Five-time Grand Slam champion, entrepreneur, and bestselling author Maria Sharapova is bringing her trademark intensity and drive to a new weekly interview podcast that challenges how female ambition is defined and discussed. On Pretty Tough, Sharapova sits down with high-performing women across industries for candid, wide-ranging conversations about excellence — on their own terms. Inspired by Sharapova’s own journey as a world-class athlete and entrepreneur, the show serves as a space where discussions about peak performance, career strategy, wellness, and leadership aren’t diluted by gender-specific expectations and where being gritty and being female aren’t seen as contradictory.
Sharapova and her guests — including business executives, media moguls, entrepreneurs, actors, fashion designers, and athletes — reflect a new generation of women refusing to be boxed into narrow definitions of success. Together, they examine what it means to pursue greatness without apology, to embrace intensity as an asset, and to exist as complex, multidimensional individuals rather than carefully packaged archetypes, offering Pretty Tough listeners permission to embrace all sides of themselves, break out of their comfort zones, cultivate mental fortitude, and redefine what it means to be driven and resilient across all aspects of life.
New episodes of Pretty Tough come out each Wednesday, with the show’s first episode, featuring Academy Award winner Zoe Saldaña, dropping on April 22. Additional season one guests include Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, comedian Chelsea Handler, designer Gabriela Hearst, and more. Pure Leaf is among the show’s launch sponsors.
“Throughout my tennis career, my ruthless competitiveness and focus on winning was widely seen as the entirety of who I was,” said Maria Sharapova. “What I’ve come to understand is that this experience isn’t unique. So many ambitious women are still expected to package their drive in a way that feels more acceptable. Pretty Tough is about breaking down the misconception that women can’t be more than one thing: elegant and enterprising, friendly and fierce, pretty and tough. It’s about having real conversations with women who are operating at the highest level not just about what they’ve achieved, but also about how they think, how they compete, and who they are beyond the labels.”
A five-time major champion, former world No. 1, Olympic medalist, and one of the few players to achieve a career Grand Slam, Sharapova is widely regarded as one of the greatest competitors in all of sports and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2025. Beyond the court, she has built a formidable business portfolio, working with global luxury brands including Porsche, Evian, and Tiffany & Co., and investing in companies such as Supergoop!, Tonal, Public.com, Amulet, Cofertility, and more. She serves on the board of Moncler, is a wellness ambassador for Aman Hotels and global brand ambassador for both Stella Artois and Nike, and has appeared as a guest investor on ABC’s Shark Tank. Through her work, Sharapova has become a leading voice in business and wellness, with a focus on helping others unlock peak performance and redefine success on their own terms.
“Maria’s extraordinary bona fides, coupled with her vision to share and explore life lessons through a powerful new platform, make her a natural fit at the Vox Media Podcast Network,” said Nishat Kurwa, SVP and executive producer at Vox Media. “Pretty Tough is a show borne of unique perspective and access, where audiences get to watch accomplished women meet Maria in an intimate space and shared mindset of excellence, curiosity, and ambition.”
One of the largest U.S. podcast publishers according to leading industry tracker Podtrac, the Vox Media Podcast Network is home to some of the most influential talent across categories, including journalist Kara Swisher and entrepreneur Scott Galloway (hosts of Pivot), former Manhattan U.S. attorney Preet Bharara (host of Stay Tuned), research professor Brené Brown and organizational psychologist Adam Grant (hosts of The Curiosity Shop), creator and comedian Tefi Pessoa (host of Tefi Talks), journalists Sean Rameswaram and Noel King (hosts of Today, Explained), and more. Vox Media will oversee production, sales, marketing, and distribution for Pretty Tough, which joins a dynamic slate of shows that shape conversations across business, culture, and beyond.
Follow Pretty Tough with Maria Sharapova on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and more.
About the Vox Media Podcast Network
The Vox Media Podcast Network is one of the largest U.S. podcast publishers, home to some of the most popular and influential shows. Reaching a monthly audience of tens of millions across audio, video, and social platforms, our podcasts spark conversations and shape culture, covering everything from politics, technology, and business to sports, entertainment, and more. The Vox Media Podcast Network is powered by Vox Media, the leader in modern media, and home to a prestigious portfolio of editorial brands including New York Magazine, Vox, The Verge, Eater, SB Nation, and more. Learn more about the network at podcasts.voxmedia.com.
