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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Rich Pelley

Sunday with Maria Sharapova: ‘If I need gardening help, my mother takes over’

‘My son likes flowers. Every park we go to, he’ll pick a few leaves and give them to strangers…’ Maria Sharapova.
‘My son likes flowers. Every park we go to, he’ll pick a few leaves and give them to strangers’: Maria Sharapova. Photograph: Stéphane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty Images

Sunday nosh? I like a British Sunday roast. We’ll go to the Surprise in Chelsea or the Pelican in Notting Hill. My fiancé [auctioneer Alexander Gilkes] is British, so I get all the British traditions. He loves theatre and galleries, but we have to make sure everything is child-friendly for our son, Theo.

Younger Sundays? Tennis finals were always at the weekend. If I was competing, then it meant I’d had a successful tournament. Now I appreciate that I can dedicate weekends to Theo.

When did you last whop a tennis ball? It’s been a while. I should really start to do that with my son.

Is Theo going to become a tennis champ? It’s too early to tell. If he wants to pick up tennis, great. I took him to Wimbledon for the first time this year, which I was very excited about. This is the first time I’ve attended as a spectator. It’s now 20 years since I won the tournament.

Why so long? Life got in the way! I do love the spirit of Wimbledon. It’s so exciting. This is a sport I’ve been a part of since I was a young girl. To see people embrace something that I was so passionate about for a long time is really nice.

Sunday jobs? I’m not really a gardener. I’ve never really been good at it – my mother’s so much better than me, so if I need any help, she usually takes over. My son likes flowers. Every park we go to, he’ll pick a few leaves and give them to strangers, which is very sweet and they take it as a compliment, but then he wants them back.

Hate Mondays? I don’t dislike them as much as some people do. I’ve been working since I was young, so the idea of having an agenda is very familiar. I actually appreciate Mondays because you get to set goals for the week ahead.

Maria Sharapova is global wellness ambassador for Aman Resorts

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