Maria Sharapova, Bryan brothers selected for tennis HOF

Maria Sharapova, five-time major champion and former world No. 1, and Bob and Mike Bryan, the most successful men’s doubles pair in history, were inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025 on Thursday.

They will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, on August 23, following a three-day celebration and related activities.

In a statement, Kim Clijsters, the Hall’s president and member of the Hall of Fame class of 2017, praised the trio for their careers and achievements.

“In addition to all their historic achievements on the court, the Class of 2025 has had such a profound impact on the game of tennis and inspired multiple generations of fans around the world,” said Clijsters. “We look forward to celebrating them in Newport next year.”

Sharapova, 37, is one of 10 women to achieve the career Grand Slam. One of the most recognizable players on tour for much of her career, Sharapova was Forbes’ highest-paid female athlete in the world for 11 consecutive years due to her on-court achievements and various endorsement deals.

Sharapova’s reputation and marketability declined following the announcement of a failed test for a banned substance in 2016, and she was banned from the sport for 15 months. She returned to competition in April 2017 and won her last title at the Tianjin Open in October. She retired in February 2020.

She won a total of 36 titles and claimed an Olympic silver medal while representing her native Russia in 2012. Sharapova held the world’s top ranking five times for a total of 21 weeks. She was in the top five for 408 weeks.

Identical twins and California natives Bob and Mike Bryan, 46, combined to win 16 major titles, four ATP Finals and 119 overall titles. The Bryan Brothers held the top spot in doubles for 438 weeks, including a streak of 139 weeks between February 2013 and October 2015. They topped the year-end top rankings ten times, earning Olympic doubles gold in 2012 and bronze in 2008, and helped the US team to Davis Cup victory in 2007.

Mike, two minutes older than Bob, won two more major doubles titles with Jack Sock in 2018 and the ATP final at the end of the year, when Bob was sidelined through injury, leaving Mike at the top of the all-time list. Both brothers earned multiple mixed doubles trophies during their 22-year careers – Bob with seven and Mike with four. They retired together in August 2020.

In an interview this week with ESPN, Bob said they would have “just fallen over” in shock if someone had told them as tennis-loving kids that they would one day end up in the Hall of Fame.

“It wasn’t anything we ever put on our goal list,” Bob said. “It’s almost too unattainable for a young kid to think about that, and we always enjoyed what we did. I think that’s what pushed us to this point, and allowed us to play tennis for so long. It was never really work or sacrifice for us.

“… It’s an incredibly special feeling just because all our idols and so many legends of the game are there, and to be inducted into a house with those names is great for us.”

Mike told ESPN that people started talking to them about the possibility of the two eventually becoming Hall of Famers once they broke Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde’s record for most titles combined (61), but it wasn’t something true either. they focused on during their careers.

“We thought of ‘The Woodies’ record as climbing Mount Everest. It was such a milestone, but we would still kind of shrug it off if people said, ‘Oh, one day you might be in Newport,” Mike said. “But once we put down our rackets and really had a chance to look back on our body of work, we thought it could stack up if the vote happened in five years. Then it was in the back of our minds.”

The two were excited when they heard they had been nominated in August. Earlier this month, while Mike and his family were staying with Bob and his family in South Florida after evacuating their home in the Tampa Bay area during Hurricane Milton, both brothers received a text message asking if they would later could attend a Zoom call that day.

Sitting next to each other in Bob’s office, they knew it was good news as soon as they saw Clijsters’ smiling face on the screen. Clijsters told them they were officially part of the Hall of Fame class of 2025, joining Sharapova, someone they have known since she first came on tour.

“She’s done great things for the sport, and great things off the field, so to be in this class with her is special,” Mike said.

Bob said they were looking forward to spending time with Sharapova during the launch events and having a formal opportunity to thank everyone who helped them along the way.

“We retired during the pandemic, and we never really had a chance to thank all these people who played a huge role in our careers,” Bob said. “We just sailed into the sunset and never took a bow during the entire trip. So we’re going to try to get as many people together as possible and just tell them how grateful we are and that this is their moment too.” .”