Watch: Maria Sharapova encourages John McEnroe to start grunting to get him to emulate her groundstrokes in hilarious video
Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova recently tried encouraging John McEnroe to start grunting while coaching the American legend with a groundstrokes drill.
Sharapova has had a stupendous career as a tennis professional. The Russian pocketed five Grand Slam titles and reigned as the No. 1 player in the world rankings for several weeks. Unfortunately, however, Sharapova's struggle with a chronic shoulder issue put an early end to her career. She announced her retirement in 2020, sharing a heartfelt message with her followers on social media.
Post-retirement, the former World No. 1 has kept herself busy with all sorts of activities, most recently engaging in a hilarious drill practice with retired American tennis star John McEnroe.
In a YouTube video released by ESPN, Sharapova can be seen putting McEnroe's skills to the test. She coached the American with a drill that once aided her commanding groundstrokes to flourish.
The duo's practice session specifically required McEnroe to execute a cross-court shot and hit a post placed a few meters away from the net.
Initially in the drill John McEnroe was unable to pass the test, and he struggled to hit the mark. After missing six consecutive balls fed by Sharapova, the Russian encouraged him to start grunting, a notable feature in her power-packed game.
"Can we try something else? You wanna start grunting?" Maria Sharapova said.
Sharapova then noticed McEnroe's grunts weren't loud enough and amusingly motivated him to grunt louder. After two tries, the American hit the pole, passing her drill test and prompting her to celebrate.
"A little louder. No. that's not enough. I can't hear you, John," she said.
John McEnroe himself is widely regarded as one of the most talented athletes to ever hold a tennis racquet. In an illustrious career that lasted almost two decades, McEnroe bagged seven Grand Slam singles titles and nine Grand Slam doubles titles.
"I didn't want the responsibility of being a role model" - Maria Sharapova
Given that she won each Grand Slam tournament at least once, it would be natural for tennis fans to look up to Maria Sharapova as a role model. Surprisingly, however, the retired Russian initially didn't want to shoulder that responsibility.
In her autobiography 'Unstoppable: My Life So Far', the former World No. 1 stated that she didn't like being considered a role model for her fans.
“I grew a completely new understanding. When young girls and boys would say, I want to be like you, I would think, ‘No, you want to be better than me'. I didn’t want the responsibility of being a role model. Maybe it was a selfish thing," Maria Sharapova wrote.