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Maria Sharapova once shared her thoughts about her 15-year-old opponent saying she could kick the Russian's "a** off."
The 15-year-old in this scenario is Bulgaria's Sesil Karatantcheva, who made these remarks after Sharapova allegedly skipped a practice match with her in 2004 at Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy in Florida.
Two weeks later, Karatantcheva found herself pitted against Sharapova in the main draw of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, where she reportedly declared: "I do think I can kick her a** off."
The Russian defeated her young opponent in three sets during the third round of the WTA 1000 event after getting past Flavia Pennetta. However, Sharapova couldn't secure the title, as she experienced a fourth-round elimination at the hands of compatriot Anastasia Myskina.
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Maria Sharapova spoke to reporters before kicking off her campaign at the first leg of the Sunshine Double and denied having any matches scheduled with Sesil Karatantcheva, claiming:
"No, I didn't have a match scheduled with her. I thought when I came to the academy, I thought I would play a few of the Bollettieri girls to get a few matches in, but I didn't schedule a time with her or anything, no."
"Like I said, this is a business. All I care about is when I go on the court and when I perform. And that's what I'm all about. When I got off the court, anything can happen all around. What matters to me is when I get on the court," the Russian added.
The former World No. 1 added that whatever Karatantcheva said about her didn't "bother her at all."
"Well, you know, I mean, like I said, she's a young player. You know, sometimes that's just what happens. I mean, like I said, it doesn't bother me at all. I know who I am inside of me. So doesn't really bother me at all," Sharapova said.
Maria Sharapova won 5 Grand Slam titles throughout her career while Sesil Karatantcheva didn't win any
Maria Sharapova won a total of five Grand Slam titles throughout her tennis career while Sesil Karatantcheva didn't win any.
Sharapova rose to fame by defeating the two-time defending champion Serena Williams in the final of the 2004 Wimbledon Championships in straight sets. The then 17-year-old's historic triumph made her the second Russian woman to win a Major after Anastasia Myskina.
Besides that, Sharapova clinched the Australian Open in 2008 and the US Open in 2006 and added two more French Open titles to her cabinet (2012 and 2014) before hanging up her racquet in 2020.
