Maria Sharapova has a new memoir called Unstoppable, which is still funny to me considering that Serena Williams literally stopped Maria eighteen times in a row. Maria beat Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2004, and one more time in 2004. Those two times were the only times Maria ever beat Serena. They played each other eighteen times in the twelve years after those 2004 matches, and Serena beat her every time. In those same years, Maria became the highest paid female athlete in the world, despite Serena’s consistent Slam-winning performances, despite Serena’s #1 ranking, despite Serena’s personal narrative as a true underdog, the girl from Compton with the mind of a champion, one half of the greatest sister act in the history of sports.
The Serena-Maria story/comparison is a story of race and privilege, of the elevation of white mediocrity and the narrative shifts of how champions of different races are perceived. The fact that this conversation is still happening even after we now know that Maria had been taking a performance-enhancing drug for years and was actually suspended for it, is still fascinating and disturbing. Maria was “allowed” to treat her comeback from suspension as some kind of deranged fairytale, with sports writers and ESPN commentators doing the heavy lifting to say that yes, this cheating, lying a–hole ensconced in white privilege has “so much support” and she was “just away for a year.”
Anyway, there are some additional excerpts from Sharapova’s book. We already know that Maria includes a second-hand account of how someone told her that they heard Serena call Maria a “little bitch” after the 2004 Wimbledon match. Maria has even more to say about Serena and how “thick” and “intimidating” she is. Do you hear those racist dog-whistles?
Hearing Serena cry after she lost to Maria in 2004: “I don’t think she’s ever forgiven me for it… I think Serena hated me for being the skinny kid who beat her, against all odds, at Wimbledon. I think she hated me for taking something that she believed belonged to her. I think she hated me for seeing her at her lowest moment. But mostly I think she hated me for hearing her cry. She’s never forgiven me for it.”
On Serena’s physicality and presence: “First of all her physical presence is much stronger and bigger than you realize watching TV. She has thick arms and thick legs and is so intimidating and strong. It’s the whole thing – her presence, her confidence, her personality… Even now, she can make me feel like a little girl’, Maria writes, and says she deals with it with ‘a maddening composure and a stately calm’.
I’ll quote 30 Rock’s D’Fwan: “Never talk about a black woman’s leg size, not on babies, not on the Williams sisters, not on a mannequin at Avenue.” NEVER. Obviously, “Little Bitch” Sharapova doesn’t mind some racialized and racist dog-whistles. She’s still painting herself as the innocent, doomed little white girl who can’t help but be overpowered by the BIG SCARY INTIMIDATING black woman. Maria will soon hand-deliver quotes to People Magazine about how she’s an innocent white baby and Kanye West was mean to her too.
Also: I don’t know why Sharapova thinks she’s so f–king small? She’s 6’2” and Serena is 5’9”. Everybody – especially Maria – gets so salty about Serena’s serve, arguably the greatest serve in the women’s game, of all time. Serena manages to out-serve much taller opponents like Maria all the time. You know why? Because she’s smarter than them. Not because she’s a big thick intimidating black woman.
Photos courtesy of WENN, PCN.
Shut up, Maria! 🙄
Becky With The Bad Backhand is mad at the Queen for being better than her.
Lolz at Becky With The Bad Backhand.Serena is one of a kind and she shouldn’t have to put up with salty haters trying to make a dime off her.Because when you take away the drugs that’s what Sharapova is.
Char: Hahaha! Whether Serena called her that or not, is neither here nor there now. Sharapova herself has proved what a bitch she is – and not a little one.
I can’t wait until Serena comes back (?) and wipes the floor with this nasty woman. Again. And any book that Serena or Venus release will blow Sharapova’s out of the water. No matter what, Serena trumps her. She knows it, and can’t stand it. I’ve never liked MS, but always told myself the dislike was illogical and unwarranted, but see? It wasn’t.
I found the entire roll out of Maria’s “come back” really gross. She was suspended for doping and is using a rivalry with Serene that only exists in her mind to spin some kind of crazy Cinderella story.
You know who was Cinderella of the US Open? Sloane Stephens. She actually battled back from a major injury to win a grand slam after 11 months off the circuit. (And something superficial, Sloane is so freaking beautiful.)
The Williams sisters clearly cross train and they have dominated the game since they came onto the scene. I have never understood why other players haven’t figured out that they need to cross train if they want to match the Williams’ strength, speed, and stamina on the court.
It’s well-known the other female players don’t want to add strength training out of fear they will look bulky. They are aware that the Williams sisters are ahead due to cross-training but part of why other players (like Maria) are making more money is due to their conforming body type. I wish I had time to find the quote about this because it shows that it’s more lucrative to stay petite and ‘feminine’ than to focus on being the best if that means you have to change your body a bit.
Personally I find Serena’s body amazing but I won’t say I would like all the attention it would give me if I was in her position. As a mixed non-petite woman, the racial abuse I got at school was enough to saddle me with life long insecurities about my body and no amount of praise or prizes at work will change that. She’s very strong (mentally and physically) not to have conformed but clearly that’s been a lifelong struggle as she said herself. It helps she’s the best at what she does but it’s never easy.
@Artemis, I think it was in the New York times? https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/11/sports/tennis/tenniss-top-women-balance-body-image-with-quest-for-success.html
@Artemis – There have been players in the past that have added muscle and bulk to improve their games but I hasn’t work for whatever reason. I think the lesson here is to except that every player is different and what works for one may not work for another. Just look at Mugaruza -she not that ‘bulky’ but she has done well winning 2 slams and being the current world number 1. She has done well because she has a good game, her body type doesn’t come in to it. Sharapova is bringing Serena’s body type in to it because she has a crappy one-dimensional game and is trying to deflect the blame.
@Artemis
I can relate to the never being able to shake the effects of being bullied as a child entirely. Everything in my life should tell me that I am not an ugly freak, but no amount of career success or compliments make it totally go away. My first thought when I get a gushy praise is that the person is lying before I remember to be gracious and say Thank You. It is much better now that I am older but the scars are there.
Serena is a powerhouse but Maria is trying to make digs, and it comes off as weak and petty. Those thick legs have beat her for the last 13 years so sit down.
@dodgy:
Yes, thank you for the link!
@whatever:
Oh I know 🙂 I gave examples of tinier players who beat Serena more than once. Part is cross-training and another part is the mental game. Skills + strong body + intelligence = winning. Some women add bulk but their body type will still be lean so you wouldn’t know by just looking at them that they do weights.
@magnoliarose:
That hits close to home. Beauty is so ingrained in society it would be stupid to delude ourselves that it doesn’t matter. Bullying really focuses on how society perceives you and the message was loud and clear for me. That said, it helps I did actually accomplish a lot in my short life because the alternative (feeling not only ugly but also stupid) would be too much. For some reason, being found unattractive made me feel dumb for a long time too but it’s easier to counter that when I worked at something challenging and I succeeded.
The fact that ‘haters’ zoom in on Serena’s body but never a mention how it also takes intelligence to win at that level, says a lot how we judge people primarily by their looks. Unlikely that it’s going to change, when even Serena still loses in the eyes of some, the road seems too long and hard for average people to make a point tbh.
Maria is such a ‘Darth Susan’ to quote the guys at VSB, she’s working that Taylor Swift poor little white girl schtick to a fare-thee -well. Pretty funny when you see the side-by-side picture–Serena looks petite next to that hulking Russian who is both taller and broader-shouldered.
It is more than time for this dreadful girl to be called on her crap. Sad Maria truth–she’s not that good and while a blonde dye job may bring in endorsements, what success she had was mostly flukey luck early on.
I am glad you mentioned her broad shoulders and intimidating height. Maria Sharapova would be considered large for a man, let alone a woman. This whole “poor little me” thing is straight up delusional.
Such a whiner! When will she be retiring?
Seriously. She is the WORST. a whiny cheating baby who goes home to Russia for her doping drugs. STFU with your goldfish face.
Everyone should watch Icarus on Netflix. it tells the whole story of state sponsored russian doping and is an amazing documentary because the whole conspiracy unfolds in real time throughout the filming. anyone else seen it?
Yes! This is a show that anyone interested in international sports needs to watch.
I never liked her, I don’t follow tennis that closely….
But this is a SERIOUS line that Maria has crossed. I now actively dislike her, strongly dislike her. Her assumptions about Serena’s feelings are SO narcissistic! The hyperbole (“never forgiven”, “her lowest moment”). FFS, it isn’t as if Maria is the only person Serena has lost to. Maria setting herself up as the only challenger to Serena’s throne is absurd. Don’t flatter yourself.
I can’t f-ing stand her BS. Serena is way better and way more toned and beautiful.
Maria is a racist. We know this. She uses racism to talk down about Serena’s game and she’s not the only one.
She’s been cancelled because not only can I cannot stand whiny losers but I cannot stand when white people blame minorities for their mediocrity
Agreed
Definitely agree. That’s her way of saying the big Black lady intimidates the little White girl. I despise this racist piece of shit so much. I hope her book fails miserably.
And BTW Maria, you’re not that little.
yeah that’s how I read it too, it’s appalling and disgusting but of course if she’s challenged, she’ll say that’s not what she meant.
Anyone with half a sense can see what she’s getting at here.
Yes. This is the most blatant dog-whistle racism I’ve ever heard since “Maybe Barack Obama is a Kenyan Muslim.” Sorry, but f*ck her. In this age, we have no time to entertain petty racists. Bye.
Wow. Just wow. Blatant jealousy and delusion wrapped up in a nice bow of racism. Someday it will be truly appreciated how hard the road was for the Williams sisters to dominate the white world of tennis.
That’s a good comparison, Shambles. It is that obvious.
+1000000000
Yeah, she’s playing scared little white girl. I hate it when women act weak (we know she’s not) to play up to men and the racist component is disgusting.
The whole damn thing is so bad on so many levels. Ugh.
And I hope Serena kicks her ass again when she come back.
Horrible beyotch. Go away.
This is pretty shocking. I thought Sharapova was overrated prior to her suspension, and whiny and entitled during and after, but I did not realize how outright racist she was/is. These racist dog whistles (thick arms and legs, makes me feel like a little girl) are utterly disgusting. It’s a disgrace to the game that she’s been allowed to control the narrative of her “comeback” from doping, and that having been given a chance most athletes wouldn’t get, she uses it not to play well and show she can actually compete, but to make racist remarks against a better athlete. Compare her to someone like Justin Gatlin who is still widely reviled and ostracized in the track community, with every win criticized, even though he hasn’t tested positive for drugs in over 10 years. Her privilege is everywhere and not only does she not acknowledge it, she throws out racist dog whistles. I hope she never wins another match.
But Serena IS muscular and plays an intimidating game. You can’t get away from it. Sharapova is a disgrace to the game though.
It’s not the fact that Serena is muscular…it’s the way people use this to permit the myth of the scary black man/woman
perhaps for MS, sore butt loser she is, but thankfully i’m not familar with that myth about woc…if she was a latina or white woman with a similar musculature and build she’d be just as intimidating. MS is coming across as attn hungry and mentally unstable.
Focusing on Serena’s physicality is Maria’s loser way of denying Serena’s intelligence and strategizing as a player. What a sorry, excuse-making a-hole. She hyped herself on drugs and still couldn’t beat Serena.
Exactly, tennis is most definitely not about force or brute strength
Exactly. Justine Henin beat Serena 3 times and had an amazing backhand and she is a petite woman. She was just very skilled. Kim Clijsters the same (sorry repping for Belgium here!), beat Serena several times and she’s also white and semi-petite. These women just had the skills, nothing to do with not being scared of the ‘big angry black woman’. It can be done to beat the sisters so Maria should only blame her damn self!
The reason you know it is a racist thing is the wording and knowing it has been used against Serena over and over. A 6’2 woman isn’t precisely the norm so she should shut it.
Maria is over 6 feet tall. Give me a break about being “intimidated” by Serena.
She’s intimidating because she’s a sick-ass tennis player who dominates the game.
Maria could have just said that, instead of bringing Serena’s body into it.
This. How dare she body shame Serena? It’s pathetic how she whinges on and blames everything and everyone but herself. In that first photo, you can see that Sharapova has very little muscle definition in her arms! She could have put effort in, but then again it’s easier to just act like Serena’s strength and dedication is “unnatural.” As a woman with very broad shoulders, f&&& you, Sharapova. We come in all shapes and sizes.
This was a two-fer for the Whiney Hiney: she alluded to supposed race AND gender norms when it comes to physical structure & appearance.
Not an accident; a compound racist + sexist slam – carefully worded to include both kinds of insults + plausible deniability later, if called out.
Exactly. And one of Serena’s greatest strengths is her mental game, but I am sure that it is easier on Maria’s ego to ignore that part of it.
I’m sorry but that’s ridiculous–look at the side-by-side–Serena is not all that big or muscular. She is a very smart student of the game; big serves don’t make you a champion, constructing points and drawing your opponent into making errors makes you a champion. Let’s stop the ‘gorilla’ myth right here because it’s bullsh!t. Serena is a BRILLIANT tennis player and that is far beyond being fast or strong or having a powerful serve.
She’s not “thick”. She has powerful arms and legs and everything else because she trains in a way which serves her best.
Thick my *ss. The word is powerful.
Serena is muscular and intimidating on the court. Off the court, she’s pretty damn gorgeous. Her skin is flawless and she has amazing bone structure and perfect teeth. I would kill to look like her — all of her!
Serena > Maria in EVERY way.
OMG this is terrible. Especially given that she is so much taller and has such broad shoulders-she should be quiet. I can’t see it any way but racist. Or at best trying to make racists feel sorry for her.
We should all be so “thick”. That’s hard-earned muscle. Serena looks quite normal to me, just in very good shape.
Ugh..the more she talks, the more I dislike her.
Face it Maria, your skin color is doing the most, so STFU. Loser.
Oh my god shut up lady
Same.
“Because she’s smarter than them.”
YES. So much this. And her success keeps getting attributed to her physique, as if there’s no strategy in tennis. Maddening indeed.
A short synopsis of her book:
Wah wah wah, I got beat by a BLACK WOMAN, which is an outrage because black people cannot be better than white people at anything. And if they are, they’re cheating!! But no, I didn’t cheat. That’s different. Pity me and my whiteness.
The end.
I really can’t with this woman. And I don’t understand why she’s given the opportunity to play at all anymore.
Hahahaha. “But no…I didn’t cheat…”
This.
Exactly, she thinks being white should trump (sorry, no pun intended) talent, intelligence, hard work, toughness, etc. if it’s in a non-white, esp. black, person.
Didn’t she get caught doping or something? She should be forever disqualified.
Is she married to Enrique Iglesias?
No. That’s Anna K, who hasn’t played professionally in a while.
lol I get confused about which one Maria is, too. I don’t really follow tennis, but it seems the white guys that run sports media always need a handful of mediocre-talent blonde Barbie types to drool over.
That just took me down a google rabbit-hole. Wow Anna K and Enrique have been together for 15 years!!!!!!! They keep their relationship very secret and rarely are photographed together.
No comment on the dog whistles but I’m tickled by how many pics there are of Serena with a winner’s trophy with Maria next to her w/ a runner up prize. lolololololol
This made me giggle. It also shows how big MS really is…little girl my a$&!
I don’t follow tennis, but even I know that MS is a third rate player (if that), while Serena is an icon of the game. This is just Maria being a whiny and delusional, racist loser, and it’s disgusting what lows she sinks to. Criticizing another athlete’s body, in a racist way, no less?? She is despicable. She’s also incredibly insipid: not only is Serena “thick”, according to her, but “she’s also tall. Really tall,” Maria writes. WTF? She is about 5 inches TALLER than Serena!! I hope this book does NOT sell—It sounds like she’s obsessed w Serena, who is by far the superior player, and with putting her down. Maria is a definitive, terminal loser (and a sore one) in every sense of the word.
I hope Maria doesn’t use the old “I was misquoted ” line, when she gets some much deserved outrage on social media.
Maria, I have noticed that you have a thick head.
Unbelievable. If you play against world class athletes, you have to expect some of them to be stronger and better than yourself.
“Because she’s smarter than them. Not because she’s a big thick intimidating black woman.” AMEN TO THAT!
Yep! Serena is the greatest of all time because of her mind, not just her physique.
So? Maybe Maria should try to get as fit as Serena seeing as how it helped her beat Maria’s ass eighteen times. This over grown child is vile, self-absorbed, shallow, and bitter loser. She needs to take her first place loser trophies and go practice more. She will never accept that Serena is better than her. That she was beaten 18 times by Serena because Serena was just better than her. She seems to just be saying she lost 18 times because Serena is more physically imposing and she (Maria) got scared whenever she was on the court against Serena. Suck it up buttercup.
I cannot figure if she is fat shaming Serena or being mildly transphobic. Serena has had to deal with both for a very long time, probably most of her career. Maria constantly talking about how skinny she is and uses adjectives like “skinny kid” “vs “big and muscular”.
The “skinny kid” vs “big and muscular” are thinly veiled code words for “white woman” vs “black woman”
In my humble opinion Serena looks way, waaaay better than Maria. You can see it in the pics, her arms and legs aren’t that much bigger – I would be surprised if it’d even translate into a size up – but Serena has a much better shape, a much prettier face. She looks like an elite athlete, how can you not marvel at her incredible competence?
@Spikey-Seriously this woman’s body is nothing short of inspirational.
That being said, I bet Serena is exhausted by any commentary-either good or bad-regarding her appearance at this point.
Man, it sucks to be a woman in a public space. Suddenly, everyone thinks your body exists for them to comment on it.
I consider Serena my aspirational body. I love really big, toned muscles on men and women. I think there is something so sexy about the human form at its most powerful.
Maria has the “blonde problem”.
Some blondes think that their hair color makes them special especially if they have been blonde their whole lives. White people are fascinated with it, and it is even more pronounced in countries where it is rare.
Strangers will ask me about my hair as if it is an invitation for conversation from being extremely nosey to lewd (are you blonde all over?) to hostility to over the top compliments.
Then there are the competitive blondes who are threatened by other blondes and immediately clock a blonde when she walks into a room to check out how they rate compared to themselves. But it is weird because most of them aren’t natural. I have had women who color their hair blonde get downright nasty to me because I don’t. Some women will hold tight to being blonde (Goop) even when they have beautiful hair and have ruined it with chemicals.
For some reason, it is a status of importance to some people.
So it is a thing.
Maria has absorbed this into her view of herself, and the tennis world perpetuates it. She has been given breaks because of it, endorsements, praise, special treatment and undeserved success. She thinks she is superior because people treat her that way even though it is ridiculous.
The racial undertones to this are unmistakable.
She makes sure to use this in comparison to Serena to basically shout” I am white, and she is black, and her black physique is what helps her win, and it is unfair because I am blonde and blue eyed too!”
It is gross and embarrassing for those of us who don’t think that way, but I see her clearly.
Blondes really are sometimes regarded as special snowflakes, aren’t they? I have dark brown hair and I love my color (pretty miffed that I’m going gray) and my mediterranean skintone means I can never go blonde even if I had the money and patience. I would look ridiculous. But once in a while I think I’d love to try it just ONCE. To see what it’s like. Like there’s a secret world that will open up or something equally stupid. I have two friends who are natural blondes and while they will say things like “Oh your hair is so beautiful.” they don’t want to find out what it’s like to be a brunette. It’s so weird.
I think Sharapova has been treated as someone “deserving”. Of success, of praise, of beauty (such as it is). She probably wasn’t around black people much growing up so when this black woman was simply so much better than the golden child, she lacked the respect and self-awareness to see it as anything other than an attack on herself. To quote Chrissy Teigen: What a whiny face.
lol lil miss
I find it bizarre to be treated differently for something I had nothing to do with or accomplish. Just some recessive genes met another group of recessive genes, and there it is. It is particularly ridiculous in the south.
The tennis world did this with Anna K. Maybe it is a Russian thing? I think you have a point about her not knowing any black people.
You could try some highlights that can look beautiful with olive skin if the shade is right and it will blend the grays. If you ever go for the whole thing, it looks more natural if it is dark honey blonde with highlights and low lights. So often it is one color, and that is never the case.
Magnoliarose
Love this comment! My mother-in-law, husband and sister-in-law are blondes a la Doris Day towheaded blonde lol. As a woc from the south I can tell you how true your observations are. I find it absolutely a headscratcher but extremely similar to colorism in the black community. But yeah, I remember a set of sisters in grade school who were blonde and the special treatment they received was…mindboggling.
A good example is Ivanka. Many people insist how gorgeous she is. She’s really not, but because she is a blonde, thin and has big boobs, people say she is. It’s really weird, people’s obsession with blonde. I have been blonde before, I do think you get more attention. But I’ve seen women, for example my mom, who have been blonde for decades! And I’m taking dyed blonde. I don’t get it. Personally, to me, not many people look better with blonde hair. Especially because most of them don’t mix in lowlights because they want to be as blonde as possible. One tone hair is not flattering in my opinion. I’ve been darker and lighter, and I think I look younger with darker hair. Blonde is overrated. Like my husband says, it goes back to colonialism. Where lighter and white is better.
I did get really beautiful highlights recently, the woman who did this is an artist, really. It took 4 freaking hours and she managed to find the exact right shades for me. So now my hair is dark at the roots and gradually goes lighter towards the ends. I am FASCINATED with my hair because my ends are almost honey colored. I’m laughing at myself tbh.
@Snowflake: Spot on about Ivanka. She’s not that gorgeous, she’s just blonde and wears a lot of makeup.
Seriously…it’s embarrassing how often she’s alluded to being a small, little girl at this point…is she insecure about her height or just trying to be passive aggressive about Serena’s build? You’re a 6″ professional athlete, Maria.
“is she insecure about her height or just trying to be passive aggressive about Serena’s build?”
But that’s the point, it has nothing to do with height or Serena’s build. “I’m a skinny woman” = I am a white woman and you should pity me. “Serena is thick and intimidating” = Serena is a big black woman and we all know those are scary, right?
This is coded racism, nothing less.
Its dog whistle racism. The same tactics cops use to paint Tamir Rice as a 20 year old when he was a small 12 year old. Or Mike Brown was the raging hulk so the scared cop feared for his life. Black boys are often aged YEARS and are adults. But white men are children because they are infantilized. Women who are built like serena get the same BS. As if Serena (and Venus) hadn’t trained for years and studied the game. This has plagued them ever since they entered the pro circuit. This goes back into a long history of racism. Nothing more.
Yes, this is exactly what Sharapova is doing. It’s a vicious racism. It was also racist for Sharopova to pretend like she knew what Serena was thinking when she cried. She is just using Serena to boost book sales. It’s sickening that she gets to still play when she wouldn’t even be there if she hadn’t drugged up. And I won’t ever believe she’s not on something else that just hasn’t been outlawed yet or isn’t detectable.
P.S. Also see: Donald Trump, Jr. being called “a nice kid” and “young, inexperienced with politics” when he is almost 40 years old!
Exactly! Also, according to google Maria Sharapova is 1.88m (about 6’2″), while Serena is 1.75m (5’7″)…that would make Dopepapova 5.1 inches taller than Serena!
man, she really does seem like a twat, tho i don’t usually like to use that term.
her whole “skinny kid’/ underdog narrative just is so obnoxious.
totally does seem entitled and gross.
She’s still riding Serena’s coattails and using Serena to help sell her pathetic book. Serena is SMART. She is a student of the game and uses her intelligence to win not just her physical strength. Sharapova is a racist bitch and I really wish she’d be called out on the bullshit she’s spouting. I hope Serena comes back from maternity leave and whips her without mercy.
Maria Sharapova and Taylor Swift would make excellent BFFs.
Not the same as you may take Taylor’s Kanye beef as racist but it certainly wasn’t one sided. Hes spoken about her publicly many times and mentioned her in his songs.
but only one used coded racism to play the innocent victim so….
There’s a different sort of thick. The one that means stupid. And this one is thick if she believes this shiznit will make anyone forget that she is a CHEAT.
+1 The wording is atrocious. Powerful, gorgeous, amazonian muscles–not “thick” ffs.
“Thick” is usually a thinly veiled insult (as in, substitute for fat). And yeah, Maria is “thick” in her own special way.
If Serena was white she wouldn’t be bringing up her thighs and muscles! She thinks it’s ok because she wants to be the poor little victim against big ole mean black intimidating Serena. F*ck Maria, this is making me sick. She’s never going to be as good as Serena and her cheating/drugging a*s needs to fade back into obscurity.
Uuuuh…bless your heart, dear. “Thick legs” kicked your ass 18 times in a row.
when serena called her “little bitch” she was being kind…
Yes. At this point I think she’s a big ‘ol bitch. You could also do whiny, racist, delusional…so many things come to mind.
Yes, that’s what I think. It’s almost a compliment to this woman.
I can’t believe this got past an editor, it is shockingly, transparently racist. The publishers are as much to blame, Sharapova is a dumbass whiny racist for sure and a sore loser, but this should never have been printed in the first place.
It was intentional, for shock value. She is a super boring athlete and there is nothing exceptional about her so they have to create a controversy to sell the book. Maybe it panders to the alt-right.
I agree. How else do you sell the book of the one who LOST 18 times? This panders to LOTS of old white tennis fans who have a huge problem with the Williams sisters and their success. My dad was just complaining during the Open about how all the women grunt like Seles now. The image of the lady players is supposed to be cute little white girls in white skirts delicately placing their shots. It’s still, by and large, a white man’s game and Maria is playing to that crowd.
I can’t believe the editor let it through either, maybe they can’t stand Maria and let her dig her own grave. There’s no other way this can be perceived, it’s racist and disgusting. Plus the title is truly ridiculous, she’s obviously very stoppable, and full of excuses as to why, she took that drug to regulate her heartbeat and she can’t beat Serena because she’s the big and loud black girl, woe is Maria.
The more she talks, the more she proves that she is a horrible person.
Sounds like a lot of whining.
I am no fan of serena , outside sports I think she is just as problematic B as every other celeb, but inside the sports qualification, she worker really really hard to build up the physical and mental fitness of a multiple tournament winning champion.
Good she has thick legs and hands
That makes her capable of outrunning and outserving her opponents.
That’s a really gross and unfortunate choice of description given historic precedent for how blacks have been degraded by association to apes. Her editors are jackasses for letting that kind of coded language through.
$$$
What chapter is it where she contemplated on changing her name to Maria Sugarpova to promote her overpriced gummy candies? She can’t even pull that PR stunt successfully. So much for being unstoppable.
….”She has thick arms and thick legs and …..I lost to that black woman SEVERAL times.
If Sharapova’s so open and frank she’d talk a bit more about it too
Maria, the second most innocent white child ever. After Tay Tay, of course 😉
And Ivanka. She’s seriously giving me Ivanka vibes.
I guess it could have been worded differently but I don’t see racism in pointing out that Serena is visibly stronger. I was so used to seeing Serena that when I saw a picture of Venus recently I noted that she looks small compared to her sister. Serena does have large muscles, it’s one of the reasons she is so dominant. And of course the standard beauty gets more endorsements. It’s like we are supposed to believe that the only women with any acting talent just also happen to be conventionally beautiful. Like the two are linked genetically. There might be a short, fat woman who can act circles around Meryl Streep. We’ll never know. It sucks but until we stop supporting the entertainment/advertising Industry with our $$ they will continue to sell us a narrow version of beauty.
Speaking of Venus…I always thought it was weird that even Venus gets called “manly” by haters, when she is one of the skinniest tennis players. It just goes to show that some racists inherently view black women as ‘masculine’, ‘angry’, and ‘intimidating’, regardless of their physique.
I know both sisters got this criticism early on in their careers, but does Venus still get called manly? I don’t follow tennis so it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Venus and I was shocked by how slender she was. And beautiful, her cheekbones — Jeez.
I think it would have made more sense to use the word “muscular.” The use of the word “thick” doesn’t seem to fit.
Like you said, words have meaning. Male athletes are never referred to as thick, no matter how big their arms and legs, because thick is derogatory. This hateful, racist, drug addicted shrew knew exactly what she was doing when she chose the word thick. It has been 13 years since she beat Serena and she has hated her every one of those years, a hatred that probably only intensified after 2005 and on. This book is her way of getting even after being consistently humiliated by the greatest of all time. I sincerely hope this backfires on MS, but in the era of Trump I’m afraid she will be celebrated for it, or maybe not, one can hope.
I sometimes wish the comments on this site could be streamed from a giant screen in Times Square. People need to learn.
There is a long, ugly history of blacks being degraded physically by associating their looks with ape-like features, which implies violent and uncivilized behavior. Black women just get a double-dose of misogyny by having their physiques compared to traditionally masculine body types, in contrast to the lithe delicacy that’s often associated and preferred in white women. (i.e. white women are the ideal female because our physical appearance is designed to imply docility and elegance, whereas black women are dangerous commodities exhibiting only an aggressive, lascivious appeal)
Spot on. It’s despicable and I wish it shocked me that this kind of racist bullshit is still being spouted in 2017. What’s worse is that it flies under the radar for the majority – Celebitches being a hell of a lot more aware than 90% of the population.
Looking at the first photo Maria’s arms are bigger than Serena’s. She’s super out of line here.
Maria is seriously obsessed with Serena Williams. I kind of feel sorry for Serena must give her nightmares. Maria can’t stand that Serena is so talented without drugs!
Ugh! So she’s STILL talking about Serena and the “L” she gave her BACK THEN. Meanwhile, years later, Serena is one of the GOAT’s in tennis and is a history making phenom and Maria will still be talking about this win. SMH.
I am a 6 ft tall amazonian curvy as all heck black woman and yessome ppl are intimidated by my stature. #notsorry
Yuck. Maria’s racist dog whistles and her use of them to excuse her lack of ability/work/discipline are so disgusting. And how the frak is she getting a pass on her cheating!!
She’s using racism to sell her book. She is an abomination and a disgrace as both an athlete and a person.
Maria has always been far more concerned with her appearance than her ability to play tennis. She puts all her emphasis in the wrong place.
Ugh, Basic Becky, just take Serena’s name out of your lying mouth.
Why didn’t she use the words “muscular” instead of “thick”? Thick seems to downplay the athleticism of her body, and makes her sound fat instead.
Does Maria talk about how she was guilty of doping for years???? and suspended because of that?
I recently read an interview with her saying she’d taken the drug for years to regulate her heart rate, and that she didn’t bother checking the newest banned drug lists, oh and that the tennis organization didn’t do a good enough job of advertising the new list anyway, lol. Excuse after excuse from awful woman and nothing is ever her fault. Why in the hell wouldn’t you adamantly check the list and regulations if your career depends on it!? She’s a liar.
There’s so much I’d love to say about this, but most of it has been said by everyone else hitting nails on the head everywhere. Suffice to say she really is a piece of work. Her history with Serena in particular makes her look like a catty bitch and this is just a continuation. I believe she picks her words carefully to go right to the line allowing for plausible denial. The fact she got a wildcard to the US Open over a young, proven but still up and coming player coming back from injury and who managed to WIN THE WHOLE BLOODY THING speaks to deeply screwed up things in tennis which continue to allow Maria to behave like this with no recourse other than us telling her to eff-off.
She just gets grosser and grosser the more she spews racist dreck.
Maybe if she stopped talking about Serena and focused on her own damn game she might actually win once in a while.
She needs to just stfu.
I’m so sick of Sharapova’s “pretty little blonde” act. She SCREAMS while playing all the time, which is terribly annoying and tiring to other players and yet she never felt the need to tune down. No doubt she does it to intimidate the opponent (she feels no need to shout during training). I can’t believe this comment about Serena’s size made it into the book, what an epic fail!
She really didnt mention race. She talks about size.
Its a real shame whenever women critique other womens bodies.
It was called a “dogwhistle” in the post for a reason. I think you know what that means. Racist implications without being overtly racist. Come on.
She is speaking about race in subtle, coded language. How can you tell? ask yourself if the same language would have been used (about the thickness of her legs or how intimidating her personality is) if her opponent were white. Probably not.
Oh come on… seriously?? Does someone have to use the n word for you to acknowledge racism? Thank you Radley and okeedokee for explaining it better (and more patiently) than I could.
Nope Crumpets, I dont. But it does sound like people are reading things into her words that she didnt say at all. She is talking about her figure(which she shouldnt). I understand that people can allude to things, but I guess I dont see it.
This racist nitwit’s mouth is full of sour grapes. Pathetic.
She really gives blonde haired blue eyed women a bad rap -_-
She needs to go away already – in fact she never should have been let back
Could you imagine in men’s sports if a male player whined that he lost because his opponent was more muscular? Suck it up and hit the gym then Sharapova if that’s your excuse. Oh and Sharapova is very far from small given that she is 6 ‘2″. Is she delusional?
Is Maria pimping this book to the alt-right crowd?? They love portraying themselves as victims of relentlessly encroaching POC too. Ugh.
I wonder who is advising her? And who ghost wrote this book? And who edited it? It seems all around tone deaf. But she knows her audience I guess.
I’ve never liked her. When I saw this average girl being marketed as if she was a great beauty, I thought welp, not her fault. It’s the marketing machine. But then she also has the personality of uncooked spaghetti and is a liar, cheater and whiner. I won’t mention what Adam Levine said about her because he shouldn’t have said it but wow. It’s two thumbs way down from me. What exactly does she have going for her? We can’t even judge her tennis career fairly thanks to all the doping.
Sit down.
I’m an italian woman and I think Serena is one of the most amazing women in the world. She is a great tennis player and a beautiful woman, I like her ’cause she is an example of strenght, cleverness and iron will, and I really wish for women to look (and to be) great female warriors like her. I never was able to stand women playing the role of the little, weak, delicate girl in distress to manipulate other people.
I hate that too when women try to act fragile to be vindictive and manipulative. She wants to do it here, and she did it when she got caught cheating. And she got away with it!
Shut up You Cheater!!! Serena’s mas because you her her cry once, no more like you’re mad because Serena has heard you cry at least 18 times.
Nasty heffa speaks. Yawn.
Please, Sharpova is a freaking giant. She towers over Serena Williams.
Besides anyone (caveat: anyone in reasonable health and ability-status) can get built if they have the time and dedication. Look at weight lifters, the most unlikely people take up lifting and get super crazy built. Serena Williams has great musculature but she’s not a body builder.
If Sharpova wanted muscles so bad all girl has to do is get her ass in the gym.
Women like Sharapova don’t want to build muscles “ because muscles are for men” and they don’t want to scare men who think girls have to be and to act as little, fragile, porcelain dolls.
Sharapova is a loser. A racist loser. I think most of us agree with that.
So something different—that photo of Serena holding her trophy aloft? They ought to make a trophy out of that pose. It’s perfection.
Maria truly is the Taylor Swift of tennis. Always so eager to paint herself as the fragile white girl victim of the scary black woman/man.
This!
Ain’t nothing wrong with being thick..
Sharapova should just shut up. She wants so bad to push the narrative “I’m so SMALL, SKINNY and INNOCENT”, but she’s none of these. And people are not buying it, dear Masha.
I’m glad my boy Grigor Dimitrov left the cold-bloodied bitch.