“Absolutely deserved!” Sharapova has surpassed the legends and quickly enters the Tennis Hall of Fame
Mikhail Georgiev September 14, 2024, 10:45 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Maria defeated eminent competitors in the fan vote, and in the commission she has an authorized lobby in the person of the legendary Billie Jean King.
Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova finished first in voting to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2025. Maria was ahead of legendary American athletes Bob and Mike Bryan, as well as Canadian Daniel Nestor.
Fan voting is one of two stages in the selection of athletes for the Hall of Fame. Next will be a panel of journalists, historians and Hall of Famers. By winning the fan vote, Sharapova will receive an additional 3% of the total votes. To be inducted into the Hall of Fame, a candidate must receive 75% of the votes. The results will be announced in late October.
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Sharapova’s victory in the fan vote is not surprising. The Bryan brothers have won a fantastic number of doubles titles. Bob has 119 (of which 16 TBS), Mike has 124 (of which 18 TBS). Nestor has 91 ATP doubles titles in his career, including eight Slams. All this is impressive, but it does not make them tennis superstars of the first magnitude. Doubles are rated significantly lower than singles, and the recognition of the brothers Brian and Daniel Nestor in the world is not so high. They are an order of magnitude lower in popularity than Maria Sharapova, known even to those who are not particularly interested in tennis.
Based on her on-court achievements alone, Sharapova also deserved more than a place in the Hall of Fame. Maria won five majors. In the 21st century, only Serena Williams (23), Justine Henin and Venus Williams (seven each) took more. At the same time, Justine and Venus were unable to collect a career “helmet”, unlike Maria. Henin never conquered Wimbledon, and Williams Sr. did not win the Australian Open or Roland Garros. Henin was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016. Venus will surely be there too, but the 44-year-old American has not yet retired and will have to wait a bit.
Maria Sharapova
Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images
Sharapova put her racket on in 2020 with 36 WTA titles and the status of one of the main symbols of women’s tennis in recent history. Even then, it was safe to say that she would end up in the Hall of Fame at some point. Her less successful rivals are featured there, such as Kim Clijsters, Amelie Mauresmo, Li Na, and there are even those who did not win the TBS in singles. The only question was how long Mary would have to wait to reach this moment. It took four years before Sharapova was included in the list of candidates. Serena Williams has a shorter period. She retired from tennis in the 2022 season and will enter the Hall of Fame this year. But still, the American woman’s achievements are objectively more powerful than those of the Russian woman.
In fact, there is no doubt that Sharapova’s official induction into the Hall of Fame will happen in 2025. Yes, fan voting is not the most important part and contributes relatively little to the “common fund.” But then again, Maria achieved too much on the court to be ignored.
Renowned tennis journalist Jon Wertheim reported on social media that legendary American tennis player Billie Jean King wrote an open letter to the Hall of Fame Voting Committee, lobbying for Sharapova’s interests. So there is no doubt that next year Maria will take part in the ceremony in Newport, where the International Tennis Hall of Fame is located. By the way, brothers Brian and Daniel Nestor will probably also be present. The Hall of Fame often includes several people in a given year, so they should not be hampered by the fact that they lost to Sharapova in the fan vote.
“Wow! Congratulations, absolutely deserved!” – wrote Michael Joyce, Sharapova’s former coach, based on the results of the fan vote, who will surely soon have to repeat his congratulations again.
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Sharapova is expected to become the third Russian representative in the Hall of Fame. Previously there were Marat Safin (inducted in 2016) and Yevgeny Kafelnikov (2019). Maria definitely deserves to join them, like many other tennis legends. This is a great honor for her.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans around the world who supported me while voting for my induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. It is a great honour for me to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and the support of the fans makes this event even more special,” Sharapova said following the results of the fan vote.
