# Sharapova–S. Williams rivalry

The Sharapova–S. Williams rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams, who met 22 times between 2004 and 2019. Williams leads their head-to-head 20–2, including 8–1 at the majors and 3–1 in major finals. Williams described her view on the rivalry before their encounter in the 2015 Australian Open final: "I take a lot of pride in it. I think my game matches up well against her. I love playing her. I think it's fun. I love her intensity."
The pair's rivalry was a significant part of both players' careers, as the most visible women tennis players of the 2000s and 2010s. It was initially competitive, with Sharapova winning two of their first three meetings, including claiming her first major title at the 2004 Wimbledon Championships, upsetting two-time defending champion Williams in the final. However, from then on Williams utterly dominated the rivalry, winning all 19 of their subsequent meetings and only dropping three sets across all of those matches.
The most lopsided match between the two was in the women's singles final at the 2012 London Olympics, where Williams beat Sharapova, 6–0, 6–1 in 62 minutes.
Williams held the world No. 1 position on the WTA rankings for 319 weeks, Sharapova for 21 weeks.

## Head-to-head

| Legend | Maria Sharapova | Serena Williams |
| Grand Slam | 1 | 8 |
| WTA Tour Championships | 1 | 1 |
| WTA Tier I / Premier Mandatory / Premier 5 | 0 | 8 |
| WTA Tier II / Premier | 0 | 2 |
| Olympics | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 20 |
Maria Sharapova–Serena Williams (2–20)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Round | Winner | Score | Sharapova | S. Williams |
| 1. | 2004 | Miami Masters | Tier I | Hard | Round of 16 | Serena Williams | 6–4, 6–3 | 0 | 1 |
| 2. | 2004 | Wimbledon | Grand Slam | Grass | Final | Maria Sharapova | 6–1, 6–4 | 1 | 1 |
| 3. | 2004 | WTA Championships | Tour Finals | Hard | Final | Maria Sharapova | 4–6, 6–2, 6–4 | 2 | 1 |
| 4. | 2005 | Australian Open | Grand Slam | Hard | Semifinals | Serena Williams | 2–6, 7–5, 8–6 | 2 | 2 |
| 5. | 2007 | Australian Open | Grand Slam | Hard | Final | Serena Williams | 6–1, 6–2 | 2 | 3 |
| 6. | 2007 | Miami Masters | Tier I | Hard | Round of 16 | Serena Williams | 6–1, 6–1 | 2 | 4 |
| 7. | 2008 | Charleston Open | Tier I | Clay | Quarterfinals | Serena Williams | 7–5, 4–6, 6–1 | 2 | 5 |
| 8. | 2010 | Wimbledon | Grand Slam | Grass | Round of 16 | Serena Williams | 7–6$^{(11–9)}$, 6–4 | 2 | 6 |
| 9. | 2011 | Stanford | Premier | Hard | Quarterfinals | Serena Williams | 6–1, 6–3 | 2 | 7 |
| 10. | 2012 | Madrid Masters | Premier Mandatory | Clay | Quarterfinals | Serena Williams | 6–1, 6–3 | 2 | 8 |
| 11. | 2012 | Olympics Tennis | Olympics | Grass | Final | Serena Williams | 6–0, 6–1 | 2 | 9 |
| 12. | 2012 | WTA Championships | Tour Finals | Hard | Final | Serena Williams | 6–4, 6–3 | 2 | 10 |
| 13. | 2013 | Doha | Premier 5 | Hard | Semifinals | Serena Williams | 6–3, 6–2 | 2 | 11 |
| 14. | 2013 | Miami Masters | Premier Mandatory | Hard | Final | Serena Williams | 4–6, 6–3, 6–0 | 2 | 12 |
| 15. | 2013 | Madrid Masters | Premier Mandatory | Clay | Final | Serena Williams | 6–1, 6–4 | 2 | 13 |
| 16. | 2013 | Roland Garros | Grand Slam | Clay | Final | Serena Williams | 6–4, 6–4 | 2 | 14 |
| 17. | 2014 | Brisbane | Premier | Hard | Semifinals | Serena Williams | 6–2, 7–6$^{(9–7)}$ | 2 | 15 |
| 18. | 2014 | Miami Masters | Premier Mandatory | Hard | Semifinals | Serena Williams | 6–4, 6–3 | 2 | 16 |
| 19. | 2015 | Australian Open | Grand Slam | Hard | Final | Serena Williams | 6–3, 7–6$^{(7–5)}$ | 2 | 17 |
| 20. | 2015 | Wimbledon | Grand Slam | Grass | Semifinals | Serena Williams | 6–2, 6–4 | 2 | 18 |
| 21. | 2016 | Australian Open | Grand Slam | Hard | Quarterfinals | Serena Williams | 6–4, 6–1 | 2 | 19 |
| 22. | 2019 | US Open | Grand Slam | Hard | Round of 128 | Serena Williams | 6–1, 6–1 | 2 | 20 |

## Breakdown of the rivalry

* Hard courts: Serena Williams, 13–1
* Clay courts: Serena Williams, 4–0
* Grass courts: Serena Williams, 3–1
* Indoor carpet: none
* Grand Slam matches: Serena Williams, 8–1
* Grand Slam finals: Serena Williams, 3–1
* Year-End Championships matches: 1–1
* Year-End Championships finals: 1–1
* Fed Cup matches: none
* All finals: Serena Williams, 7–2