Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova’s Old Head TVC Featuring ‘Tennis Bowling Challenge’ Goes Viral

Nandini Rikhee | 28/09/2024
Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova

Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova took the tennis world by storm a decade ago when they shot a commercial together for Head, a tennis racket brand. A throwback video of the ‘tennis bowling challenge’ ad featuring these two was recently posted on the Instagram page Baseline Highlights, and it quickly went viral on social media.

In 2012, the pair took part in the ‘tennis bowling challenge’, where they had three chances to knock down every pin using a tennis ball instead of a bowling ball.

The two had fun playing the challenge as Djokovic asked Sharapova to go first. To this, the Russian joked that it could be a trap but still went ahead. She was able to spill almost half of the pins on her first attempt, while the second one went in vain as no pins fell. But on her third attempt, she was able to make the remaining pins fall.

The Serb followed her and failed miserably in the first attempt, with no pins falling. He quickly recovered, and on his second attempt, he made all the pins fall. This left Sharapova disappointed, so she waved it down with her hand as Djokovic celebrated in front of her.

 

After watching the throwback video, fans of both players instantly flooded the comments section. Given that the two legends are also close friends, they think Head pulled off a brilliant marketing ploy by bringing them together.

Djokovic and Sharapova have such a strong bond that they have supported one another through good times and bad.

Djokovic and Sharapova’s Friendship Over The Years

In 2016, when the Russian tested positive for the consumption of meldonium and received a provisional ban, the Serb stood by her.

“I obviously wish her all the best. I’ve known her for a long time. I feel for her with all that’s happening and I just hope she gets out of this stronger,” Djokovic told TMZ.com.

During the pandemic, the duo went live together on Instagram and it went on for almost an hour. They shared several stories about each other. The most amusing of which was when they went out for dinner in 2008 and Djokovic asked the waiter to take a picture of them with his old camera.

“I don’t remember anything about who we played with, but I remember this dinner and this old-school camera,” she later said.

In the highly competitive world of sports, these types of friendships are rare. But both Djokovic and Sharapova were able to create one that has the potential to last a long time.

Post Edited By: Karthik Raman
maria sharapova Novak Djokovic

About the author

Nandini tennis writer

Nandini Rikhee

Nandini Rikhee is a Tennis writer for The SportsRush. Having done her bachelors in Journalism from Lady Shri Ram College for women, Nandini has been working in the field of sports journalism for around 3 years now. During the course of this time, she got the opportunity to cover some major sports events and tournaments like the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games etc. She grew up watching Roger Federer hit his iconic backhand and Rafael Nadal his classic forehand. Being a Tennis enthusiast, working for this sport is a matter of delight for her as it helps her enjoy and love the work.

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