What is Maria Sharapova doing now? What we know as Serena Williams makes a rare comment about her tennis rival 

What is currently going on with Maria Sharapova? More than five years into retirement, the former world No. 1 has attentively shifted her focus away from tennis and into a new, stylish, and purpose-driven chapter of her life.

A mother now, as well as an entrepreneur and fashion icon, she regularly attends events such as Wimbledon in custom-made Burberry clothing. She has been investing in her foundation, partnering with global brands, and reflecting on the various milestones throughout her dynamic career, including the controversies that once defined it.

Moreover, her old rival Serena Williams recently spoke out in an unusual interview where she interlinked Sharapova's past doping scandal with a concerning new wave of suspensions in professional tennis.

“Just weirdly and oddly, I can't help but think about Maria all this time,” Williams told Time. “I can't help but feel for her.”

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Serena speaks out amid new doping scandals

Williams' musings come at a time when several current elite players are serving doping suspensions, including 2023 U.S. Open winner Simona Halep and Italian prodigy Sinner, who received a 3-month suspension due to a performance-enhancing substance. Williams seems to be astonished by the light punishment given to Sinner.

"I love the guy, I love his game,” she said of Sinner in the Times interview. “He’s great for the sport.”

But she did not hold back on this case regarding, in her view, an unequal provision of justice:

“If I did that, I would have gotten 20 years. Let's be honest,” she said at the Time interview. “I would have gotten Grand Slams taken away from me. You would have heard about it in another multiverse.”

These comments have brought back the spotlight on Sharapova's 2016 suspension for meldonium, a compound drug that was added to the list of doping substances used by the World Anti-Doping Agency just a few months before she registered a positive test.

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Maria Sharapova: From controversy to couture

Post-retirement from tennis in 2020, Sharapova has markedly shifted her public persona; she now appears more frequently on fashion runways and at red carpet events than at center court. During the Wimbledon tournament of 2024, she gave an interview for Harper’s Bazaar UK, where she spoke about the legacy she built for herself and the 20-year anniversary of the title she won in 2004.

“There is such great energy in London and being a small part of Wimbledon history always makes it have that extra significance,” she said. “It’s been really nice to reflect on that.”

Sharapova remains focused on business as a mother and an emerging fashion mogul, emphasizing self-expression and enduring elegance.

“Being true to who you are is one of the best gifts we can give ourselves.”

At Burberry, she designed several dresses for the Wimbledon 2024 event, successfully merging her love for tennis with her affinity toward British fashion.

“When you think of London and England and British heritage, you think of Burberry — so it just felt like a very natural fit.”

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Sharapova on her doping scandal: “I Faced It Head On”

Two years after her suspension, Sharapova spoke with the BBC, confronting the controversy surrounding her doping scandal. While she accepted the fault, she did not take kindly to many of the harsh comments, such as Bouchard’s calling her “a cheater.”

“I think those are comments not based on facts, and therefore I don't take them into consideration.”

Sharapova questioned the scientific rationale behind banning meldonium.

“There’s no proof of what it does, and no one can give you that proof. What is the ban based on?”

Regardless, she insisted that she did not intend to cheat in any form.

“Ultimately, this is my career, and I faced it head on, and I admitted my mistake, and I went about it and I served my suspension and now I’m back.”

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Parallel journeys, diverging narratives

Unlike Williams and Sharapova, who were regularly placed on opposite sides of the court competing against one another, they phased out of professional tennis with different focuses.

Williams, now a mother of two and the manager of her own venture capital firm, is primarily focused on supporting women entrepreneurs but continues to address issues of inequality within sports.

Similarly, Sharapova has branched out into having a more peaceful, yet stylish fashion legacy, focusing on personal branding, aesthetics, and motherhood.

Not only through the things they achieved, but also through the conversations around fairness, image, and identity in sports, both women have made a lasting impact. They continue to shape and influence the world they once dominated.

With new generations rising, the story of Williams and Sharapova's rivalry is bound to remain one of the most fascinating stories in professional tennis. It offers insight into human nature, public scrutiny, athletic brilliance, and so much more.