"Natural talent, Anna Kournikova... Things were not easy for Maria Sharapova" - When coach Nick Bollettieri called Sharapova the 'perfect' hard worker
Nick Bollettieri, who coached both Maria Sharapova and Anna Kournikova, once shared his opinion on who possessed more innate talent between the Russian pair. The American coach founded the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, a premier training ground for budding tennis players, where he aided in the development of legends like Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Monica Seles, Venus and Serena Williams.
Kournikova began training under Bollettieri's tutelage at his academy at just 10. Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova's father Yuri moved them to the United States and enrolled her in the institution at the age of nine, following the recommendation of Martina Navratilova.
Having worked closely with both players from an early age, Nick Bollettieri had a unique perspective on Kournikova and Sharapova's talents and was a good authority on making a comparison between the two.
In a 2019 interview with CLAY, Bollettieri expressed his belief that Anna Kournikova possessed more "natural talent" than Maria Sharapova. However, the American lavished praise on Sharapova's exceptional work ethic, fighting spirit and "incredible" attitude while shedding light on her difficult struggle with injuries.
"If we talk about natural talent, I think Anna. Maria is the perfect example of a hard worker. What she worked! She is pure business, she works as much as it takes. And her attitude is incredible, she doesn’t give up until she is defeated. But things were not easy for Maria, and she suffered a lot of injuries, four or five. She’s a girl who works really hard," Bollettieri said.
Despite acknowledging Kounikova's immense talent, Bollettieri pointed out that she never won a singles title and had "serious problems" with her serve.
"She was very talented, but she couldn’t win a single tournament and had serious problems with her serve," he said.
"I'm not here to act or to model" - Maria Sharapova once shut down comparisons to Anna Kournikova
During a press conference at the 2004 Italian Open, Maria Sharapova was questioned about comparisons to fellow Russian Anna Kournikova and whether she might be tempted to quit tennis if opportunities like modeling came her way.
However, Sharapova was quick to dismiss such comparisons, emphasizing that she was entirely focused on her "passion" for tennis and had no intention of pursuing acting or modeling.
"Well, sitting here and loving the sport, you know, I can't say what I'm going to be doing when I'm older, but I have a really big passion for tennis and that's why I'm here. I am not here to do something else, I'm not here to act or to model. This is my job, and I'm here to do it. And as long as I love it, I'm going to do it," Sharapova said.
Although Kournikova achieved success in women's doubles, winning two Grand Slam titles and two WTA Finals titles, she failed to win a singles title during her career.
In contrast, Maria Sharapova clinched five Major titles, completed the career Grand Slam and became the first Russian woman to attain the World No. 1 ranking in singles.