"She's hammering everybody and people are still saying that it's a rivalry, it's not a f**king rivalry" - Ian Wright on why the Serena Williams-Maria Sharapova rivalry was a myth designed to tear down the American

Former Arsenal star Ian Wright believes that the famous rivalry between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova was never a rivalry in a true sense as Williams was dominating Sharapova, among other players, during her peak years. Wright also expressed his views on the issue of body shaming and racism in tennis and how Williams was targeted in that regard.

The former soccer player slammed the naysayers and critics who targeted Serena Williams for not having a certain body type, which was considered 'ideal' for a female tennis player. According to Wright, people in the sport wanted Sharapova to succeed over Williams and find ways to bring down the American tennis superstar.

Wright lauded Williams for letting her tennis do the talking and answering the critics by dominating the tour. The former Premier League champion spoke about the issue on a recent episode of the Wright's House podcast.

"The Sharapova's of this world, none of them could get anywhere near her," Ian Wright said. "So for young black girls, it's saying - Hang on a minute, she's got a body shape like that and she's hammering everybody and people are still saying that it's a rivalry. It's not a f**king rivalry."

"They wanted it to be a rivalry so much because then, if Sharapova, which she obviously couldn't, beat her enough for her to be up there on the pedestal, that is what they wanted. So then they could even go harder on - you can't look like this to be a tennis player, can't play like this," he added.

The former England national team star also shared his views on why he feels Sharapova was considered the most ideal tennis star on the women's circuit when she rose through the ranks.

"I remember when (Maria) Sharapova was coming up. If the establishment could build a woman tennis player, they're probably gonna build her looking like Sharapova," Wright stated.

"What Serena's done is defied everything" - Ian Wright hails Serena Williams

2022 US Open - Day 5

Ian Wright went on to applaud Serena Williams for not bowing down to pressure and resisting against instances of body shaming and racism, before quashing all the criticism against her by becoming the great champion she is. Wright also hailed Williams for inspiring entire generations of people of color and giving them the belief to follow in her footsteps.

"They were constantly talking about her shape, oh she's not fit enough...her body shape, her bum's too big, her muscles are too big," Wright said.

"What Serena's done is defied everything, she defied them all. And then inspired a whole nation of girls who looked like she looks and (have) her skin color," he added further.

In the 22 matches between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova on the WTA tour, Williams emerged victorious 20 times. Sharapova's two wins came in 2004, in the finals of Wimbledon and the WTA Finals. The two players faced each other for the last time in the first round of the 2019 US Open, with Williams winning 6-1, 6-1.