"My son made an owl sound, and I was like 'genius'" - Maria Sharapova on parenthood

Maria Sharapova recently opened up about her experience with parenthood. Sharapova and her fiancé Alexander Gilkes, a British businessman, welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Theodore, into the world on July 1, 2022.

The Russian recently appeared on the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast, where she discussed the joys of motherhood. During the conversation, she shared a heartwarming anecdote about her son, Theodore, who mimicked an owl's sound which she thought was "genius".

The five-time Grand Slam champion also revealed that once, while cleaning her son's milk bottles, she couldn't help but draw a parallel to her past experiences of washing her sports drink bottles after every practice session.

"My son made an owl sound. And I was like, oh, I mean, genius. Genius. I love that feeling though. I was joking from the beginning because as I was cleaning like milk bottles, I just looked back at my career and thinking of all the sports drink bottles that I would clean after a day of practice. And I was like, it is as if my previous life has set me up for success. I've got this down," Sharapova said (at 52:02).

Sharapova, 36, retired from playing tennis in February 2022. She won five Grand Slam titles, the last of which came at the 2014 French Open.

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"I have an entirely new respect for motherhood and parenthood" - Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova talking to the press at the 2014 BNP Paribas WTA Finals

Previously, during a conversation with German former tennis player Andrea Petkovic in September, Maria Sharapova expressed that becoming a mother was her "greatest accomplishment." She emphasized that this experience has granted her a newfound appreciation for motherhood and parenthood as a whole.

"I became a mother about a year ago which I think was one of the greatest accomplishments that I’ve ever experienced. I have an entirely new respect for motherhood and parenthood and just that this is the moment of how you like you know your body is experiencing completely different, your mind somewhere else," Maria Sharapova said in an episode of 'The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast' (at 06:55).

Sharapova also expressed that being a mother has been both "challenging" and "rewarding." She said that despite her love for work she cherishes the moments when she can come home to her son, Theodore.

The former World No. 1 acknowledged that maintaining a balance between her professional life and motherhood is a "bit of a juggle game," but stated that she embraces this challenge wholeheartedly.

"That’s been challenging, rewarding because I’m also you know I’d love to work, I’m very ambitious. I’ve always had big goals about where I know I’ve set foundation in the business world for several years during my career and I knew that I wanted to take it to another level and grow. But yet I wanted to come home and have this beautiful family and so yeah it's just that it's a bit of a juggle game," she added.