FILE - Russia's Maria Sharapova returns the ball to Italy's Karin Knapp during their third round match of the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, May 31, 2008. (AP Photo/David Vincent, File)
Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion known for plenty of on-court grit and off-court attention, and Bob and Mike Bryan, twins who won a record 16 major titles in men’s doubles together, are first-ballot selections for the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
The Newport, Rhode Island-based Hall announced the Class of 2025 results Thursday.
Canadian Daniel Nestor, who won 12 Grand Slam titles in men’s or mixed doubles, did not receive the 75% of the vote required to qualify for the Hall in balloting among members of the media, historians, Hall of Fame members, industry experts and fans. This was the Toronto native’s third – and final – year as a candidate.
Sharapova won at least one championship at each of her sport’s four most prestigious events, making her one of 10 women in tennis history to complete a career Grand Slam, and she was the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the WTA singles rankings. She retired in 2020 at age 32 after a career that included 15 years in the spotlight, a 15-month doping ban and multiple operations on her right shoulder.
The Bryan brothers also compiled a career Grand Slam and spent 438 weeks at No. 1 in the ATP doubles rankings. They won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics and helped the United States win the 2007 Davis Cup title; Bob is currently the captain of the American team that will go to Malaga, Spain, for next month’s finals to compete for the country’s first triumph in that competition since then.
Mike Bryan – he’s right-handed, and his brother is a lefty – is the career leader with 18 major men’s doubles trophies overall; he got two with Jack Sock while Bob was injured in 2018.
Sharapova became an instant star when she won her first major title at Wimbledon in 2004 at age 17 by beating Serena Williams in the final, then collected the trophies at the U.S. Open in 2006, the Australian Open in 2008 and the French Open in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova helped Russia win the team competition now known as the Billie Jean King Cup in 2008, and she claimed a silver medal in singles at the 2012 Olympics, losing to Williams in the final.
All the while, Sharapova earned millions of dollars more in endorsement deals than prize money.
“There are a couple of sides of me,” Sharapova said in an interview with The Associated Press in 2006, shortly before she won the title at Flushing Meadows. “There’s the Maria that’s a tennis player. There’s the Maria that is a normal girl. And there’s the Maria who’s a businesswoman. And that’s where the “˜Maria Sharapova brand’ comes into play.”
At the 2016 Australian Open, Sharapova tested positive for the newly banned drug meldonium and initially was handed a two-year suspension. After appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Sharapova was given a reduced penalty when it was determined that she bore “less than significant fault” in the case and could not “be considered to be an intentional doper.”
The Bryans and Sharapova will be inducted in August.
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
