(Provided by Tennis World USA)
Coach Rick Macci absolutely does not agree with agent Max Eisenbud that Maria Sharapova was “the worst athlete ever to win a Grand Slam.” Macci, who was famously the childhood coach of Serena and Venus Williams, also worked with Sharapova when the Russian was younger.
“@MariaSharapova was a very good athlete. Agents do deals and most have limited knowledge in talent evaluation. When we think of athletic skills we think running and jumping. Maria had incredible hand eye and her little steps were poppin the popcorn extra butter.
Athletic ability is from your head to your toe! FIVE GRAND SLAMS/NUMBER 1 IN THE WORLD TRUST ME YOUR ATHLETIC!” Macci wrote.
@MariaSharapova was a very good athlete. Agents do deals and most have limited knowledge in talent evaluation.
When we think of athletic skills we think running and jumping. Maria had incredible hand eye and her little steps were poppin the popcorn extra butter. Athletic ability… — Rick Macci (@RickMacci) July 27, 2023
Macci doesn’t agree with Eisenbud’s take on Sharapova
Eisenbud has been Sharapova’s agent for the past two decades and he helped make the Russian a marketing giant.
A few days ago, Eisenbud appeared on The Tennis Podcast. Reflecting on Sharapova’s success, agent Eisenbud praised Sharapova’s work ethic and talent but suggested her athleticism just wasn’t the greatest. “Besides being an amazing player at age 11 when I first saw her play, I think you all saw she was all business, she knew what she wanted, she’d dedicate her time and energy to becoming the best she could be.
I mean I tell people all the time she’s probably the worst athlete that, and I’ll tell her if she was here (laughing), the worst athlete to ever win a Grand Slam. She can’t throw, she can’t pass, she has no touch but she willed her way.
I think she was the most mentally strong players to ever play the game and I would put her on that list with all that great champions, she just wasn’t the athlete that these other players were. She knew what she wanted in business, on and off the court, amazing young lady,” Eisenbud said on The Tennis Podcast.
