:22).

Hall of Fame Induction

As the interview progresses, Sharapova discusses her induction into the Hall of Fame, reflecting on her legacy and the emotions accompanying this honor.

• Acknowledging the Journey: She expresses gratitude towards her team and those who supported her throughout her career. “Acknowledge the process and what you've achieved” (87:59).

• Emotional Reflections: Despite being someone who doesn’t typically look back, she recognizes the importance of celebrating her accomplishments. “You cannot let go of your roots. You cannot forget who were the people that helped shape your path” (93:16).

Personal Anecdotes and Lighthearted Moments

Throughout the interview, Sharapova and Roddick engage in light-hearted banter, sharing amusing stories from her early career and their interactions. For instance, Sharapova recounts a humorous dining experience recommended by Roddick, leading to playful ribbing about inappropriate server attire (21:07).

Notable Quotes

• Maria Sharapova on Mental Strength: “This was a mental win as much as anything” (02:25).

• John Wertheim on Business Investments: “There's a shorter line between all these events” (04:35).

• Sharapova on Post-Tennis Ventures: “I want this... to live with me for 20 years” (72:52).

• Sharapova on Authenticity: “I am most of the time, their consumer” (78:27).

• Sharapova on Hall of Fame: “Acknowledge the process and what you've achieved” (87:59).

Conclusion

The episode concludes with heartfelt congratulations to Sharapova on her Hall of Fame induction and reflections on her impact both on and off the court. Andy Roddick and co-hosts express their admiration for her resilience, strategic mindset, and genuine approach to life after professional tennis.

Mike, another co-host, adds a poignant tribute to Dr. David Alczyk, Sharapova's surgeon, emphasizing the unsung heroes behind athletic success (102:11).

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Final Thoughts

This episode of "Served with Andy Roddick" offers a rare and intimate glimpse into Maria Sharapova's life, highlighting her journey of perseverance, adaptability, and strategic foresight. Whether discussing her on-court strategies, handling injuries, or navigating the business world, Sharapova provides valuable lessons that extend beyond the realm of tennis. Her ability to seamlessly transition from a world-class athlete to a savvy entrepreneur and dedicated mother serves as an inspiring blueprint for success and resilience.

Listeners are left with a profound appreciation for Sharapova's multifaceted achievements and a deeper understanding of the dedication required to excel both in sports and in personal endeavors.

Transcript

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[Maria Sharapova]

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[Maria Sharapova]

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[Maria Sharapova]

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[Chris]

Hey, everyone. Welcome to Served. We have a great show for you today. Not a lot of people walking around earth that walk into any Grand Slam and go, you know what? I've won here before. We have one of them this week on the show. Five time Grand Slam winner has won all of them at least once. Maria Sharapova gonna join the show today, which I'm very, very excited about. But on the other side of this, we're gonna try something new on the front side of this with our homie, John Wertheim. Basically, we're getting, as the show comes in, there's a lot to cover and there's a lot we want to give attention to that we can't always get to in, in a big show in a long format. Interview where not going to interrupt a Maria Sharapova interview to give you thoughts on the renovation in Cincinnati. It doesn't work in the flow of the show, but we do want to kind of tip the cap, give our opinions, be up to date on all things in tennis. So we're going to try a segment called Winners and Errors where JW gives us all the goings on and shares some of his inbound with what's, who's doing what, where, why and when in tennis. So winners and errors, we need theme music.

[John Wertheim]

That'll be our next phase.

[Chris]

There you go.

[John Wertheim]

Yeah. So some of this is that was well said. Some of this is just a direct ripoff of our brethren At Vox, Kara Switchern Scott Galloway's wins and fails. But some. No, this is a good way to sort of get some of these items. Some of them are big and sweeping. Other are just sort of these things that sometimes fall between the cracks but probably deserve some mention. So I don't know, maybe we'll try to keep these for like one minute each. These are just quick riffs. If I were going to do one winner today, even with Cincinnati underway, I still think the story of the week that we maybe not even gave full measure to is Victoria Mboko. This was just such a breakthrough. Not just winning her home event, not just winning in Canada, not just beating four former major winners. To me it was just the poise, right? I mean, this is not someone who went and blasted 20 aces a match or just played this absolute level of power tennis that no one could keep up with it. This was a mental win as much as anything. And I think ask the Brits at Wimbledon how hard it can be to play in front of your home crowd and I just think with a few days detachment, this still is just an extraordinary story. So good to Victoria Mboco. Let's pivot to Cincinnati. You mentioned this already, Andy, but the Cincinnati Upgrades are really extraordinary. And keep in mind, this was done in less than a year. So fewer than 365 days. And now we've completely revitalized the grounds. There are now 10 more courts. The players have been gushing about it. But you know what? I think just as important, so have the fans. And I think we forget sometimes, you know, there's no longer a tournament in Chicago. There's no tournament in Memphis anymore. There's no tournament in Atlanta. And my mother country, Indianapolis used to have a long running tournament. No more. So Cincinnati's really become this sort of, this sort of tribal regional tournament. You can see it from the license plates in the parking lot. So I, you know, if somebody jokes, sort of, hey, Larry Ellison and Ben Navarro, now we're in some kind of contest to see who can have the biggest tournament.

[Chris]

Great. Yep, great. Perfect. What's wrong with that? Well, how does tennis not benefit from that exactly?

[John Wertheim]

In a world where there is so much managing decline, if people want to, if people want to invest and say, hey, there are fewer American events than ever, but the ones that are here, we're going to make them extravaganzas. Great. Knock yourself out.

[Mike]

I mean, don't forget, don't forget Ari Emanuel is in the mix on that now too, with Miami.

[John Wertheim]

Go for it.

[Mike]

The American events, you know, and now that you, now that you see Ellison and UFC partnering up in Paramount, you know, there's a shorter line between all these events.

[Chris]

Did we ever. We never got to your tinfoil hat episode, did we? No, Mike. No, that's right.

[John Wertheim]

I may have to recuse myself. Yeah, I may have to recuse myself now. No, but I mean, yeah, we can get into that. Another point. But, you know, you have these billionaire heavy hitters and these, you know, these media companies now. You know what? If they want to park their money in tennis and upgrade facilities, let's welcome them. I don't see a lot of downside that Gensler, by the way, I feel like we need to give a shout out to the Cincinnati architecture firm who, the design firm that did this in such a short amount of time if they want to help with any Manhattan renovations. You know, there are a lot of people I know who could use a contractor that worked that efficiently. Let's give a shout out. Speaking of Cincinnati, did you guys catch this item with, with Francis in Cincinnati where he was shadowed by a young player who Russell Loco, who's going to be a. He's going to rising junior at the University of Louisville, plays tennis there. And he came through one of these, the NGTL came through one of these grassroots programs in Trenton, New Jersey, much as Francis did in Washington, D.C. and Francis just casually gave him not just a day and a hit in Cincinnati, but also $30,000 from the Francis Tiafo Fund, from the endowment. This was in conjunction with the USTA Foundation. And now young Russell Locko at University of Louisville doesn't have to worry about graduating with any debt. Francis is one of these guys that sort of, Francis is a great guy. It's become kind of a tennis slogan. Usually he's fun and he daps you up in the locker room and he photobombs you. There are also substantive ways in which Francis is so well liked. This is one of them.

[Chris]

Yeah, I think that's a great point, John, because a lot of people can be likable. They can be friendly when things are going well. They can emote in a certain way to bring people in. But I'm glad you're bringing light to this, this story, because Francis does a lot of really great things through his foundation in conjunction with other foundations. So it's easy to kind of smile and be, you know, Francis when the lights are on. But it's nice that, that this goes on, you know, on the other side of fame as well.

[John Wertheim]

It is a complete cliche to say, you Know he didn't forget where he came from. This is one case where it completely rings true. Good on you, Francis. All right, should we, should we quit.

[Chris]

While we're ahead or should we do errors? Errors.

[John Wertheim]

All right, good.

[Mike]

You can't call winners and errors without the errors.

[John Wertheim]

Sorry, what's the stat sheet here?

[Chris]

Wait, wait, sorry. Maybe I, maybe I'm confused. Was, was the, did we announce. You guys told me three seconds before we went on the segments called Winners and Heirs. Was that wrong? Is it just winners?

[John Wertheim]

Such a good positive energy. We just toasted large and small.

[Mike]

Yeah, yeah, you had toasted.

[Chris]

Burn it down.

[John Wertheim]

I do think we need to talk a bit about this summer scheduling. And we joke about it and it's a lot of Marriott points and hahaha. I think, you know, you say this a lot and I think it's a really good point. Saying this is how we've always done it is generally not a way to. A great way to defend process. That said, we all should be able to admit when there's a mistake. And these scattered, overlapping, sort of elongated Masters events, when players who won Wimbledon don't feel like there's enough recovery time, players who won the singles title in Montreal don't have it in them to then go to Cincinnati. We've got Tuesday quarterfinals. The fans are confused. It's ending on a Monday. At some point, I don't know. I have kids, friends of my kids go to college. It's not a great fit. They transfer. HBO is no longer max. They've done something about it. Experimentation, that's great, innovation is great. But I think we also need to admit when we need to go back to the old way and these events are just not working well.

[Chris]

Yeah, I mean, listen, you have people who have, you know, Umboko won last week. She would have had three or four days off. What are you solving if not for? To create more space for momentum and for people that have played well to play more. Like, what have we solved for in that case? Like. And I'm a little torn because it's like, you know, I'm in this very, very, very unique sliver of a scenario. I can look at it and say, no, I. I played it. I won 12 times in 13 days, you know, and it was possible and I felt good and I would take the confidence and there's a week in between before the U.S. open. Here's my thing. Canada, Cincinnati, the three week deal. We're not going to throw a parade because you added a week to the calendar and you're just less shitty than the European masters 1000s that take up a full calendar month. Now, if we can set precedent with this three week situation and apply it to all of them, right now, all of a sudden we're gaining weeks back. If Madrid and Rome are three weeks between them, if Indian Wells and Miami are three weeks between them, I don't know that I cared about. I wasn't bothered by watching a final that wasn't on a Sunday. Right. In competing with the rest of the sports itinerary. So I hate the three week thing way less than I thought I would. And also very simply, if I'm commissioner of tennis for a day, my number one thing would be, all right, it's November 1st or November 3rd, whatever, first week of November, we are done playing. Now how we fit that jigsaw puzzle together from there. I'm sure we'll have differing opinions, but if I was commissioner for a day, that would be my non negotiable. I would run a ton of 250s in November. For the people that want to gain points, want to gain prize money, want the opportunity, you know, want to get into certain tournaments, you know, on the six week delay, that's all fine. That is none of the top players in the world, right? And they've already played the most and generated the most revenue for the tour. They need a fucking break somewhere. Simply.

[John Wertheim]

You talk about former Canada winners like yourself, Daniil Medvedev, one of them, but that wasn't recently because he has not won a tournament in more than two years. He just lost to Adam Walton in Cincinnati and it did not even feel like that much of an upset. He's outside the top 10. He's played six hard court matches in the US and swimmer and gone three. Three and just this. This does not look like a career with much momentum. He's such a good player, he's such a fun player, he's such a likable personality to have in the chorus. It just seems as though the wheels have really come off. Thoughts?

[Chris]

Yeah, there's no way around results, right? We can explain away circumstances. We can tell you, and I love to tell you why it's hard, why it's not as simple as everyone's making it out to be. And it's just not the same package of results that we're used to from Daniil Medvedev. I think wildly underappreciated. If we kind of zoom in and then look back, number one in the world, Grand Slam winner. A lot of grand slam finals, masters 1000 win like this guy in an era. In an era where it's a crossover between starting with Rafa Roger Novak and then getting through the primes of Alcaraz in. Maybe not the primes yet, but like the start of Prime Alcaraz in Sinner. So, one, tip my cap. Two, he's absolutely searching for something. And. Right. And when you have the game, that is that cat and mouse. Right. That is reliant on going to work. There are no easy solutions for Daniil Medvedev. Is he someone that's all of a sudden going to start serving and volleying? No. Right. Is he someone that needs to extend points and take someone's legs out? Is he and has that process when he's at his best? Absolutely. So I'm not sure what the quick fix is. Now we're at an inflection point. Is this the new normal or are we just dealing with an episode of confidence, Maybe some adjustments, we don't know. Bet against the greats at your own peril. So the biggest point I want to make. Serially underappreciated for what he's accomplished and what he's done in the game. And number two, you're right. Absolutely searching for something right now, the.

[John Wertheim]

Big punchline to him is he's won 20 titles and he hasn't won the same title twice. And you want to say, wait A second, A, 20 is a pretty big number and B, doesn't. The fact that he hasn't ever defended a title is another way to look at that. That, man, this is a versatile player who's done a lot of winning in a lot of different places.

[Chris]

Yeah. I'll just say that we can get the stats on this and maybe just run it below. I don't know if we're that fancy on this podcast now, but people who have been number one in the world, people who have won a slam, and people who have won 20 plus titles, it's going to be a short list. He's on it. On the other side of the break, the legend Maria Sharapova. We'll be right back.

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[Maria Sharapova]

I'm so happy to be here. I haven't done an interview in a while, so what you get is what you get. I apologize in advance.

[Chris]

Yeah, we're not worried about you after seeing a couple of decades of you handling interviews. Okay, so what's the program now? I mean, we're gonna get into all of the things and all of your successes, but I know from being a parent myself that you can be whatever you have been as a sports person, as a celebrity, all of these things, and then you revert back to humble pie when a kid is brought in. So are we Theo? Are we Theodore? Are we Teddy? What's give us. Give us the lay low.

[Maria Sharapova]

Depends on the mood. Depends on the mood. It's. It's Theo. So we chose a name that would sound similar in both languages. So I use Theodore when it's like, like, like let's get this shit done. Because I just, I don't have an extra minute of mental capacity. Not physical, mental. And it's Theo every time. Elson. Yeah, it's such a. I mean, you have Two, right?

[Chris]

Two. Yep.

[Maria Sharapova]

Yeah. I mean, every week is a. Is a. Is a testament to. I mean, I think it adds another year to your life. It's the biggest blessing. But also that. I mean, it's really the toughest challenge that I think parents face on a daily basis. I mean, I've got, like, I've got this huge truck next to me. Do you hear that thing?

[Chris]

I. Oh, there you go. Oh, the old truck. I know, but that buys you a.

[Maria Sharapova]

Lot of sanity runs in. I have props. I have mismatching socks. I'm so glad this is not behind my. My camera.

[Chris]

We're going to. We're going to get to your. Your business life here at the end of it. But, like, I think the next thing that you could probably solve for in your genius empire, losing socks. No one's ever solved for it. And yet it's still a problem here.

[Maria Sharapova]

You know, the thing is, I know that they're there somewhere in the closet. But, like, after the first year, once you're like, oh, this. You know, this, this. These little shorts are so sweet. You're like, I don't really care what he wears anymore, because, first of all, you don't have a say.

[Chris]

Yeah, right.

[Maria Sharapova]

At one point, they just control what they wear, what they want to eat. I mean, I've lived three lives till this interview this morning. Like, the oatmeal wasn't the right temperature. Yeah, it's. But it is what it is.

[Chris]

So what was. Was it too cold or was it. Was it too.

[Maria Sharapova]

It was a little too warm.

[Chris]

It was too warm. Okay. A little ice cube solution maybe.

[Maria Sharapova]

So we had to bring it. Oh, that's very American of you.

[Chris]

Okay.

[Maria Sharapova]

Yeah, we don't. Yep. Never done that one before.

[Chris]

Okay, moving on. So. But talk us through, because, like, your Saturdays used to exist with, like, trying to make trophies. Right? And now is. Are we doing paw patrol? Are we. Are we wearing out the zoo pass. Like, talk about the transition kind of into motherhood. And when you look back at your former life, does it just seem like a different human?

[Maria Sharapova]

Well, Saturday, it's funny you bring that up. Saturdays was like when someone asked me, what is your favorite day of the week? Saturday was my favorite day of the week because that is. That's a grand slam final. That's where I wanted to be. And now when Saturday comes along and you're like, where is my nanny?

[Chris]

No school, School's out.

[Maria Sharapova]

No camp, there's no school, there's no nanny. You're like, I don't know if Saturday is my favorite day. A typical Saturday. I mean, we've. It all kind of depends. We travel quite a bit, so our life, I mean, Alexander's family's in the uk, so we spend a lot of time in Europe. In the States, it's all, you know, in California, it's the farmer's market. We like to cook. We're homebodies. So it's not. I wouldn't say it's super exciting, but it's very family oriented and we just. I mean, we are a very small family, so it's very nice to, you know, also see. See your son grow up in a very. I mean, an incredibly privileged circumstances, but also try to adapt to the lessons that, That I grew up with. Right. That nothing, nothing is easy. Nothing comes easy. That you have to work. Work for many things. And, and, and I don't know at what age that starts. Right. Because he's my first child. But I definitely, you know, there are lessons throughout the day where I'm like, you know, just watch him, look at him lean into what he's interested in and what are his interests, which still have no freaking clue what they are.

[Chris]

Yeah, it'll. And then it'll be super into something. It'll be the most important thing on earth. And then two months later, it's like, get r dinosaur figurines. Because the dinosaurs, that.

[Maria Sharapova]

That's. That's how I feel. Yeah. I was like, he must be athletic. I'm like, probably. Nope. He's more like my husband, you know.

[Chris]

Oh, shots fired. Like, it. Like, like where that's going.

[Maria Sharapova]

So we have a long interview to go. There'll be.

[Chris]

There'll be many shots taken.

[Maria Sharapova]

I mean, before we get too far, can I. There's a really funny story that I wanted to start with. We've gone like 10 minutes into this interview.

[Chris]

I feel like this is going to go well for me.

[Maria Sharapova]

Probably not.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Maria Sharapova]

Okay. I don't know if you remember this moment, but I was probably about 19 or 20 years old, and it was the first time that I was. This was Paris. I'm setting context here. Plaza Vendome. I was staying at the Park Hyatt for the very first time. You were staying at that hotel. And because I didn't know the area, I had said, hey, Andy, you know, you've been here before. Can you give me a few restaurant recommendations for dinner? And he's like, oh, yeah, no, absolutely. There's one around the corner. It's called Hotel Coast. And I was like, oh, great. So, you know, it's my dad and, you know, a few of my male team members, my trainer, coach, and physical therapist and, you know, four boys and me. And so we walk. We walk into the. It's a hotel and it's like, meant to be a trendy hotel. I didn't know it at the time. And we walk in and they. They sat us down. And every server, I mean, looks like they're from Moulin Rouge. And I was like, this guy must be shitting me. He really. He just. He purposely took me as a 19 year old to this. It looked like a show. Like really short skirts and, like a lot of cleavage. And my. My team was like, Andy.

[Chris]

So I don't know.

[Maria Sharapova]

Best.

[Chris]

Yeah, I don't know.

[Maria Sharapova]

You know what I did? I stood up and I walked out because I thought you were. Yeah, I thought you were pulling a trick on me.

[Chris]

No, I wouldn't do that.

[Maria Sharapova]

And then everyone. And then everyone was telling me, oh, no, this is the hip. This is the hip place to eat. And I was like, of course Andy Roddick goes to the hip place.

[Chris]

No, listen, I don't know what. I don't know what kind of room you and your team requested there. Every meal I've ever had, there was. Was respect, was respectable. The food was great, nice little music, dim lighting. We all look fine. It doesn't look like we're eating at a home.

[Maria Sharapova]

Really.

[Chris]

I don't even remember. That's not what I would. That's not something I ever noticed.

[Maria Sharapova]

Okay, let's not be politically. This podcast is not politically correct.

[Chris]

It is not.

[Maria Sharapova]

So let's not start now.

[Chris]

It's not. Okay, that sounds like something I might have done. I'm not gonna fully. I'm not gonna fully deny it.

[Maria Sharapova]

Yeah, you definitely did.

[Chris]

All right, well. Bad recommendation.

[Maria Sharapova]

The team still appreciates it. Till this day.

[Chris]

I was about to say, like, I'm sorry, like, if there's four dudes and you. I was thinking about the majority. Is that wrong?

[Maria Sharapova]

Nope. Absolutely right. Okay.

[Chris]

We were fine. Yuri was fine. He was. He was good with it. We were. We were all good.

[Maria Sharapova]

He's definitely good with it.

[Chris]

So I want to get to this because back before anyone listened to our show, someone you're very close to and has been an integral part of your career, Max Eisenbud came on, and you.

[Maria Sharapova]

Really didn't have many viewers.

[Chris]

We had nobody. We were. Desperate times, desperate measures. It's gotten better.

[Maria Sharapova]

But actually, he's a great interview.

[Chris]

Fantastic.

[Maria Sharapova]

Yeah, because he sounds like it is totally.

[Chris]

It's my favorite. And you're, you fall into this category. It's the best interviews are the people that don't need the job. Right. They're the people that have been successful enough to just tell you exactly how it is. But he went through your story and I'm, I'm wondering, I don't know if it gets told enough or if people actually grasp kind of the, the craziness of your 7 years old. Your father, Yuri, who I always loved. I, I thought like, I think one of the sneak. The best kept secrets in tennis is what a great sense of humor your father has because he seems so like intense when he's, when he's watching you.

[Maria Sharapova]

It was very mutual.

[Chris]

Yeah. So your journey over here when you're seven, now that you're a mother and you understand like sacrifices made and you understand that you're basically just trying to play a lottery ticket. Right. And you come over and I heard the rumor is that you were at some clinic with Martina and she said, you need to go here. Is that an accurate story? Is that an accurate representation of events?

[Maria Sharapova]

Oh, yeah. Yep. All accurate, 100%.

[Chris]

Okay, so one, there's like imagine yourself now being at a tennis clinic and seeing a six year old and going, you know what you should do? I know we just met, but you should move to the other side of earth to do this thing like everything about your story and showing up with, you know, a couple hundred bucks in your pocket. It did you, you, I'm sure you don't realize that that's nuts when you're, when you're seven and it ends up working out so therefore it's less nuts. But talk about kind of the swing that was taken by your parents, your father and making that move and as you're kind of seeing it in the rear view and now we're a parent. Does that even hold more water than it did even then?

[Maria Sharapova]

I'd start with. I think people that have the guts to do crazy things have to be a little stupid and a little silly to take those chances. And I believe that till this day, you know, I don't think you're, you're all the way with it when you're making such big decisions in life. But then on the other side of it, I think one of the greatest gifts that my, you know, my father provided me and my family was that we had everything we needed where we came from. And so like plan B was okay, like success wasn't our only, you know, wasn't his only plan or wasn't my parents plan if it didn't work out, like, we could go back to a lifestyle that, you know, where we had a roof over our head. You know, I think everyone paints like a Cinderella story, and, And I know. I know how it looks on the other side because for. For every one person that makes it, there's, you know, hundreds of kids that don't make it, and those stories are untold. But the greatest gift he gave me was making sure that you just wake up and you. You commit, you do what you have to, and, you know, you have a good week of training, and that good week turns into a month, and that month turns into a year, and with a little bit of luck and good people around you, great things happen. And that's. That was always his mentality. It's. And it's his mentality, like, till today. I mean, I just spoke with him this morning, and I have this deal going on and, like, a business venture, and I was telling him about it because he loves to be in the lo. He's always like, what's the scoop? I'm like, well, let me tell you. Let me tell you what the scoop is. And, And. And I was like, oh, I don't know, you know, if I should lean into it more, if I should invest more into it. And he's like, and, you know, I don't know if they're going to take advantage of the fact that I'm, you know, putting in so much money behind it. And he's like, listen, things are going to happen as they happen. You have to. You have to give your best. You have to be honest, be realistic, but things will unfold. And that was always, always his mentality. It was never, like, above anyone or below anyone. It's like you have what you have, whether you have a small house or a big house. We all face the same problems, the same issues. We have health concerns, we have family problems. Everyone. No, no, no person's issue is smaller or larger than yours. You know, it's just how you handle it. So that's. I think that was an incredibly positive gift, and I still feel that I, I benefit from it, I think.

[Chris]

And this is just projection, but I think you come along, you win Wimbledon, your intensity on court presents a certain way at the time. Your, Your father's intensity around work presents a certain way. And this is in the vacuum of maybe some. Some tennis parent relationships that. That weren't exactly healthy at the time. And so I think we were almost looping everyone into this scenario. But a story that doesn't get told enough. And Max shared it with us. When he provides every opportunity, right, you never lose the personal relationship. And then at some point he goes, you know what? It's on her now, right? This is, this is. This is her life to live. You never, ever see. He was the first one of that mold who was like, you know what? This is a good time to walk away. And I feel like that gets ignored and it really shouldn't be.

[Maria Sharapova]

Yeah, and you're walking away from a lot. You're walking away from money. You're walking away from the scene. And by the way, the scene is a huge part of it. You know, the team members and, and coaches and I mean, you know what it's like. And it's. And it's grown even more now. I mean, the player lounge now, I mean, a player has. I mean, their. Their boxes are not. Their player boxes is not enough to. To field everyone that they want to invite, right? So, I mean, player lounges are full of consultants and creative directors and behind the scene video videographers. I mean, it's a very. I mean, you're laughing because you probably know it's true, but I didn't. That was not. When I went to the court, the only people I needed were the people that were going to help me win. Like when, you know, there's definitely a few times where, you know, you're at the US Open and, you know, someone brings like a, you know, coach or a physio, you know, wants to bring their whole family on the court, and right away, I mean, my mind goes, is that a distraction, right? Is that is all their focus on making you be the best player in the world? And I was honest enough with them to have that conversation that when we come to court, like, you are making me a better player. That's what I hired you for. And when we leave the court, I don't care what you do, right? I don't care how many people you have around you with you. But when I was there, like, everyone has served a purpose. Like, that was my mission.

[Chris]

How do you, how do you have ownership over that at such a young age, though? Like, that's something that's normally learned, right? I mean, you. You seem to have a decent amount of control of your orbit pretty early on, which. Which I think is the exception, not the rule.

[Maria Sharapova]

Well, I think you realize pretty quickly, and there's been a few examples of that in the last few years, is winning one event, winning two events, you know, being. Getting to top 10 in the world. I mean, if, if you've been dedicating your entire life to this sport, that's not big enough of a goal. It wasn't big enough for me. And I felt that anyone that would ask me to do something that was beyond that would make me tired, for example, or. I mean, every morning, you know, I'd wake up and I, you know, my physio would check my hrv, right? Heart rate variation, you know, as like a step. Like, how do you gauge your day? You know, how do you train? Do you. Do, you know, is your intensity high today? Is it lower? And every time I did a sponsor, you know, visit or a meet and greet or even an autograph session, there's so much, you know, that connection and that interaction with people. I mean, as it's an incredible 30, 45 minutes, but it zaps your energy. And I was very well aware of it because I was very sensitive to. I mean, I got sick every other day. I was like, my immunity was always low, so I had to be so mindful and careful of how I dedicate my free time. And I learned that lesson, like, from a very early age.

[Chris]

I'm going to jump because I wanted to start going through kind of specific terms. But I have written down here below that something I think you were great at, unapologetically, early in your career, and Max confirms, is you had the power of knowing. You understood when to use it. So most players who have the visibility that you had, who had the stardom that you had, who had the responsibilities to endorsers and took all of that on, sometimes you felt like you were playing on. On their turf. You were really good at the power of no. I think Roger was great at the power of no. At a certain time. I think a lot of the greats get to that where if this doesn't serve me, then it also doesn't serve the brand. Is that something that was kind of innate or was it something learned or both? It was just for. Specifically for you. There was never the conversation of, oh, yes, she has all the endorsements, but she's not committed to tennis, that, that, that conversation didn't exist. And that's.

[Maria Sharapova]

That's strange, I think, because I realized that if I didn't back up my success at winning my first major or, you know, or continue being in the top five or in the top three or number one in the world, I wouldn't have opportunities off the court. I mean, that. That, that's the reality. The reality is, I mean, listen, if you're a Nike athlete and you're not top 10 in the world. You're not making any money. That's. You know, maybe you are with other brands, but not with a brand like. Like Nike. And if you want Nike to lean into your brand and. And focus on, you know, on everything that you have to offer besides your forehands and backhands, you know, and tell your story, you better perform. You know, so when I woke up in the morning, I mean, not. Not that it's the. Not that it's the first thing I thought about, but there's no doubt that I. I was very realistic about, you know, yes, I have. I have a chance to have a platform and that I have a voice and that I can go from playing a Grand Slam final into a boardroom and have something to say, but I need to earn that. And the only way I earn it is by being a champion.

[Chris]

It sounds simple enough. I mean, Mike's listening and nodding. Mike, you can't even break fucking 100 in golf.

[Mike]

It depends on the course.

[Chris]

But no, no, you need a puck.

[Maria Sharapova]

Listen, Mike has a great background. I mean, you have a champion background. It's all very neat. I mean, you've definitely focused on it.

[Chris]

Thank you.

[Mike]

Thank you. The things I can control in life.

[Chris]

I mean, I gotta be honest here. Just real quick, and this is an aside, but Mike has that great background. I'm still stuck in a garage. Mike, what gives? Like, why do you have. Why do you. Why are you in the cushy spot?

[Maria Sharapova]

I mean, Mike got an upgrade.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Maria Sharapova]

Yeah. He got a promotion.

[Mike]

I know. I'm just happy the Internet works in your garage, so.

[Chris]

Yeah, me too.

[Maria Sharapova]

So I know you guys wanted to send me all the Meredith for. My team was like, oh, look, you know, could we. Could we send some microphones over to you? I was like, listen, I can barely get zoom to turn on. Okay, so the fact that we're actually on this thing is a miracle.

[Chris]

Well, to be fair, we actually had no microphones. It was a complete bluff on email. And it just worked out that your team said. Your team said, she's fine. So that was.

[Maria Sharapova]

There were not gonna be any microphones. Sound like you have a fancy podcast.

[Chris]

Correct. Correct.

[Maria Sharapova]

Got it.

[Chris]

Yeah. Okay. Fake it till you make it. Another thing that Mike can obviously relate to is winning Wimbledon when you're 17.

[Maria Sharapova]

Poor Mike.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Maria Sharapova]

What if you do?

[Mike]

I chose to do a show with Andy Roddick.

[Chris]

But. Okay, so walk us through. This is just not normal. And going in, you had played well going into the event. You'd play well, in Roland Garros going in, we kind of know, but it's probably as much of an arrival as we had seen since maybe Boris Becker in 85 when he comes out of nowhere and wins it at 17 years old. But like your life two weeks before Wimbledon versus your life two months after Wimbledon at that age, did you feel it just flip or were you so kind of hyper focused or do both, do both exist? Can two things be true and, you.

[Maria Sharapova]

Know, in full transparency? It wasn't, it wasn't that I woke up, you know, before Wimbledon and I came out of nowhere and I, you know, trained in some, you know, middle of nowhere. Like I'd been working toward that moment for, for many years. And, and, and also I, I think I was top 16 seed because I remember actually I was using the, I was using a locker room. And then I, Lindsay Davenport saw me and she's like, you know, you can use the members locker room. And I was like, what the hell is a member's locker room? And she's like, oh yeah, it's downstairs. It's like the fancier version of a locker room. And once I went there, I was like, there is no effing way I'm going back to the other locker room.

[Chris]

But there's, there's a big difference between being seated and winning Wimbledon, I would assume, right? Like that's, those are not to say you. It was an overnight success because those, those pretty much don't exist.

[Maria Sharapova]

Two things that, I think there's two things that helped me and like the five, six weeks prior to that. One was getting my first quarterfinal at the French Open. And I mean, it was a big deal. Is my first, second week at a, at a major. I consider quarters as a second week, not fourth round. So it was like my first, you know, time into, like, okay, this is now this is like getting very real. Then I went in and I went straight to Birmingham. I mean, I don't, I don't remember even taking a day off, but I went straight to Birmingham. And that's, you know, that's not an easy hotel room or, you know, town to be like joyful in when it's, you know, you've just come from Paris and it's, you know, non stop raining. And I remember watching the, the French Open final in my hotel room in Birmingham and I just said like, I, this is where I belong. I remember, I, I didn't say to anyone except, you know, this like, inner voice is like, this is where I belong. And I don't know where it came from, it must have been, because I just made it to the second week. And that feeling, it was. I felt really good. And I went to Birmingham. I played singles, I played doubles, which. That's probably one of the last few times I played doubles, thankfully, and I won both titles. And, like, my game suited the grass 20 years ago much more than it suited it, you know, five or 10 years ago. You know, the ball was very low. You know, it was a two, three balls that. The rallies over. My serve at that age was precise. It wasn't the fastest serve, but it was consistent. I had a good second serve. So I think all. All those matches, winning a lot of matches on grass is. Is really the best preparation you can have. And. And it gave me so much confidence, you know, that combo of a Grand Slam quarterfinal, you know, 12 matches that I played between singles and doubles. And so that's why when I look back, and of course, it looks like it's out of nowhere, but I do think that those things really shape that. That trajectory totally.

[Chris]

And then. But you wake up a month later. I mean, does it. Does it land when you're that age, or is it just, like, on to the next thing?

[Maria Sharapova]

It's hard. It's really hard to grasp when you're that young. And I actually, I. I think it really helped me because I. I didn't realize, like, the magnitude of that achievement. Um, I didn't understand, like, the. The naive. How naive I was about everything, how simple I was about acknowledging that I'm a, you know, a Wimbledon champion. I mean, I did, like, I basically washed my hair and just combed it before I went to the Wimbledon ball. I mean, now I'd be like, where the heck is this, you know, glam team? Like, where are the 10 people that are gonna make me look great? There's just a real, like, simple approach to winning. And, I mean, the morning after, where my father, you know, had been partying with his friends the entire night and came up. We were. We were in a bed and breakfast with a family with. They had three children, and we were in the top unit of this home in the Wimbledon village. And, I mean, I went back to my room after the Wimbledon ball. And then, you know, my father came up with all these newspapers at 5am and he just threw them on the ground. And he's like, we did it. And that moment is. That was everything that put my entire, you know, all the work, all the sacrifice, all the sweat and the tears and the laughs. And, like, that's, you Know, my dad just had this fun night, and he comes home and his daughter is on the COVID of all these papers. And it's this proud moment that you're like, okay, this is why I put in the work. And then from there, I remember I flew to New York and we did a little press. We got on the plane with Max and we had a. I think we had an economy plus premium economy ticket. And we got on and everyone started clapping on the plane.

[Chris]

Oh, that's so cool.

[Maria Sharapova]

And the stewardess, she comes over and we're like, we upgraded you to business. And so Max and I were like, we shimmy down to business class. And then so we're on this flight to New York and like four hours into it, I'm like, I look over to Max and he's got his sleep mask on with his seat all the way reclined, and he, like, comes up because they're saying, we're about to land. And he's like, are you the Wimbledon champion?

[Chris]

Max liked his new life.

[Maria Sharapova]

So, like, when I think of that victory and you know, when you say, like, do you realize what you achieved? Like, that's what comes to mind. You know, I. And it's still, still to this day, it's what I think about. I don't. You know, although I got. There was such great, strong momentum brand wise, and, and I made. I mean, we did some of the. The best deals at that time of my career. I mean, it was all very strategic, but they were some of the strongest long standing partnerships I had. And they all started in that moment. So that moment was. Was very pivotal. But again, I mean, you have to back that up. And it took me time, you know, I, I went into. Played a warmup tournament before the U.S. open. I think I lost first round. I went to the US Open, won a few matches. So it was like. But that wasn't because I started doing shoots. It was because I just. I. I didn't know. I thought I should be winning everything. And then the reality is like, well, actually, no, you don't.

[Chris]

Yeah. And then it's. And then expectation, I think, is a, is a. Is even a tougher animal. Right? Like, you go into a tournament thinking you can win, but when you're expected to win, I think that's a whole nother. I always say, I think expectation is the hardest thing in sports, right? Like you can beat earth except for one person, you know, in, in a given month. And then your expectations are recalibrated to where that's failure. Like at. At Some place.

[Maria Sharapova]

But I kind of. I mean then what else do you play for? I kind of like that's the joy of, of playing. Like if someone expects you to do well, it's because you, you, you deserve to get in that position. You know when you're walking through a grand slam tunnel and you need to tell the supervisor that, wait, I need a minute. Cause I need to go to the bathroom and take a poop. Like that's a. That's a great feeling. Because there means there's something on the line.

[Chris]

Well, the other thing that happens is when you say something like that, Mike immediately knows what he's gonna clip for the show. So.

[Maria Sharapova]

Hey, listen, whatever sells.

[Chris]

This is funny. Talk to.

[Maria Sharapova]

So then, I mean, we are selling, right?

[Chris]

Yeah, Always. Always. You get to number one.

[Maria Sharapova]

I see you, I see your cans and your hat. I mean, I'm no dummy.

[Chris]

What, this can?

[Maria Sharapova]

Yeah, yeah.

[Chris]

Olipop. That one.

[Maria Sharapova]

Yeah. I see.

[Chris]

No, we're not selling.

[Maria Sharapova]

It's not because you mean.

[Chris]

I don't know what you mean. I just wanted.

[Maria Sharapova]

It's because you wanted to put it on the corner of your table.

[Chris]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You've been jaded by your own success in endorsements. I just love Olipop.

[Maria Sharapova]

See how I tee you up.

[Chris]

Thank you. Appreciate it.

[Maria Sharapova]

You should get a percentage.

[Mike]

There's plenty of room for Cleo here on our. On my shelf if you guys.

[Maria Sharapova]

Yeah. Get a little snack.

[Chris]

Yeah, exactly.

[Maria Sharapova]

Little Cleo snack.

[Chris]

There's a story there. I'll get to it when we get to your. Your business accomplishments in a bit. Thanks for listening to served. We will be right back.

[Maria Sharapova]

This month on Explain it to Me, we're talking about all things wellness. We spend nearly $2 trillion on things that are supposed to make us well, collagen, smoothies and cold plunges, Pilates classes and fitness trackers. But what does it actually mean to be? Well, why do we want that so badly? And is all this money really making us healthier and happier? That's this month on Explain it to Me. Presented by Pure Leaf.

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[Chris]

All right, back to the show. You continue to dominate. You get to number one in the world. Win the US Open. I think the best that I've ever seen you play and correct me and tell me why I'm wrong was the 08 Australian Open. I think you were the most complete version of yourself while you were completely healthy before kind of your shoulder started having opinions about what you had to do and adjust. Am I wrong or what do you think? If you had to say peak? Maria, was this moment in time, was that it?

[Maria Sharapova]

I really wanted to say you're wrong, but you're right. It was. I mean, when the draw came out and I saw Lindsey Davenport in the second round of that draw, I told Max. I was like, I'm not doing any sponsor visit. I'm not doing. I didn't even care who I was playing in the second round. In the first round, I was, like, my focus and my energy was preparing for Lindsey Davenport because I think Lindsay had. Was struggling with a few injuries and was coming back, was unseated. And so when I saw her in that section of the draw in Australia, one of her, you know, better courts, I was like, that's. That's what I need to be focused on. I remember just I. I was in. We're staying at the crown at the time in Australia, in Melbourne, and I went to the. Once after the draw came out, I went straight to the gym, and I got on the bike, and I was like. Because there's this, like, why am I drawing Lindsay down for in the second round? Like, I needed to get that energy out. Like, that was the first. That was my first intention. And then. And then for the next three, four days, I just. I focused on serving and returning. And it's interesting how your mind, you know, something like, I was never shy of looking at the draw, but it is really interesting how your mind shapes, you know, the path of what you take. Like, the way that I got myself ready for that match mentally and physically. And you see it with how I played and just how zoned in I was in my returns and my serve. It's all because once I saw her name, I was like, this is going to determine who's going to win that match.

[Chris]

So you don't, you don't think that you have that level if you don't draw Lindsey Davenport second round of that tournament.

[Maria Sharapova]

Probably not. No. Because you probably don't need it. You know, you don't need to draw that level unless it is her. Because it doesn't matter if you're playing her in the second round or the quarter, the finals. I mean, you know what you're going to get, you're going to get pace, you're going to get depth, you're going to get speed. And, and if you break her, well, fucking bingo.

[Chris]

Well, it's, and it's, it's also someone who can send back what you're given at the, at the same pace. Like you all both ball strikers able to create an amazing amount of.

[Maria Sharapova]

Yeah.

[Chris]

And it's power pace through the court. Yeah.

[Maria Sharapova]

My dad, I mean, one of the reasons I went to see Robert Landsdorp was because of how smooth Lindsay's strokes were. How, you know, her, you know, mechanism was just like, she could, you could really see that if she'd close her eyes, she'd make the same ball in the same spot in the same corner over and over again. And that's, I mean, that was the greatest gift that Robert Lansdorp gave me.

[Chris]

Do you now, I. This is a side tangent here, but when you go to Landsdorp, is it because you see Lindsay, are you interested in that relationship? Because, you know, Lindsay has similar weapons as you do, and she's navigated over time. She's had this career that, you know, finished number one multiple times, has won 40 something titles. The longevity. Is it, is it a stylistic thing that made you curious about Lansdor because you saw some of your game inside of Lindsay's as well?

[Maria Sharapova]

I think it was because we're both, we had, we had a similar style, we were both tall, we weren't the best movers. You know, I especially wasn't at the beginning of my career. I worked freaking hard at it, especially on clay. And, and really it was the genius of, of Robert making you feel like after, you know, doing an hour's work of hitting out of the basket, you could literally close your eyes and no matter who you were playing, you would hit the ball in the same spot on the strings every single time with your eyes closed. And that is, that is such a confident, fluid feeling. I mean, that's where I train, you know, my backhand down the line, you know, my favorite, my favorite shot and to have that confidence to do it when, you know, you're down a break point in the, in the third set. I mean, that's all repetition. You know, they always say, like, oh, is it true that it takes, you know, however many times to get the feeling? And it is true. It is absolutely true.

[Chris]

So if that's peak, then you bring in and you start dealing with kind of wear and tear of a lifetime of tearing your body apart. While that might be the peak, right, as with my own eyeballs and the best you've ever played, I don't think it's even close to the most impressive thing that you accomplished, at least from where I sit. Like, I remember us when we were young, we would basically, like, make fun of ourselves on, on clay, right? It's like, we're good on these services.

[Maria Sharapova]

I mean, you skipped the clay. What do you. You didn't even talk about it. You just said, I'll see you at Wimbledon.

[Chris]

Great. So I was there sometimes. It was just not for long, to be fair. I did participate.

[Maria Sharapova]

I mean, you did tell me where to go eat, but that was, that was probably, yeah, I'm not going to go there.

[Chris]

But yeah, yeah, and your team like me after that. We're fine. Like, there's no losers there. Yeah. Everyone was happy except for you with that call.

[Maria Sharapova]

You don't get. Except you don't get trophies for that.

[Chris]

That is true. That, that cuts, you know, so. But what I want.

[Maria Sharapova]

You have thick skin.

[Chris]

This is a. Yeah, I do. This is a weird transition into complimenting you after I was just cut so hard. But.

[Maria Sharapova]

But you're going to take the leap.

[Chris]

I'm going to do it. So. And this is again, I'm going to take another shot here, but your shoulder was a problem from maybe there on out, and at some points it was. You couldn't play at all. At some points you still won majors, which I want to get to, and pick your brain about how on earth you took, you know, this skill set in this base and then won Roland Girls twice. It's fucking amazing. But your serve, you said when you were young was. Was fluid. You could hit your spots. You had, you know, motion on it both ways. The second serve was solid from where I sit, and like, serving is the one thing that I can actually, like, speak to with some confidence. Your arm angle was over the top when you were young. Post 08, it was flying around the side. You were trying to find it 100%. That's because of an adjustment you have to make physically I think you don't speak about it. You would just say, okay, yeah, I'm double faulting or my serve isn't on or whatever else. How much did you have to adjust, even just your arm angle and kind of your swing path because of your shoulder? Because for me, it seems incredibly obvious that that was an adjustment made.

[Maria Sharapova]

Hmm. Well, I think a couple of things happened. I was misdiagnosed with my shoulder injury for quite some time. And I think that time frame of the misdiagnosis where I knew I was telling everyone and every doctor on earth that I had there's something wrong, you know, in my shoulder, that I have this pain, and no one could quite point it out. It was like, oh, you have tendonitis and just overuse and you have very flexible shoulders and joints. And. And it wasn't until, like, several months of just beating myself up mentally that I know there's a problem that, you know, David Elcheck found this flap in my tendon and, you know, in a contrast mri, after doing, like, several of them, where no one could figure it out that this little tiny flap was getting caught in this one position when I would, you know, on strike point. So for three months, I'm serving and I'm getting this, like, nauseating pain. And. And that, I think, I mean, that for sure affected, I mean, my confidence, my speed, my, you know, even my recovery, because all I could think about was that once I was getting up there and my shoulder was, you know, right next to my. My ear, that I'm going to feel the sharp pain go through my body. And that definitely, I mean, you, you know, it. You've. You faced, you know, several injuries in. In your career, and, you know, that the mental aspect of getting back to being confident, you know, going up to the line and. And trusting a new shoulder, trusting a new body part, you know, or especially after an operation is even more significant than the operation itself. You know, and no matter who is on your team, no matter what specialists you have, it just takes you. You know, you're the only one that can get it right mentally right, because it's you that has to trust the process and trust this feeling. And it comes with reps. It comes with, you know, being in a really tight moment and figuring it out and delivering and. And the Sinmeister was never the same after that surgery. But I got to play tennis again, and I did it. And, you know, I. Then I had another, you know, another operation. So it was definitely. It took a great toll on. On, you know, on my game, but that it didn't stop me from, you know, from competing at 11, but it. @ a certain level. But it definitely took that, the level of serving that I had. You know, I mean, when you go back to, to Australian Open, you know, that you just referred to, I mean, that was some of the best serving I had in my career. I mean the, I was precise, I hit the lines, I was consistent. My second serve speed, I mean, I, I took chances on it, but I was, you know, it was very, maybe I made more errors than other players, but because my speed was higher, I was, I was okay with that. You know, I was still putting pressure on it. But. Yeah, it's, there's no easy answer.

[Chris]

Yeah, I just don't think because I, I had something in like, basically my, my shoulder was an impingement. It didn't affect my serve as much, but I couldn't hit a forehand flat anymore. But it does you no good to advertise it to anyone because. Right. The scouting report might take a year to change. Right. By, by virtue. So it doesn't. It. What are you selling by talking about it? So, you know, but I don't know.

[Maria Sharapova]

And then you have many specialists coming and you're like, oh, I can fit. Fix your motion. You're like, can you?

[Chris]

Yeah, I mean it's, it's a complete reconstruction that you kind of have to do and pretend. And pretend like everything's okay.

[Maria Sharapova]

Yeah, it's, it's a feeling. And, and you have to, you know, and you have to fail in front of thousands of people because you don't know until you go out and you play a match in front of thousands of people. You could train till you're blue in the face and you can make adjustments still. I mean, you know, you think, you think you've got it down. I mean, that's what's so impressive with, I mean, so many players on the tour now that you know where you see they're making adjustments mid season and not enough, you know, I mean, I think not enough is said about that.

[Chris]

I want to get to your Roland Garros titles just because we've touched on the difficulties with shoulder and taking away one of your weapons. And so if we take the stock game of your ability to compete, your intensity, you serve well, you return great, you can hit it through the court, you can take the racket out of someone's hand. None of those are made better by the surface on which you won Roland Garros. Not a single thing about your game was instantly Better the moment you got on to clay in, in my opinion, and you touched on it five minutes ago, your movement and how much time I imagine you had to spend because you were, you were a non slider. Like I was right to where like you kind of had that little jump step and then.

[Maria Sharapova]

Are you putting us in the same bucket?

[Chris]

I know this is just, just, just shut up. So listen.

[Maria Sharapova]

Okay, we're 30 minutes into it and he told me to shut up. Okay, okay, I'll take it.

[Chris]

No, I was. I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll claim forever.

[Maria Sharapova]

It could have come sooner.

[Chris]

I'll claim forever that it was Mike in my ear. I was telling him to shut up. But let's say that you improve your movement 3 or 4%, right? It's not something that Joe Schmo is going to see when they watch you. It's not something that in a first round you might need, but that is the difference, is that, the difference is that what made you into a role on Garros, champion on top of the other things and the other strengths that are well documented, because I love the fact that you can talk about someone's weaknesses, what they don't do well ad nauseam, and, and they still might be the thing that gets someone over the hump on the biggest stages in sports.

[Maria Sharapova]

I recognized early on that it was gonna be a challenging surface for me. And it's. And my father did as well. I mean, as someone that's watched me grow up on, you know, on all different surfaces, you know, his, like, his. One thing that he would tell me before matches is this game is cat and mouse. And I always think of that phrase as it relates to clay, because on clay, it is. It. You can have, you know, you can have a powerful game, but you have to be. In order to be a champion on clay, you have to be smart about your game, about what you have. And my game was power. So I had to find a way to incorporate my strength, which was my power, and, and improve the aspects of, you know, of my game that weren't a plus. And movement was one of them. And what was interesting is that I, I started, you know, I started working on sliding, and I was sliding much better to my left foot than I was on my right because I'm naturally left handed. And in a way, that became an advantage because it gave me the opportunity. I mean, my backhand was, I'd say, you know, my, my best shot, if I'm being honest, and it gave me more reach, right? And if you're a righty, most of the time, you know, you're sliding better to your forehand than you are to your backhand. And I, and I was very much the other way around. So if you watch clips of the, the many matches that I played on clay, my sliding and my backhand became, you know, great, like if I, if I can give myself a sliding compliment. But it wasn't so good to my forehand, but it didn't have to be because I had a one handed forehand. So I felt like I had more reach. And with time and with. I also recognize that I don't need to change my game to be a French Open champion. I just need to adjust it to the clay court, but use power. I can't let go of my power. I mean, that's my A game.

[Chris]

What are those adjustments though? You say adjust like how, what does that adjustment look like in real time?

[Maria Sharapova]

I mean, you don't have to use power to the lines, right? Because it doesn't matter if you hit the line or you hit a few feet in inside the line. It's going to be just as effective, you know, knowing and just being aware that what's most of the time a winner on hardcore or grass is no longer going to be a winner. So instead of, you know, being ready to go to the net, you know, maybe just move forward a few steps and be ready to hit another shot and then move forward, you know, then go to the net. So it's just having like preparing yourself to be out there for three hours if you have to be. And, and I know that sounds like it's quite simple, like, oh yeah, just, you know, wait for another shot. But that it's a very intricate balance between hitting and shot. And right when your A game is, you know, is depth and, and power and doing it consistently, it's this very intricate movement of knowing when to move forward to finish the point. And recognizing that on clay was a huge key for me not rushing to go, you know, to move forward and hit a swing volley. I don't even want to say I had volleys, but I hit a lot of swing volleys. That was my, that was my volley.

[Chris]

Yeah, well, I mean, it should have been. If I could have hit it as cleanly as you, that would have fixed a lot of problems.

[Maria Sharapova]

I love the swing volley.

[Chris]

Yeah, no, I mean, and you did it well.

[Maria Sharapova]

One of my favorite shots.

[Chris]

But I think the last two grand slams that you win being Roland Garros titles is like weirdly poetic for the way that you went about your process, learnings, intensity, never shying away from the battle. Listen, we've all taken it on the chin. You know, you sometimes get, you know, worked out of the room, laughed out of the room, get beat on, you know, a bad day. But I think what defines a lot of players, and especially people that are able to stay at the top for a long time, is like the next Tuesday, you're up off the mat, going back to work. I think those Roland Garros titles really define the way that we remember you as a competitor. I think it's fitting that those were the, you know, it's something that I probably never saw coming, but is like endlessly impressive.

[Maria Sharapova]

I also, I mean, there's definitely a schedule shift and I started playing a few more tournaments, like leading up to the French Open, which I, I think really I'd never played, you know, the Porsche Stuttgart Grand Prix until, I think the year that I, that I won the French Open. And, and I know it's, you know, we talk about confidence, but going into that event and, you know, winning five matches in a small draw with, you know, high level players that want to win, you know, that want to drive down the ramp in their new Porsche gave me a lot of confidence. You know, it gave me, I mean, five extra matches. You know, it was indoors, so it was like, it was controlled, right, that you didn't have to think of variables. You could just focus on, on your movement and your game and your opponent. And then I went into, you know, Rome and Madrid and. And then you had to make adjustments. I mean, Madrid and Rome were like two completely. They're two completely different events. Between the way the court plays, the crowd, the energy, just the size of the court. I mean, everything, altitude, the wind, it just, everything about those two events are like, I mean, they could be at different times of the year. And going into the French Open, I just, you start feeling like, okay, I've, I faced every circumstance, every opponent, you know, every wind barrier. I'm, I'm like, if I'm not ready now, then I'm never ready.

[Chris]

Battle tested. So this would be the point in the show where we leave. Well, you're not that lucky yet, but you're checking for free will. You can leave any time. But we'd prefer if you stayed to talk about your second career. This is where it would most of the time end and we would get to the hall of Fame. And in all of the feelings that you.

[Maria Sharapova]

I haven't talked this much in a long time. By the way I.

[Chris]

Just, just a little longer. Just a, just a touch longer.

[Maria Sharapova]

I mean, fine. I don't have nothing to do, Andy. Nothing.

[Chris]

I'm sure. So you were hyper aware of brand. You've, you've mentioned business in a, in a, in a kind of. It's a normal conversation. You. Because it's ingrained in your life now, and it's kind of what you become, who you are. And you've had of as accessible a second career that's not directly attached to your former life in, in a lot of the cases as anyone. Right? So, like, while the rest of us are trying to, you know, get a deal with Bubblegum Shrimp Co. You know, you're Land Rover and Motorola and Tag, he's Tiffany Bubblegum. Not something that, not something that you're ever going to have to worry about. Yeah, well, now.

[Maria Sharapova]

Now I'm intrigued.

[Chris]

You wouldn't be. You mentioned all of these things. At what point did it go from a curiosity to where I realized that I add value to these things to where I actually want to take ownership over these things? And did you pick and choose your spots or was it more just, hey, Nike has a relationship with Cole Haan. I think I could design something. You know. At what point did curiosity turn into action?

[Maria Sharapova]

Well, I have to go way back. Look, I think it all started with knowing that as a woman, you have so many years, right? If this is your profession, if you're a professional athlete in tennis, individual sport, that they're only so many years, whether you're, you'll be 30, whether you'll be 25, whether you'll be 35, the time will come. And unlike, you know, other industries and other jobs, you could be working there till, you know, I don't know, 60. But I was always very well aware that it would end one day. I didn't know when, I didn't know how. But I was always in the mindset that I want to have the strongest foundation to build something, to build another chapter, another gear, another life after being an athlete. And there's nothing. I mean, the, the transition which we can all also go into because I think that's, I mean, that's been a really fascinating world to navigate is transitioning from being, you know, an athlete performing in front of thousands of people to, you know, clapping, you know, when your husband changes a diaper like that.

[Chris]

Good job.

[Maria Sharapova]

Or you're like the only one in the audience.

[Chris]

We did it. We did it. You did it. You did it.

[Maria Sharapova]

That transition is huge. So we can get into that later. But business wise, I was always, I mean, Max and I spoke about this at length all the time. Most of the time is everything that we do is setting myself up for the future.

[Chris]

Are these conversations happening when you're 20? Are they? Or is it when you're 23, 24, 20 immediately?

[Maria Sharapova]

When you're, when you're making your first. When you're making money, you know, when you start making your first paychecks and listen, it's a very fine line because then, you know, you hear these. You hear stories of when you make your first money. There's a lot of people that want your money, right? There's a lot of people just want a piece of it. They want a new car and they want an upgrade to their apartment and they want, you know, they want to go to, you know, their local sushi bar was. Was good. And all of a sudden they want Nobu.

[Chris]

And Nobu is great.

[Maria Sharapova]

It's like, I mean, it's pretty good.

[Chris]

It's pretty good. Yep.

[Maria Sharapova]

Are they paying you too?

[Chris]

No, not yet.

[Maria Sharapova]

Okay, just checking.

[Chris]

Working on it.

[Maria Sharapova]

Just in Free meals. I'll take that.

[Chris]

Done. Signed.

[Maria Sharapova]

I'll take that.

[Chris]

They might have just got a twofer. We're in.

[Maria Sharapova]

I'll take the free crispy rice. I don't even need the tuna.

[Chris]

I want. I want T.

[Maria Sharapova]

And the fatty Tina. So I was just, I was always, it was always in the back of my mind. And any deal that I did, it was, it was strategic in how we thought about the future of deal making. Is this going to be. Is this going to be a partner and a family and a founder? That's going to, that's going to see my transition from being an athlete to a businesswoman to a mother to an entrepreneur. I mean, it's hard to gauge, and I'll be honest, but that was my goal. That was my selfish goal, was to make sure that I built a really strong foundations with these, with these partners so that they, you know, when I could call the founder myself or the call the CEO myself and say, hey, I know I was supposed to be at this event in a week, and you have, you know, 30 of your VIPs coming. But I decided to add another tournament in my schedule, and I won't be able to make it like I wanted to have that type of relationship with people, that I could be honest and real and, and it only served them better if I was winning tournaments. It only make me look better. It'd make them look better. It'd make our partnership better. And so that was a real key in how. And nothing was done just because, you know, Max received an offer in the mail that you couldn't turn down. It was never everything had a place and a time for it. And I think more than anyone knows and. And continues till this day. You know, now I'm just. I'm. I'm fortunate that I. And I'm sure you. You can relate, but you kind of have. You have the choice to do something or not to do it, you know, And. And if I'm going to leave my, you know, my baby, I mean, he's not a baby anymore, but if I'm going to leave my home and my family, it better be worth it. I better be so excited about where I'm going and who I'm working with and what I'm building. And that's so much more important than. And. And I realize how. How unique that position is. You know, at 38 years old, I really, I recognize it, and I am. I'm so grateful for it. But I'm also a workaholic. I don't know any other way. Like, that's, you know, I've been ambitious since I was a very young girl. And I mean, I love the fact that at the end of the tournament, you go and collect a check. And you know how you did, like.

[Chris]

Oh, gosh, yeah, this was a crap week. Oh, hey, it's the best thing about tennis doesn't lie to you. Tennis does not lie to you. The feedback is true.

[Maria Sharapova]

Yeah, I love that. Like, so now when I go, like, I love the idea of I'm working for something at the end. Like, that's always been my mindset. And it's kind of like that's how I think of it today.

[Chris]

Walk me through. Because tennis is a pretty. And you were lucky because you had a great team of people around you. Your father was a responsible human with you when you were young. Max was on board early. There was not a lot of. At least on the business and the personal side, it seemed like it was pretty solid right away. But do you have any sort of empathy or do you ever feel the need, like a knee jerk when you see young athletes hit, could be any sport, and then all of a sudden they're taking like these sugar high deals, right? These deals. Is it something that you can recognize and say, gosh, just. Just like, calm down, take a beat? Yeah, like, let's. Like, I think it's rare for someone to build something for the next 30 years and not for the next three months it is.

[Maria Sharapova]

I mean, I equally understand their position. You know, I think when you are, I mean, like best case scenario, you're, you're a young athlete and you win a Grand Slam in your sport, whether it's tennis or something else. And I mean, based on my own experience, you are pretty much guaranteed that for the next two, three years. You are, I mean, you're not making less than a million dollars on a deal, on any deal, right? And say it's a three year deal by the second year. If at the end of that second year you are not consistent with your results and you are not, you know, going deep into second weeks, guess what? You are going from millions of dollars in your bank account every day. And I say that because it's the reality, it's the reality of the sport. If you win a Grand Slam for the next two, three years, you are covered. But at the end of that second year, every brand has their eyes on you and they're watching and they're following, they're following your ranking, they're following your results, they're following how you're doing. And, and every player knows that, you know, so, so there's a part of me that, that, that emphasizes with, you know, I'm just gonna pack a man the shit out of every deal, just, and I have a little piggy bank and who knows what will happen in three years? Am I going to get injured? Am I never going to play at the same level? Am I going to find another interest?

[Chris]

Am I going to win Roland Garros twice?

[Maria Sharapova]

I mean, you never know. So, so it's a very, it's a very fine balance between, you know, taking advantage, which you absolutely should, of a big moment in your career, right? Where have you sacrificed and you've invested so much of your time and your money and family's money and who else, God knows who else's money. And to finally see that, you know, carrot and reward is significant, but you also have to understand that in two years time, if your results are not, are not consistent, then no one's, no one's resigning you. Well, it sounds brutal, but.

[Chris]

No, it is. No, it's, it's the absolute truth. And that's like ripping, that's like ripping the bandit off. Like, it's, what have you done for me lately? Type, type world. Something that I'm super curious about because on top of being an endorser, I think there's a very different. Obviously you've proven your skill set and I think that's a lot what you're talking about now, like, to be effective as someone who's a partner, to sell products for a brand, you have to keep winning. Right? Your investment side, I mean, you.

[Maria Sharapova]

Do you agree with that?

[Chris]

Totally. I completely, 100%. And it's not only. You're not only like an endorser that has, you know, tops these forbe lists for, you know, whatever, forever for earners. There's a whole nother side where that wasn't kind of enough. I mean, you've invested in Monsters, ufc, therabody, Tonal, moonpay, Cleo snacks, which Mike was very excited about. Big snack guy.

[Maria Sharapova]

Oh, we have to send you some. We have to send you some snacks.

[Chris]

Oh, shameless. He'll do it. He'll do it. No problem.

[Maria Sharapova]

I want you to put a little Cleo box just on one of those shelves. It's like, just a little, you know, seated in there.

[Chris]

I don't think that I've ever seen Mike lay down on a negotiation that quickly. God, are you kidding me with that shit?

[Maria Sharapova]

I will bombard you with product. I'm gonna send you some ball of bangles. I'm gonna send you some hash, pistachio milk. I mean, you are just gonna.

[Chris]

Listen. I have no idea.

[Maria Sharapova]

You're not gonna be hungry. You're not gonna. You're gonna be fit.

[Chris]

I have no idea why brands keep working with her. None at all. But just. And then you're on the board for Montclair, which is a company that's worth billions of dollars. Super goop. You were one of the. You were some of the early money in. They have an $800 million exit or something insane like that. What is your superpower as an investor? Not an endorser, because that's largely based of what was right. And you're proven and you're responsible, and you can sell Mike scooby snacks in 12 seconds. But what is your superpower as an investor, as a board member? What is your biggest value add?

[Maria Sharapova]

My biggest value add is that I am most of the time, their consumer. And I have a pretty good grip and understanding of why I use it, consume it, why it's incorporated into my life, and that's a proof of its quality. But also, are my friends using it? Are. You know, is my mom liking it? Is my kid using it? Is my kid eating it? Most of the time, I am a consumer of the product that I invest in. And that, I mean, that was by great example. I mean, Supergoop was my first investment in the CPG space. And. And it proved to be very successful and no deal has, has, you know, been that big. But it was, it was a testament to, you know, and this word gets used a lot, but authenticity to, you know, product and, and the person that's using it and how they're, how they're adapting it to their life. It was a no brainer. But I had to get to that. You know, I had to get to a comfortable point financially where I said, listen, I'll, I'll. And I'm sure you can relate to this as well as I'm ready to let go of, you know, a hundred thousand dollars or a few hundred thousand dollars because I truly believe in it. And hey, if I can be a value add to this product brand, to this founder and in five, 10 years, you know, I get my money back and more hopefully times 20, just hint, hint, then I'm doing, you know, then I did well. So that's always been my, that's always been my approach. I think of investment as long term. I don't see it as no investment in, you know, in the last five, ten years has been made to get money back in one or two years. I, you know, I take a lot of time and due diligence. I mean, I, I also just, I love, I mean a founder story is always so fascinating no matter what they've built or grown. And I'm, I'm, I'm always inspired by their trajectory because everyone's is very different and everyone has similar but slightly different problems and look and what else? I mean I have, I feel like I have a good grasp of quality. Like I'm just, in my everyday life, I am someone that I don't like to buy and consume a lot of things. And the things that I do live with, I think are, I, I hope that they are, you know, are well made, are good for, you know, for climate, are, are things that I want my family to eat. And I'm very well aware of design and how it plays into your life and how aesthetically it, you know, makes your life better. So. And quality has always been really important. I mean from every dress that I've worn that Nike has designed, every stitch that was sewn, it wasn't about being loud. It was like when I put on a dress, like I just, I wanted it to feel good on my skin and my body. Like when I wanted, when I went on court, I wanted to feel like it was like second skin. You know, that was always the memo. Like, it's just like it was meant to be. Made for me, right? It wasn't meant to be noticed from afar because it had a bold pattern or it had something, you know, a very larger shape. My memo was like, I want it to be elegant. I want to be beautifully made. And I want this piece to live with me for 20 years. And when I think of investing, it's kind of how I think of product. Like, I want this. I want this. Whatever it is, is it the way that I work out? You know, is it, is it this Amara baby snack that my kid is eating, you know, right now that I'm about to get on a plane and I put a bag, you know, of it in my, in my suitcase? For me, like, that's how I think of investment.

[Chris]

And it's been fun to watch your, your kind of progression and kind of read all of the things. I, I think one of the base factors in, in a lot of people and kind of building one is what you're saying, like every, everything that you've said, whether it's, you know, arriving in the states at 7, whether it's endorsing certain products, whether it's investing in certain things, it doesn't feel like you ever are on a get rich quick scheme or like you're going to like, skip a step in something. Which I think is a great lesson for, you know, not even tennis listeners, but just people in general.

[Maria Sharapova]

And I've always thought that if you, if you put your, your mind and your effort into, I mean, being, you know, a good human being and doing quality work and it doesn't have to be in front of thousands of people, but just, you know, that you go to sleep and you think, okay, I'm, I'm really proud of the effort. You know, I had, you know, two hours with, with my son, you know, after a day's work, and I was present with him and I was, I was off my phone and I, you know, I taught him how to throw and you know, we looked at the snails and he learned something like, I go to sleep, I'm like, okay, like, little by little, I know those are just development skills, but the way I think of it is like, you add all those little skills and you hope that in years time you get an incredible human being. And it's the way that I try to approach motherhood. And believe me, it's not smooth every day. And it's the same in business. You know, if, if I go into a meeting and you know, there's things about the business or, you know, the manufacturer, that's just Unfamiliar to me. I mean, I'll be honest. I'm the first one.

[Chris]

Do you think a lot of that stuff and your kind of attention to process, do you think that was created because you were a tennis player? Like, is that a. Is that a super strength where it's like, you know that you have to work for a year on footwork, and all of a sudden you're going to track down that one ball at four all? And that's where. That's where it matters. Do you think. It just feels like a lot of the parallels that you're talking about with your business is instincts that have been created from, you know, the age of 100, whatever, and you've created this, like, superpower mechanism of discipline, basically, because everything. Yeah, I mean, it's. It's.

[Maria Sharapova]

Yeah, I completely agree. And also, like, the decision not to choose the easy way, like, to be mindful that the easy way is not always the best way. Like, that's.

[Chris]

That's hard to do.

[Maria Sharapova]

It's really hard to do.

[Chris]

That's hard to do.

[Maria Sharapova]

It's really hard to do. And. And I. I mean, I especially, like now when we really have a ch as retired athletes, when we really have the choice, like when I work out now, I mean, like, on the last set, I'm like, oh, I'll just do 8 instead of 10. And then there's like a. There's like this little voice in me that's like, finish it.

[Chris]

See, my little voice comes in when I'm at about five going to 10, and I'm like, just get to six.

[Maria Sharapova]

I got to eight. I get to eight, and I think, you know what? I'm gonna write an entire chapter about this in whatever book I write, because this is like, this is so real. I get to 8, and I'm like, what? Turn the music on. Where's my distraction? Oh, maybe I should, you know, look at my phone. Do I really need that extra. What is it really going to show?

[Chris]

I get to. I get to 8, and I decide to call Mike about snacks instead. That's what. That's what I do.

[Maria Sharapova]

So, I mean, everyone has a different path.

[Chris]

Andy, obviously, the timing of. Of you coming on and being so gracious with your time is not coincidentally.

[Maria Sharapova]

I mean, a little too gracious. I see.

[Chris]

I. Okay, well, we'll wrap it up real quick. I can take a hint.

[Maria Sharapova]

Listen. No, no, that wasn't a hint.

[Chris]

Just maybe it wasn't a hit. It was blunt force trauma. But I do want to get your thoughts, because as much success as you've had in a bunch of different careers. There is something about spending a lifetime at a craft. Right. And then to be honored and voted on by a group that's largely your peers. Right. Other hall of Famers. And it's something that you probably knew was coming, you know, for, for a long time. But explain the emotions as you. Because it's a retrospective thing. Right. I went through it a long time ago already, but it's an intimidating prospect to actually look backwards, especially when that's. It's not my nature. I don't. I know it's not your nature. And my takeaway was it was a great process for me to think back on all the people that had a say in this day actually happening. Right. What are, what are your emotions? How are you kind of processing? It's a place that you knew you were going, but then when present hits and this is like a culmination and you're in the final resting place of champions at the hall of Fame. When you got the call to now, when you know that you have to talk about your career and, you know, try to digest it in 25 or 30 minutes, you know, what has that process been like for you and what has it meant that you, you were voted in by your peers?

[Maria Sharapova]

Look, I'm not someone that generally likes looking back, but I realize that you often have to look back and acknowledge the process and what you've achieved and the people that helped you get there in order to create a stronger, a better future. And that's a fact, you know, is you can't. I've never been like when I retired, four and a half or forget how many years it's been now, but I've really never, never looked back. I've. I love, you know, I have TV on all the time and I love watching tennis. I love going to events. It's been an entirely. Like, I've just been. I felt like, oh, my God, I've really missed out on being a spectator of this sport. Like I. Of front row seats to seeing some of the best athletes in the world. I mean, I played before the rivalries of, you know, of Novak and Roger and Nadal right before me. You know, they would walk off the court and I would get on the court. Like, I saw greatness, but I stopped playing. And that transition happened so quickly for me. It's like the, the mindset, the my life, how I choose to go about my day. It's never been about looking back, but as with time, I've recognized that you cannot Let go of your roots. You know, you cannot forget where you came from. You cannot forget who, who were the people that helped shaped your path and your life and your stories. And it was really funny because we've. I invited about, there's. I mean, I invited all of my team members along the way from like early, early days till. Till the very last day. And I think there was like a total of 35. It could be butchering the number, but I think it's 35. And I did like a paperless posting. I think it was one of my first paperless posts that I did. And I wrote like a message and I said, listen, if you've got a spare weekend, would love for you to join. Been such a meaningful part of my career. And, and I was like, Chad, GPT, can you please let me know what is, what is the conversion rate of RSVPs? And apparently it's like 50%. Okay. So I was like thinking, okay, well if I invite like 35, I mean, I'm gonna get, you know, 20.

[Chris]

No, that's bullshit.

[Maria Sharapova]

I promise you. I reserved, I reserved Maria a certain amount of rooms because that's what I thought. Oh my gosh, Maria, I'm at 96% conversion rate.

[Chris]

Maria, Maria, it's bullshit, okay? Bullshit. I call bullshit. Okay? So we've been talking about how smart you are for fucking hour and a half, right? And you can't ask Chad gbt what the RSVP rate is. And the comp is like Uncle Bob's Chowder Fest, right? Like, that's not, that's not Chowder Fest would be.

[Maria Sharapova]

I'm. I'm in for a chowder fest.

[Chris]

No, that's. You're one of the 50%. But obviously your team is going to want to celebrate you in your past.

[Maria Sharapova]

Everyone has a life now, by the way, and they're all have families and responsibilities and they don't all live in the US So that, that was, you know, one piece of the puzzle. So I'm like, I'm, I'm trying to find hotel rooms for everyone at this point. So when you ask me, like, what I'm thinking about, I'm like, so you might have to share rooms like you did back in the day when I didn't have money to get you a separate room. So that, that, that is something that I most look forward to is seeing just familiar faces and, and people. And I, I honestly can say I had some of the best human beings on my teams that I've. That I have amazing relationship with till this Day. I mean, Sven, my former coach, is a godfather to, to our son. I mean, Ricardo is the last coach I had were just such an incredible man. I mean, Michael Joyce is going to try to make it so, you know, a few blasts from the past. But I'm to relive like those memories with them is what I think about. I actually haven't thought too much about the ceremony or the induction. I don't even have a speech yet, but. And I've never written a speech in my life before. I think this will be the first one. But I'm about 10 days away, so I better get going. What did you do? How did you go about.

[Chris]

Was. I wrote it the night before and I was going to say 0% of my focus was going to be on like matches. And for me it was just, I wanted it to be a big thank you to everyone. And I wanted to basically draw a line from fandom where you're watching these like giants to where it somehow slowly becomes normal to be friends with like, Agassi. And I got to see Fed and Rafa and like, so drawing that line where it's like a very crooked line, but it somehow melts into reality. And you kind of have to remind yourself. But that moment, that moment will get you. There'll be one moment where like, it'll be very clear what you want to do. The only piece of advice that I could possibly give you is you will be over scheduled. They will ask you to do everything. Clear out time, where it's just your people, at least for three hours. Right. Where you're trading stories.

[Maria Sharapova]

To be honest, they said this to me. Yeah, they've been so, I mean, I mean, you know, the process, but the team behind it has been so amazing and accommodating that I'm like, tell me what to do. I will do it for you. Because you've gone above and beyond of, you know, catering to everyone that's coming into town and, you know, everyone has a different agenda and. But I'm, I'm so, I'm so, so thrilled. I'm, you know, we had a little event in Wimbledon that the hall of Fame put together and I think when you like, I received the news on a call, you know, Max called me and then, you know, Kim shared the news with me on a zoom and, and it's all like virtual and I don't, you know, like many things in life today, I don't know if you really feel that depth of connection and like true, true emotions are felt through these conversations. But seeing the champions in one room at Wimbledon and knowing that they contributed to the vote and that they are the reason I was voted onto this platform just is incredible. This is so special.

[Chris]

Well, it's obviously well deserved.

[Maria Sharapova]

Thank you. Is this goodbye?

[Chris]

We're getting there. Yeah. In my opinion. Is there something else?

[Maria Sharapova]

I mean, do I. Do I. Do I just leave at some point or just. How does this just keep going? Does this just keep going?

[Chris]

No, what you do is you just keep trying to make the ending as awkward as possible for me when I'm trying to get out of the show. Yeah. Yeah.

[Maria Sharapova]

So that the listeners think I'm really rude. You're so good at that, Andy. Just make yourself look good.

[Chris]

They know better. Oh, shit. They know better than to know. Listen. Anyone who listens to our show. And what's the Taylor Swift song? I'm the problem. It's me. They get it. They know. They know where the problems come from on this podcast.

[Maria Sharapova]

Who is your. I want to know about your audience. Who is your audience? Is it the. What do you mean? You don't have data into your audience?

[Chris]

Mike.

[Maria Sharapova]

Mike.

[Mike]

Anyone and everyone. We don't discriminate.

[Chris]

Yeah. No, that's not the answer. That's not the answer. The answer is. I'll give you an honest answer. Are you ready? Yeah. It started off as, like, four people.

[Maria Sharapova]

I am very intrigued about the podcast space because I have something brewing. So I just. The more info you give me.

[Chris]

I've heard rumors. I've heard rumors. Yeah.

[Maria Sharapova]

Okay. So I just, you know, the more learnings I have, the better.

[Chris]

We'll do a sidebar and we'll run you through all the numbers. I'll tell you this. What I never want to lose on this show because we started and no one listened, and now people listen and the numbers are good and it's been fun. I never want to lose.

[Maria Sharapova]

I hear they're great.

[Chris]

I never want to lose.

[Maria Sharapova]

That's why I joined.

[Chris]

I know that we had to work out, to be fair. We actually had to. We had to work our way up before we wasted our asks. Honestly to. It needed to be some value add. But I never want to get to a point where I actually think people are listening because I think that takes away a lot of the authenticity that you were talking about earlier. But it's been. It's been fun. It's been amazing. It's something that I never thought I would do. I never thought we would have you on to give us an hour plus of your time.

[Maria Sharapova]

Hour 30. Thank you. Very much. But you're probably. But. But you're going to probably edit it to 45, so.

[Chris]

No, no, no, this won't be edited. No, we run it straight out. We run it straight out. I will. You ready to hit the, the competitive streak? I mean, Andre. Andre did about two hours, but, you know, that's okay.

[Maria Sharapova]

I mean, there's only. There's only one Andre.

[Chris]

Yeah, that's true.

[Maria Sharapova]

Listen, I just heard him speak and I can. I can listen to him speak for like hours.

[Chris]

I could listen to him read the phone book.

[Maria Sharapova]

I know that's a little much, but he's not. He's great, but not that great.

[Chris]

I mean, he's pretty great.

[Maria Sharapova]

I. I mean, he's my idol, but not phone book great.

[Chris]

I will tell you, I am happy for you as someone who has known you for a long time, has respected you for a long time. Couldn't be happier for your successes on and off the court. I was an easy yes vote as. As were pretty much every other player that I talk to for you and the hall of Fame. I look forward to being there and celebrating you in person, giving you a hug, saying, congratulations, can't wait for it. It's going to be the best. Take it in. Do all the things.

[Maria Sharapova]

Thank you.

[Chris]

And thank you for joining our dumb little podcast today.

[Maria Sharapova]

I loved it. I love what you're doing. I love your perspective. It's. It's very much needed. It's refreshing. I like the fact that you're. You're coming in from a place of experience, you know, you know more than anyone what it takes. You know, you're ambitious, but you're. You're real. And I think that that voice carries through this podcast. So congrats.

[Chris]

Well, I appreciate you and I thank your man Max Eisenbud because he gave us some of the early, early content before we could get to the Maria Sharpova's of the world. All the best. Best.

[Maria Sharapova]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Chris]

We'll meet Theo in, in, in Newport maybe.

[Maria Sharapova]

We're, we're. Oh, he needs.

[Chris]

He needs to see his mom. Join the hall of fame. Okay, go, go, go. You're busy. You got all this stuff. Thanks, Maria.

[Maria Sharapova]

Okay, bye. Bye, guys.

[Chris]

Well, Holy Mike, that was.

[Mike]

She's awesome.

[Chris]

That was a lot of info, a lot of details. I told you before we went on, she'll give me more than any guest we've had so far.

[Mike]

She did.

[Chris]

Correct.

[Mike]

And finally somebody had the gall.

[Chris]

I'll tell you, I'll tell you a couple of my takeaways. And then I want to ask you, like I always do for some of yours, the ability to never kind of shortchange a decision and kind of defer to the sugar high. I think whether it's tennis, whether it's business, whether it's interpersonal relationships, I think that is maybe the biggest lesson that doesn't just apply to tennis is. And that's not easy to do when you're that young, have that much access, that much money, that much control over many things. I don't know. You know, I don't know how that's taught, but it's something she certainly got from a very young age.

[Mike]

Yeah, I think when she talked about, you know, the needing to win, to be of value to the brands, that we just see the brand deals, but the fact that she is like, I need to put in the work to win because I'm of no value to anyone, you know, in these spaces if I don't. But then even just the thought process of, you know, what. What's coming two years down the line, you know, how am I thinking about this deal at 20 years old to be 10 years from now? I think is also lost on a lot of us, you know, simple fans that look at young athletes, you know, who are out there putting in the work, and then they get these brand deals, and it's few and far between that can achieve what you guys achieve on the court. It's few and few and further between those achievers that do what she's done off the court. And it comes from that simple mindset. It sounds like.

[Chris]

Yeah, I'm always amazed by one that the baseline of success is curiosity. Like, people who are just always kind of trying the next thing and the next thing. And, like, we just keep pushing, pushing, pushing. And she does that every single day, whether it's tennis, whether it's not tennis, just. But also, she's. She's kind of real about it, right? It's not like she's selling you a story, right? It's like, oh, God, some days as a mom, it's like, it's hard, you know, it's just. But you just get on with it. I don't know. There's. It's like she does this dance between, like, her commercial reputation when she was playing is like this glamour figure and the, you know, the Nike ads with the I'm so pretty. Oh, so pretty. But then behind the scenes, it's like she'll crush footwork drills for four hours. And, like, that's. You could see that's she understands that that's the heartbeat of the entire ecosystem and not the other way around. Right. She's this tennis player that can do these things, not, you know, a famous person who plays tennis. And I think that's lost on, on a lot of people a lot of the time. And I think she's a great model for that. Any other parting thoughts, Mike? Anything else we got to get to?

[Mike]

No, I'm just really excited to have the opportunity to see her, her speech and the Brian brothers speech in person at the hall of Fame. Reminder, we'll be doing a lead in show for that just right before them right from the same stage. They'll be inducted in on the, on the 23rd for that will be at hollow at the fan week at the US Open doing our live draw show. So we got a lot going on coming up. Andy?

[Chris]

Well, I can't wait. I get nervous for the interviews. One more thing that I just want to, I just want to put out there and I probably should have done it sooner. She mentioned David Alczyk who was a surgeon who helped her with her shoulder, helped me with my knee when I was 17 years old. Passed away a couple of weeks ago and he has had a massive impact on many, many players. Not just in tennis, but always did it with grace. Respect. Room full of many, many times over. 17 year old, panicked. I know what my future is and yet will my knee hold up the calming hand. I still remember it flew from L. A to New York City, walked me through the paces, was so gracious. He just, he has an outsized impact on results that people just don't know about. Always did it with humility, always did it with grace. Was full of empathy. Even though he had done these things, you know, tens and tens of thousands of times, you still felt like he was very interested in your problem and getting to a solution of health. Passed away after a long battle with cancer a couple weeks ago. So Doc Allczyk, thank you. I know I speak for Maria and many, many other athletes when I say we couldn't have done it without you. We appreciate your time, we appreciate your expertise. Thank you to, for, for, thank you to Maria Sharapova for joining us on served and we'll see you next week.

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