"It's a shame it didn't happen before" - Iga Swiatek opens up about Serena Williams & Maria Sharapova's shocking move after 'tense' history

Iga Swiatek made her feelings known on Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova's shocking move at the Hall of Fame ceremony after 'tense' history. The Pole claimed it was a 'shame' it did not happen before, but was glad it finally did.

In a stunning surprise at the International Tennis Hall of Fame induction, Williams, Sharapova’s former fiercest rival, stepped onto the stage to introduce her. The crowd was shocked and elated as the American revealed she was 'honored' to introduce Sharapova at the induction.

She recalled how Sharapova’s fierce drive forced her to bring her best every time they faced off. Sharapova, visibly emotional, responded with gratitude, and the two shared a heartfelt hug, transforming a legendary rivalry into a moment of genuine friendship and respect.

On Instagram, Swiatek reacted to the moment. Referring to that, a reporter at the US Open press conference asked Swiatek what it meant to her to see two old rivals coming together.

"Honestly it's great. It's a shame obviously that it didn't happen before when they were on tour together. I just thought their relationship was so tense that I'm just shocked that they managed to work through it," Iga Swiatek said.

Swiatek said she believes that with good intentions, people can work through anything. She expressed happiness at seeing Williams and Sharapova show appreciation for one another, noting that receiving such recognition from a rival must be a special feeling.

"So Maria also deserves that, and Serena..she's great. So they're both great. I was just happy to see them kind of together, because tennis, I mean, I feel like we all should be kind of united and going towards one goal as players, even though we're competing against each other, and that's one of the examples of that," she added.

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Iga Swiatek called Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova's reunion "inspiring" while Coco Gauff called it "amazing"

Maria Sharapova hugs Serena Williams at the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony 2025 - Source: Getty

Tennis legends Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova recently shared a heartwarming moment at the International Tennis Hall of Fame, where Williams gave a glowing introduction for her longtime rival.

"Even though we didn't talk about it, maybe we really couldn't back then, we really respected each other immensely because to survive at the very top of the sport, you need resilience. You need toughness. You need to show up every single day year after year. And Maria did just that," Serena Williams said.

The Tennis Channel captured the occasion on Instagram, where fans flooded the comments with love. Among those reacting were two of today’s biggest stars. Former World No. 1 Iga Swiatek expressed her admiration, writing:

"Wow. This is so inspiring and amazing,"

Meanwhile, World No. 3 Coco Gauff also joined in, writing:

"Amazing!"

Regarding on-court matters, both Swiatek and Gauff got off to a strong start to their US Open campaigns. Second seed Swiatek defeated Emiliana Arango 6-1, 6-2, and Gauff got the better of Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5.