Tennis legend Maria Sharapova was reduced to tears as she took on a hot wing-eating challenge while featuring on YouTube talk show Hot Ones.
The career Grand Slam champion retired at the start of 2020, focusing full-time on her business interests, such as her board role with fashion brand Moncler, and investments in UFC, Public.com, and Clio Snacks.
But Sharapova has recently returned to the tennis circuit, taking in this year’s Wimbledon Championships as an ambassador for Stella Artois’ Perfect Serve campaign in partnership with the SW19 tournament.
The 38-year-old appeared alongside the brand’s fellow ambassador David Beckham, pouring pints at the summit of Henman Hill, before both sporting superstars took in the tennis on Centre Court.
Her latest press appearance was a more uncomfortable one, however, with Sharapova a guest on Sean Evans’ famously challenging online programme.
A number of previous guests including Jennifer Lawrence and Margot Robbie have succumbed tearfully to the heat of the wings offered to guests as they answer questions.
Maria Sharapova was overwhelmed by the spiciness of the wings served up to her on Hot Ones
The Russian tennis star usually cuts a cool and composed figure on her social media profile
Sharapova was most recently at Wimbledon promoting Stella Artois with her fellow brand ambassador David Beckham
And Sharapova warned Evans ahead of time that she was unlikely to ‘cry elegantly’ like the latter interviewee.
While making her way through trialing the warm-up hot sauces, Sharapova shed some light on her infamous on-court grunting.
The former Wimbledon champion was a notoriously loud competitor during her playing career, but Sharapova stressed that she hadn’t sought to amplify her natural exertion sounds to torment her opponents.
‘I want to say it’s an intimidation factor, but that would be a lie,’ Sharapova admitted. ‘It was something that I started doing at a young age, and it just clicked and I kept it up and it got louder and louder.
‘But it might get louder with these wings
The heat began to tell for Sharapova as she asked Evans how it was possible that he was able to continue questioning her as they made their way through the array of chicken wings.
The Russian star was later taken to the limit by a particularly spicy wing as Evans continued to fire questions at her despite her visible discomfort, as per the show’s premise.
‘In doubles, would you rather be partnered with a cherry-picker or a poacher?’ Evans asked as Sharapova dabbed her streaming eyes with a napkin.
The 37-year-old was sure that she was going to be brought to tears like previous guests such as Jennifer Lawrence
And after a slow warm-up, Sharapova was true to her word as she struggled through the talk
Sharapova retired in 2020 and has since pivoted to focusing on her business investments
But the former Grand Slam champion shared her thoughts on why she was so loud on court
Sharapova won Wimbledon 21 years ago as a 17-year-old after beating Serena Williams
‘What the f*** is a cherry-picker?’ Sharapova said, before questioning: ‘Can I swear on this show?’
Sniffing, Sharapova struggled to continue the interview, eventually sharing that she would prefer a partner who was a ‘cherry-picker’.
During her playing career, Sharapova won three doubles titles, but with her focus squarely on singles, she could only rank as high as 41 in the standings.
Sharapova’s retirement five years ago came against the backdrop of persistent injury complaints upon her return to tour after serving a 15-month doping suspension.
The player had failed a test undertaken at the 2016 Australian, with her sample returning a positive result for recently banned substance meldonium.
That June, she received a two-year sanction for her usage of the heart medication, but months later saw her sentence reduced after it was revealed that her doctor had prescribed the substance to her.
Sharapova was deemed to have the ‘good faith belief that it was appropriate and compliant with the relevant rules’.
