Six years after retiring, Maria Sharapova appeared in New York City for the Time100 Summit and on TODAY to promote her podcast Pretty Tough, where she reflected on the pressure early in her career to soften her “intimidating” competitive style.

Sharapova’s signature fist pump and intense playing style became iconic during her wins at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open, and 2012 and 2014 French Open. However, she later revealed she was once told to tone it down because she was a woman.

In a recent post on X, Time shared a clip of Maria Sharapova recalling how she started playing tennis at age four in Sochi, Russia, after getting her first racquet and practicing with her father. She said, "From a young age, I had a very steely mentality."

Sharapova continued, "I had a fist pump that I was really known for, and I'd get off the court, and I'd be in press conferences, and everyone would say, but it's so intimidating. You need to soften your edges. Can you add a filter?"

"And there was a part of me that wanted to apologize for that because I was a lady and you know, everyone wanted to see me in that light, but pretty tough was my mentality and I didn't apologize for it."

At just 17, Maria Sharapova shocked the tennis world by winning her first Grand Slam at the Wimbledon Championships in London. She later added four more major titles to establish herself among the sport’s elite, though her intense playing style, including her fist pumps and vocal reactions, often drew criticism.

In 2011, Patrick McEnroe said she didn’t scream like that in practice, suggesting it was something she could control. Still, Sharapova has made it clear she stands by her style and never felt the need to change it.

The 39-year-old further opened up about the pressure she faced early in her career to change her personality and tone down her intensity.

Maria Sharapova Turned Childhood Struggles Into a Powerful Voice

In 1994, with just $700 and a strong belief, Yuri Sharapov moved to Florida with his 7-year-old daughter, Sharapova, to chase elite tennis, but the early years were tough.

Maria learned English by watching TV and had limited formal education. She was also separated from her mother for years and had to grow up quickly in a challenging environment.

Still, she has looked back on that time without regret, saying, “I’ve had to stand up for myself many times,” which helped shape her “Pretty Tough” mindset.

As a five-time Grand Slam champion, Sharapova later chose to highlight female ambition, especially in podcast spaces that are often dominated by men. Instead of waiting for change, she decided to lead the conversation herself.

That idea became her new podcast, Pretty Tough, launched on April 22 with Vox Media, aiming to highlight women’s voices in sports and media.

That said, do you think Sharapova’s tough early life played a bigger role in her success than her talent alone?

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Written by

Sauramita Debbarma

Edited by

Souvik Roy