The dispute between Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams has persisted across the tennis world. When Maria Sharapova first defeated Williams at Wimbledon in 2004, that was when everything began. Since then, everything these two tennis giants accomplish has been compared to one another.
Sharapova achieved a $750 million profit from her investment in Supergoop and invested $500,000 in the founding of the sweets company Sugarpova. She won prizes worth a total of $38,777,962 during the course of her playing career. Sharapova’s current estimated net worth is $220 million, according to Forbes.
According to Forbes, the five-time Grand Slam winner from Russia surpassed Serena Williams as the highest-paid female tennis player for 11 years in a row. But Sharapova, like in tennis, couldn’t stay ahead of Williams for longer. Serena Williams beat Sharapova to become the highest-ranked female tennis player in 2016.
Serena Williams, a four-time Olympic champion and 23-time grand slam champion, is one of the highest-paid female athletes in the world. The American has consistently topped the charts and held that position for the longest.
A legend and a figure in popular culture, the 41-year-old athlete now retired is estimated to have a net worth of $260 Million in 2023. Williams’ career prize money total as of the end of 2021 is $94,518,971, according to the WTA.
Serena Williams vs Maria Sharapova
Williams has held the position of World No. 1 for 247 weeks, compared to Sharapova’s 21 weeks during the course of their whole careers. Williams has 23 grand slam titles and 67 career titles, whereas Sharapova has 5 grand slam titles and 35 career titles to her credit.
Now that both players have retired, the rivalry has gone beyond the court. They are constantly compared off the court as well. And now that both players have ventured into the business field, the comparison is genuinely inevitable. Sharapova has entered the prestigious Times 100 Most Influential People list this year.
Maria Sharapova is an investor & partner of 3 brands that made TIME’s 100 most influential list
Happiest Baby
Therabody
MetaphysicOnly a handful of tennis players made such a smooth transition from champion to business-woman.
A star that transcended tennis. ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/Ko1mUlZzbK
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 29, 2023
Both have also entered the ‘the highest made fortune for self-made women’ and yet again Williams has surpassed Sharapova in this list too. Sharapova, though, is more of an afterthought in relation to Williams’ legacy.
Despite the fact that Sharapova lost to Williams 18 times straight and then at last in the 2016 Australian Open, Sharapova has defeated the tennis star only twice, in the Wimbledon final and then once more at the WTA Championships in November, both in 2004.
Given that rivalry rarely feature an 18-streak steamroll, it would be charitable to refer to the interaction between Williams and Sharapova as one. Everything points towards the legend that Serena Williams is, whether it is the number of wins she holds above the candy brand owner or how much she has earned.
As usual, whenever Sharapova and Williams become a part of a match, whether it is tennis or not, fans always gather to watch, no matter what. And as usual, in an already lost match by Sharapova, Serena takes the reins and gives her hundred percent in whatever she ventures.
