Maria Sharapova and Bob and Mike Bryan joked how they won’t be paying attention to the clock when giving their Induction speeches.
The International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF) will be inducting three legends in the sport on Saturday, August 23, with Maria Sharapova and doubles icons Bob and Mike Bryan being celebrated for their legacy in the sport of tennis. All three achieved the career Grand Slam, winning all four majors. Sharapova was the 10th women’s single player to do so, going on to also win Silver at the 2012 Olympics.
The Bryan brothers spent an astounding 438 weeks as the world No. 1 doubles team, including a record 139 consecutive weeks. They also achieved Olympic glory, with Gold at the same 2012 Games, in addition to their two Bronze medals at the Beijing 2008 and Winnipeg 1999 Summer Olympics.
All three spoke about their remarkable careers as well as how much the Hall of Fame honor meant to each of them. The press conference took place a day before the Induction ceremony, with ITHF Presidents, Patrick McEnroe and four-time grand slam champion Kim Clijsters, joining ITHF CEO Dan Faber to talk about the athletes who have elevated the game of tennis, including the three illustrious inductees who received their blazers Thursday evening.
Sharapova rose to stardom at just 17 with her triumph over Serena Williams at the 2004 Wimbledon Championships. She completed the career Grand Slam with victories at the U.S. Open, the Australian Open and two French Opens in addition to the ’04 SW19. Sharapova spoke about the pressures of winning at such a young age, and how that helped drive her in business and achieve personal success.
“The lessons that I’ve learned throughout the years are applied every single day, and I’m so grateful for them, because I feel in every venture, and especially as a mom, the patience, the tenacity, you know, being able to pivot at any moment, are all things that I got to learn for so many years on the job every day.”
She also said she “never felt overwhelmed” about being seriously business-minded as a young entrepreneur.
“I knew where my passion, my ultimate passion, was and I also knew that as a woman at a certain time frame, I was very well aware of that from a young age. It was very important to me. I made a conscious effort of setting up meetings from a very early age to make sure that I had a foundation as strong as it possibly could to set me up in the next stage of my life.”
For over two decades, Bob and Mike Bryan dominated doubles. They can claim the stat of being the only doubles team in history to have won all four Grand Slams, Olympic Gold, all ATP Masters 1000 titles, the ATP World Tour Finals and the Davis Cup for the duration of their careers. Bob Bryan described the sacrifice that went into ascending that pinnacle and how glad he was able to share the rewards with his twin brother Mike.
“There’s a lot of people that have sacrificed so much for us to be on the stage,” described Bob Bryan. “But it’s a whole journey, and just doing it with Mike the whole time, being able to share the ups and downs the whole time, made it that much more memorable.
“The fact that we could always do it together with family,” he added, giving credit to the supportive efforts of their parents, who also owned a tennis club. “To be able to spend that much time with your parents is really a dream for any kid,” he added. They also paid homage to their professional coaches and mentors.
The Bryan twins also reminisced about the inspiring U.S. Team Davis Cup win, which had featured a certain Patrick McEnroe as captain. Their positive memories of that momentous win over Russia got a fist pump from McEnroe during the press conference.
“”That Davis Cup and playing for their country in the Olympics, I know was very important to them,” gushed McEnroe. Tennis fans were treated to a reunion of that 2007 team with the Bryan brothers going up against their Davis Cup teammates, Andy Roddick and James Blake, in the afternoon Celebrity Classic matchup on Stadium Court.
All three inductees were humbled by the walkthrough of the museum. They not only got to see their own accolades but they also reflected on being included in the company of so many others who have defined the sport’s greatness.
“We went through the museum yesterday. We haven’t been back here since we played the tournament back in 2003,” said Bob Bryan. Seeing “all the champions and people that we’ve idolized and their relics in there, and then coming down the hallway and seeing our shirts that we wore at the Olympics, it’s incredible, it’s humbling.
Sharapova—who is visiting Newport for the first time—echoed their sentiments about the inspiring feelings she had walking through the newly renovated museum.
“I just arrived yesterday and just got a tour of the museum just before entering this press conference, and there’s the feeling that you have, to walk through those halls and just to realize you’re like a small part of such a bigger piece, just history with our game and all the athletes that just accomplished what they have. It’s really special.”
Their speeches? They’re almost there…
“I would say it’s about 80 percent there,” joked Sharapova. Bob Bryan threatened to “wing it,” while Sharapova said she was thinking about “going off-script” with her speech. They also joked about the time clock for the speeches. “Oh, screw the clock,” laughed Sharapova. But Clijsters assured them, “We have that every year. Everybody goes over, don’t worry about it.” They all joked that since there would be no fines, they had some leeway.
The Induction Ceremony takes place at the Horseshoe Court of ITHF at 6:00 p.m., followed by a fun concert by Fitz and the Tantrums at 8:00 over on Stadium Court. Fame Fest and the Food Truck Festival goes all day from 12:00 – 8:00 p.m., with several podcasts filming live right on site.
Photo Gallery
All photos by Veronica Bruno/What’sUpNewp.
