The psychology of rivalry and resilience with Maria Sharapova
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Resilience was almost like a silent lesson that I got to experience every single day because in sport you make a lot of errors and sometimes those errors are in your control and sometimes they're not. And so even within that, you start to learn, focus on things that you can control.
Hey everyone, it's Adam Grant. Welcome back to Rethinking, my podcast with Ted on the science of what makes us tick. I'm an organizational psychologist, and I'm taking you inside the minds of fascinating people to explore new thoughts and new ways of thinking. Maria Sheripova is a tennis luminary, one of only 10 women in history to complete a career grand slam in singles. She moved to the US from Russia with her dad, who was her coach, when she was six years old, with borrowed money to attend an elite training camp in Florida. Maria retired in 2020 and was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2025. Since retiring, she also became a mother, an investor, and a podcast host. On her show, Pretty Tough.
She interviews women like Misty Copeland, Zoe Saldana, and Chelsea Handler. But today, I get to sit down with Maria to talk about resilience, motivation, and whether she's ready for a little friendly competition starting now.
The heavy hitting questions are coming so
soon. I have to tell you, we've known each other for a decade and we've never played a racket sport together. No tennis, no pedell, no pickleball, not even ping pong. Why?
I like how you say Padel. It's very European of you, Adam.
I think it's technically Mexican, right? Padel is the origin.
Well, that's too deep. It's too early to get in there.
Are you dodging the question already?
Pretty much so. But no, the reason we haven't is well, we've met at conferences, we've met at fantastic events, but it's always it's usually those types of events that I join where I know ahead of time there isn't a court.
Why are you avoiding it?
Oh um I did it for so long. It was part of my life every single day. And I think I've said this to you before, but When your body has known what it's felt like to be at a very high level, when it's toned, when it's fast paced, when the muscle twitch is at an excellent level, unlike right now, it's always um It's always hard to go back to something that isn't at that high level and do it at a very unfamiliar, slower pace.
What would it take to make you rethink that?
Well I love tennis as a workout. I think it is one of the best workouts you can do. First of all, because you are off your screen. And you cannot think about anything else.
What is Maria Sharapova’s background and how did she become a Hall of Famer?
You cannot think about your work, about your family. You can't have any distractions because if those little thoughts start creeping in, you are going to make errors. Your opponent's gonna hit many winners and it's not gonna feel good. So What I love about racket sports is that you are all in and I love something that That puts you in a position to give it everything mentally, physically, and and I think that's why I chose the sport for such a long time.
Okay. So I need to appeal to your desire for a good workout and for a distraction from work and family. Is that what you're telling me?
Yes. Yes.
Is tennis is tennis the racket sport you're most likely to say yes to?
Absolutely.
Oh, interesting. I I would have thought it would be ping pong because you don't feel as much the oh, but I'm not a at the top of my game and I haven't been training and I'm not as great as I used to be.
I have no chance at at any of the other racket sports. Not pickle, not pedell, not I mean ping pong is off the table completely.
Why? Ironically.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–3:23
2
What is Maria Sharapova’s background and how did she become a Hall of Famer?
3:23–7:12
3
How did Maria’s early rivalry with Serena Williams shape her career?
7:12–20:36
4
What lessons about resilience did Maria learn from wins, losses, and injuries?
20:36–35:18
5
How does Maria distinguish between ‘mastery’ winning and ‘victory’ winning?
35:18–42:48
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from ReThinking
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