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Maria Sharapova recognized Ons Jabeur's story on Netflix's tennis documentary and the former five-time Grand Slam champion admitted that the Tunisian "would have been a nightmare opponent" if they played today. Jabeur, 28, became the first Arab or African woman to reach a Grand Slam final and to win a WTA 1000 title.
"To come from nowhere, without any resources, without investments and getting past all the barriers and significance of what that means for her country, for herself, for her family, it's incredible," Sharapova said of Jabeur's success on the fourth episode of Break Point.
Sharapova, who retired after the 2020 Australian Open, never got to play Jabeur. "When I look at Ons, I think that I wouldn't have matched up well against her. She would have been a nightmare to play against," Sharapova said.
Sharapova on Jabeur's slice: Thank God I'm retired
When Jabeur's slice was shown on the episode, Sharapova said: "Thank God I'm retired, because that slice, oh God." In the second episode of Break Point, Sharapova explained how challenging and difficult it is to play week in and week out in tennis.
"In tennis, you lose so much more than you win. But even when you're a champion, and you come off the court losing, you ask yourself 'Am I good enough?' But you have to keep facing it, otherwise you are not a tennis player.
That's the whole point of this sport, is that you are always searching, always trying to find out, you know, who you are and where you'll go," Sharapova said on the second episode of Break Point. Meanwhile, Sharapova has become a mother.
In July, Sharapova took to social media to announce that she and her fiance Alexander Gilkes welcomed a baby boy Theodore. Also, Sharapova has been focused on growing her businesses since retiring. But becoming a mother has been the highlight moment of Sharapova's post-tennis life. In one of her interviews, Sharapova admitted that she was ready and wanted to become a mother.