Michael Joyce, Maria Sharapova's former coach, spoke about false assumptions made about the five-time Grand Slam champion throughout her career.
Opinions about Sharapova vary among fans worldwide. The 2004 Wimbledon champion was undoubtedly one of the biggest fighters seen in women's tennis and won numerous matches from losing positions because she never gave up.
Sharapova also produced superb tennis to win her five Grand Slam titles. The two-time French Open winner's technical ability may not have received the respect it deserved during her impressive career.
However, others did not like Sharapova's infamously loud grunting during matches. She also generated significant controversy after testing positive and being banned for taking a banned substance.
In addition, some felt Sharapova was too stubborn and did not adapt her game enough. For example, Serena Williams, who bid farewell to tennis at the US Open, lost two of her first three matches to Sharapova but then beat her 18 consecutive times.
Sharapova also developed a reputation for separating herself from other players because of her image and being ultra-competitive on the court. But Joyce thinks false assumptions were made about Sharapova, making some believe she was a b***h.
“I mean a lot of people just assumed that she was the way she was just because it was her image. It wasn’t very intentional and I don’t think it was something like she just woke up one day and was like okay I’m just gonna kind of separate myself from all the other people."
“You know coaching a lot of different people, everybody’s different everybody’s wired different and Maria was the type who is very competitive. She’s super competitive in tennis and pretty much at anything she does."
"Girls didn’t approach her that much too, because you know they kind of assume that she’s a b***h or whatever so; it’s not like people are jumping to be friends with her too. So she kind of just went about her business.”