"A pinch me moment with two extraordinary women" - Maria Sharapova reminisces her meeting with Billie Jean King and Malala Yousafzai

Maria Sharapova on meeting Yousafzai and Jean King

Maria Sharapova recently reminisced about the time she met Malala Yousafzai and Billie Jean King.

September 20 marked the 50th anniversary of Billie Jean King's victory over Bobby Riggs in the iconic ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match.

Sharapova took to social media to honor King's legendary 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 win at the Houston Astrodome in Texas.

“50 year anniversary of the Battle of the Sexes match. That’s what I call impact @billiejeanking,” she wrote on her Instagram story.

The Russian tennis star also recalled her "pinch me moment" with King and Yousafzai. She said that they met at a local pasta spot earlier this summer and had "an evening of deep, meaningful and honest conversation."

Sharapova posted a picture on her Instagram story with a heartfelt note dedicated to Billie Jean King and Malala Yousafzai.

“Speaking of impact. Earlier this summer. A pinch me moment with two extraordinary women at our local favorite pasta spot. An evening of deep, meaningful, and honest conversation. Of the future and it’s change. @billiejeanking @malala,” Sharapova captioned her story.

Sharapova also posted a picture of a handwritten note that the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate left for her son Theodore for his first birthday.

“Dear, Theodore Wish you a very happy 1st birthday!” the note read.

"Had that mental box at 11 already" - Coach Rick Macci on Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova's former coach Rick Macci recently opened up about the tennis star’s mental fortitude at an early age.

Macci has worked with multiple tennis stars in their formative years. On a podcast for ATP Tennis Radio, Macci looked back at the time he worked with Serena Williams and Sharapova.

“You’ve got to remember to forget," Macci said. "You got to have the ability to forget. In tennis, it’s very tricky and this separates great from good. You know great is rare air. There’s a lot of good athletes, amazing athletes on the WTA and ATP tour but they’re not the leaders of the clubhouse.”

“They didn’t become a [Rafael] Nadal… I know it’s a package – the forehand, backhand, serve – you have got to check a lot of boxes," he added. "Serena checked every box and created a few more but you have got to check every box."

He further lauded Sharapova’s ability to handle pressure even at the age of 11.

“But the mental part -- how you handle pressure… and the ability to forget," Macci said. "You have got 20 seconds to flip it in your mind like it happened 20 years ago. That’s why I love Sharapova… even at 11, she was in a bubble. I called it. Even though she was limited athletically, she had that mental box already there. It was amazing. I didn’t see it in Serena."

Edited by Shubham Banerjee