Maria Sharapova announced on social media the release of her new podcast next week. It will be called Pretty Tough and, as stated by the Russian athlete in a post, it will be about “the pursuit of excellence, without compromise.” In particular, it will be a show, created in collaboration with Vox Media (one of the largest and most renowned podcast networks in the United States), that “will challenge the way we talk about female ambition and explore the many facets of who we are.” The first episode will be released on Wednesday, April 22, and the frequency, at least for now, will be weekly.
The former tennis player, winner of 36 titles overall and five Grand Slam tournaments, also hinted on her social profiles that, during the episodes ofPretty Tough, she will converse with various successful women. According to her words, these will be women who “have dreamed of something more than what others believed of them.” So far, the appearances of Zoe Saldana (actress), Jeanie Buss (minority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers), and Chelsea Handler (comedian and actress) have already been announced.
Sharapova is just one of many tennis stars who have decided to enter the world of podcasts. Last September, for example, Serena and Venus Williams launched Stockton Street(named after theaddress of the house in Compton, California, where they grew up), while Caroline Garcia started Tennis Insider Club. Andy Roddick, ranked number 1 ATP between November 2003 and February 2004, launched Served, while Sam Querrey, Jack Sock, John Isner, and Steve Johnson are the hosts of Nothing Major.The trend among those who have been or are involved in the world of tennis is to have an increasingly direct relationship with their fans. This is also demonstrated by the YouTube channels opened by players like Sinner or Shelton, as well as the increasingly customized and sophisticated use of social media – as seen in the case of Aryna Sabalenka. In short, we are in an era where there are fewer and fewer filters between great tennis players and their audience, even if they may not have been on the court for a while. And thank goodness for that.