Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion identified for loads of on-court grit and off-court consideration, and Bob and Mike Bryan, twins who gained a report 16 main titles in males’s doubles collectively, are first-ballot picks for the Worldwide Tennis Corridor of Fame.
The Newport, Rhode Island-based Corridor introduced the Class of 2025 on Thursday.
Sharapova gained not less than one championship at every of her sport’s 4 most prestigious occasions, making her one in all 10 girls in tennis historical past to finish a profession Grand Slam, and he or she was the primary Russian girl to achieve No. 1 within the WTA singles rankings. She retired in 2020 at age 32 after a profession that included 15 years within the highlight, a 15-month doping ban and a number of operations on her proper shoulder.
In a message posted on social media, Sharapova known as herself “extremely grateful to obtain this honor.”
The Bryan brothers additionally compiled a profession Grand Slam and spent 438 weeks at No. 1 within the ATP doubles rankings. They gained a gold medal on the 2012 London Olympics and helped the US win the 2007 Davis Cup title; Bob is at the moment the captain of the American group that can go to Malaga, Spain, for subsequent month’s finals to compete for the nation’s first triumph in that competitors since then.
Mike Bryan — he’s right-handed, and his brother is a lefty — is the profession chief with 18 main males’s doubles trophies general; he received two with Jack Sock whereas Bob was injured in 2018.
“We’re really humbled and grateful to obtain this honor. Although making it to Newport was by no means our objective, being included amongst so a lot of our idols and position fashions is extremely particular,” Bob Bryan wrote in a textual content message to The Related Press on Thursday. “Mike and I proceed to be finest associates, and we really feel fortunate to have been capable of trip this tennis rollercoaster collectively.”
Sharapova turned an instantaneous star when she gained her first main title at Wimbledon in 2004 at age 17 by beating Serena Williams within the remaining, then collected the trophies on the U.S. Open in 2006, the Australian Open in 2008 and the French Open in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova helped Russia win the group competitors now often known as the Billie Jean King Cup in 2008, and he or she claimed a silver medal in singles on the 2012 Olympics, shedding to Williams within the remaining.
All of the whereas, Sharapova earned tens of millions of {dollars} extra in endorsement offers than prize cash.
“There are a few sides of me,” Sharapova mentioned in an interview with the AP in 2006, shortly earlier than she gained the title at Flushing Meadows. “There’s the Maria that’s a tennis participant. There’s the Maria that could be a regular lady. And there’s the Maria who’s a businesswoman. And that’s the place the ‘Maria Sharapova model’ comes into play.”
On the 2016 Australian Open, Sharapova examined optimistic for the newly banned drug meldonium and initially was handed a two-year suspension. After interesting to the Court docket of Arbitration for Sport, Sharapova was given a lowered penalty when it was decided that she bore “lower than important fault” within the case and couldn’t “be thought-about to be an intentional doper.”
The Bryans and Sharapova will likely be inducted in August.
“We’re grateful to so many individuals who supported us alongside the way in which, and we sit up for sharing this second with them subsequent yr,” Bob Bryan wrote. ”Our dad and mom created a magical surroundings at their membership and made tennis enjoyable for us. They helped us fall in love with the sport, so tennis by no means felt like work; it was all the time play.”
Daniel Nestor, a Canadian who gained 12 Grand Slam titles in males’s or blended doubles, didn’t obtain the 75% of the vote required to qualify for the Corridor in balloting amongst members of the media, historians, Corridor of Fame members, trade consultants and followers. This was his third — and remaining — yr as a candidate.
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis author since 2002. Discover his tales right here: https://apnews.com/writer/howard-fendrich
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AP tennis:
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