When 17-year-old Maria Sharapova shocked Serena Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon final, few could have predicted just how deep their rivalry would run. The two would meet 22 times after that day, with Serena winning 20 of those battles, an imbalance Sharapova later admitted shaped the very arc of her career. “Serena Williams has marked the heights and the limits of my career — our stories are intertwined,” she wrote in her memoir. That long, complicated history came full circle on Saturday, when Serena herself stepped up to induct her former foe into the Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, while also explaining why it was normal for her to do the honors.

In a YouTube upload from August 23 by the official International Tennis Hall of Fame, Serena Williams could be heard, unable to stop throwing laurels at her “former rival, former fan and forever friend,” Maria Sharapova. In her speech, the 43-year-old tennis legend went on to note how the two of them slowly bonded over time and away from the court. Williams knew fans were pleasantly surprised to see her being the one to introduce her fiercest rival to the HoF, and she wanted to “address the elephant in the room.”

“How did we get here? How did I get her number? How did all of this happen? How did we go from the Wimbledon finals to this, me introducing her to the Hall of Fame?” smiled Williams on the podium. Citing how they met at the Met Gala on several occasions, Serena said, “Here’s the thing: if you’re an athlete, you try to find other athletes in the room. And because you know each other and you’re on the grind, year after year, Maria and I found ourselves at the same tables, at the same events, talking to each other.” Slowly, but surely, the ice started to break.

“With no Grand Slams match the next day, our guards were down. Little by little, we started seeing each other differently. One year of small talk, another year was real conversation. And one day it just clicked,” Williams, beaming, revealed how she became close buddies with Sharapova. From 2004 to 2019, the two made each other’s lives miserable on the tennis court, but it does look like now they’ve successfully put those intense years of rivalry in their rearview mirrors.

But even while the sight of Serena inducting Sharapova into the Hall of Fame was indeed a cool thing to see, fans wouldn’t have believed something like this could happen even a decade ago. After all, the brutal way the Russian decided to announce herself to the world at large was never something that Williams got over in her personal life. Neither did Maria. “To this day, she calls it the highlight of her career. And to this day, I call it one of my hardest losses,” joked the younger Williams sister during her speech. But all that bitterness is now behind them, and she made sure to make her colleague feel on top of the world on Saturday.

Williams further revealed that the 5x Grand Slam winner called her to ask for the favor, and the former immediately said “yes,” without deliberation. “Serena Williams interviewed me for a full hour to prepare for today’s speech,” Sharapova explained later. But at the end of the day, both tennis icons were all smiles. Maybe they were reminded of how they were standing next to each other on the very same day of the week when they crossed paths in four different Grand Slam finals (2004 Wimbledon, 2007 Australian Open, 2013 Roland Garros, 2015 Australian Open).

Then again, Serena can hardly afford to spend all her supportive spirit on Maria. After all, sisterly duties beckon!

Serena Williams still has more cheerleading to do

The 2025 US Open will be a sight to behold, and not for its regular run-of-the-mill nail-biting action. After a long time, Venus Williams will be at the center of attention at the last Grand Slam of the year. The 45-year-old announced her intention to return to the Big Apple tournament earlier this year, and former stars like Andy Roddick are urging all hands on deck to make sure the scintillating comeback doesn’t go overlooked. “I don’t know how much longer we are going to have her in tennis if we don’t soak up every bit of this amazing story,” said Roddick in a recent episode of his podcast.

For obvious reasons, Venus’ younger sibling is also on her toes to see what the former pulls out of her hat at the US Open. The 7x Grand Slam winner has not found success at the tournament since 2019, but if there’s anything Serena knows, it’s that her sister can always make the impossible possible. Venus began her 2025 journey with a win at the CITI Open last month, but crashed out of the Round of 16. But her little sis isn’t one to discount Venus.

“I’m so excited. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I will be cheering her on and rooting her on the whole way,” Serena told Today. Venus has already lost her mixed doubles match in the Round of 16 at the US Open, but will have a chance to redeem herself against Karolina Muchova on Monday in the women’s singles first round at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

How do you suspect Serena Williams will show up for her sister for the upcoming rumble?