Tennis With Son
20 years after her triumph, Sharapova returns to Wimbledon
Status: 04.07.2024 | Reading time: 2 minutes
Maria Sharapova in July 2004 after her clear two-set victory in the Wimbledon final against Serena Williams
Quelle: picture-alliance/dpa/dpaweb/Vassil_Donev
20 years ago, a tennis fairytale came true at the Grand Slam tournament in Wimbledon. Outsider Maria Sharapova triumphed in the final against the big favorite Serena Williams. Now she is attending the tournament again. The 37-year-old has changed.
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Isn’t that the…? Yes, it is her! 20 years ago, Maria Sharapova sensationally won Wimbledon. Now the 37-year-old has reappeared on Church Road – and is hardly recognizable.
With long, flowing blonde hair, she rocked the tennis world, catapulting herself to number one in the world rankings, where she remained for a total of 21 weeks. The Russian won five Grand Slam titles: after Wimbledon in 2006, the US Open, the Australian Open in 2008 and the French Open twice (2012 and 2014).
She is one of the few players to have won at least one of the four majors. She is now a mother – and no longer blonde. Instead, her hair is brunette and falls almost straight down, close to her face.
Sharapoava at the Wimbledon tournament with her husband, British businessman and art dealer Alexander Gilkes, a school friend of Prince William
Source: WireImage/Karwai Tang
Always with her: her son Theodore (2), whom she has with British businessman Alexander Gilkes (45). She recently showed the little one her Wimbledon. The Centre Court on which she defeated Serena Williams 6-4, 6-1 in the final 20 years ago. On which she also suffered a terrible 0-6, 1-6 defeat against the American in the 2012 Olympic final.
“Nobody seriously believed that I would make it to the final”
In a mini-report, she delved back into the summer of 2004, remembering her kneeling after the match point and the search for her father in the stands. “That was incredibly special and then seeing your family in the stands, especially my father…” she said. Her father once went with her from Russia to America, with almost no money.
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With the help of friends from the tennis club, who put them up, the steep rise began. However, her mother was missing from the final. Sharapova: “Nobody seriously believed that I would make it to the final. She had a flight to New York that she couldn’t cancel. But it was one of the first with TV on board.”
So the mother followed her daughter’s victory. She wanted to call her while she was still on the court. “I forgot that she was on the plane. But just before the press conference I went to the bathroom and tried again. Then I got her on the phone and told her that I had won. She just said: ‘I know …'” Sharapova remembers. She ended her career in 2020.
Big appearance: Sharapova’s arrival at Wimbledon
Source: WireImage/Karwai Tang
She then showed her son the roll of honour, which of course also had his mother’s name on it. The little boy saluted as the morning parade of ball boys passed by him.
