"The reunion I didn’t know I needed" - Jessica Pegula on seeing pic of Serena Williams meeting Maria Sharapova at London Fashion Week
Jessica Pegula recently reacted to former World No. 1s Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams meeting each other at the Moncler Genius show during London Fashion Week.
Sharapova and Williams shared an intense rivalry for over a decade on the tour. Sharapova won their first meeting at a Grand Slam in 2004, beating the 23-time Grand Slam singles winner in the Wimbledon final. That same year the pair locked horns with each other for the third time at the WTA Championships, where Sharapova triumphed 4–6, 6–2, 6–4.
That was the last time the Russian beat Williams though. In their next 19 meetups, the five-time Grand Slam singles winner came away the loser each time.
Given their storied rivalry, the two former players' reunion created in London quite a stir in the tennis world. And Jessica Pegula too expressed her delight at seeing the two greats of the game come together away from the tennis court.
Sharapova uploaded an Instagram story of the two at London Fashion Week.
"Reunited," the five-time Grand Slam champion wrote.
The WTA then reshared the photo, posting it on their Instagram account.
"This reunion," the WTA captioned their post.
Pegula, the Australian Open 2023 quarter-finalist, then commented on the WTA's post and wrote:
"The reunion I didn’t know I needed."
Serena Williams' childhood coach Rick Macci believes the American will make a comeback - but in doubles
Serena Williams announced her retirement just ahead of the 2022 US Open. In a letter to Vogue Magazine, the American spoke about her plans to bid adieu from the sport after her US Open campaign.
In the letter, the former World No. 1 stated how she disliked the word "retirement" and hence would use the word "transition."
"I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me. I’ve been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people," Serena Williams wrote.
Following her retirement, many in the tennis world have speculated about a comeback. Adding on to that, Williams' childhood coach Rick Macci recently stated that she would return to the court one more time.
"Everybody is asking will @Serenawilliams play again. My answer is in doubles for sure, with the one she has been skipping and holding hands with since age 9," Rick Macci wrote on Twitter.
The Williams sisters last competed together at the 2022 US Open, where they were eliminated in the first round of the doubles event.