Maria Sharapova to Serena Williams: Stick to your business

Maria Sharapova responded to comments made by Serena Williams in a recent Rolling Stone article by telling her longtime nemesis to stick to her business.

Serena’s interview drew national attention because of her comments about the Steubenville rape case. Williams said that it could have been worse for the victim and that the victim shouldn’t have put herself in the situation. After receiving backlash, Williams later criticized the writer for what was written.

During a pre-Wimbledon press conference on Saturday, Sharapova expressed her disappointment with Serena’s comments.

“I was definitely a little bit sad to hear what she had to say about the whole case,” said Sharapova.

Sharapova then addressed another portion of the article that was mostly overshadowed by Serena’s Steubenville comments. In the article, Serena talked about the love life of another player.

Here is the passage from the article:

“There are people who live, breathe and dress tennis. I mean, seriously, give it a rest.” Serena exits the car and the conversation moves on to a top-five player who is now in love. “She begins every interview with ‘I’m so happy. I’m so lucky’ – it’s so boring,” says Serena in a loud voice. “She’s still not going to be invited to the cool parties. And, hey, if she wants to be with the guy with a black heart, go for it.” (An educated guess is she’s talking about Sharapova, who is now dating Grigor Dimitrov, one of Serena’s rumored exes.)

We don’t know for certain about whom Serena was speaking, but Sharapova and the writer both seem to think it was about the Russian blonde. Remember last February we told you that Serena supposedly went on a date with Dimitrov, who is now Sharapova’s boyfriend? All signs point to the comments being about Sharapova, so it’s no surprise that she didn’t appreciate Serena’s words.

“As for myself or whether it was about somebody else, nothing personal. We’ve talked to Serena many times and I know everyone tries to create rivalries between us here and there. But, at the end of the day, we have a tremendous amount of respect for what we do on the court,” said Sharapova.

“I just think that she should be talking about her accomplishments, her achievements, rather than everything else that’s just getting attention and controversy. If she wants to talk about something personal, maybe she should talk about her relationship and her boyfriend that was married and is getting a divorce and has kids. She should talk about other things but not draw attention to other things. She has so much in her life and many positives, and I think that’s what it should be about.”

Serena has been rumored to be dating her coach Patrick Mouratouglou, and the two have been photographed together. Williams has denied the rumors.

Sharapova’s point that if you don’t want your personal business discussed you shouldn’t talk about another person’s business is well taken.

Also in the Rolling Stone article, Serena talks about her relationship with other players on tour.

“I’m there to do a job, not to make friends,” says Serena, before hastily adding, “but I’m not there to make enemies.”

Between her comments that seemed to be about Sharapova, and her deteriorating relationship with Sloane Stephens, it’s pretty evident that Williams is not on tour to make friends.