Maria Sharapova, Bryan brothers selected for tennis HOF

(NEWPORT, R.I.) — Five-time major champion and former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova and Bob and Mike Bryan, the most successful men’s doubles pairing in history, were named to the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025 on Thursday.

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

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

“Beyond each of their historic accomplishments on the court, the Class of 2025 have had such a profound impact on the game of tennis and have inspired multiple generations of fans across the world,” Clijsters said. “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 earnings on the court and various endorsement deals.

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

She won 36 titles overall and claimed an Olympic silver medal while representing her native Russia in 2012. Sharapova held the world’s top ranking on five separate occasions for a combined 21 weeks. She was ranked in the top five for 408 weeks.

Identical twins and California natives Bob and Mike Bryan, 46, won 16 major titles, four ATP Finals and 119 overall titles together. The Bryan brothers held the No. 1 doubles ranking for 438 weeks, including a streak of 139 weeks from February 2013 to October 2015. They held the year-end top ranking 10 times, earned Olympic doubles gold in 2012 and bronze in 2008, and helped lead the United States team to Davis Cup victory in 2007.

Mike, older than Bob by two minutes, won two additional major doubles titles and the year-end ATP Finals alongside Jack Sock in 2018 when Bob was sidelined with injury, putting Mike atop the list for most all time. Both brothers earned multiple mixed doubles trophies — Bob with seven and Mike with four — throughout their 22-year career. 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 children that they would one day end up in the Hall of Fame.

“It was nothing we ever even put on our goal list,” Bob said. “It’s almost too unattainable for a young kid to think about that, and we always just loved what we did. I think that’s what drove us to this point, and it 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 of our idols and so many of the legends of the game are in there, and to be included in a house that holds those names is amazing for us.”

Mike told ESPN that people began mentioning to them the possibility of the two ultimately being Hall of Famers once they broke Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde’s record for most titles together (61), but it wasn’t something either was focused on during their careers.

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

The two were excited to learn 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 Tampa Bay-area home during Hurricane Milton, both brothers received a text message asking whether they could attend a Zoom call later that day.

Sitting side-by-side 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 2025 Hall of Fame class, alongside Sharapova, someone whom they have known since she first came on tour.

“She’s done great things for the sport, and great things off the court, 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 lead-in events and to have a formal occasion to thank everyone who helped them along the way.

“We retired during the pandemic, and we never really had a chance to thank all of these people that played a big part in our career,” Bob said. “We just kind of sailed off into the sunset and never put a bow on the whole journey. So we’re going to try to get as many people together as possible and just tell them how appreciative we are and that this is their moment too.”