Maria Sharapova’s 5 Non-Negotiable Mom Rules, From Coffee to Bedtime
The tennis champ opened up at an event during the U.S. Open about the tiny daily habits that keep her grounded—and one 20-minute rule she refuses to bend
Key Takeaways
- Protect early solitude: Set an alarm 30 minutes before your kids wake to enjoy quiet time.
- Stay adaptable: Use athletic discipline to pivot gracefully when parenting plans change.
- Live your ambition: Pursuing your passions makes you a great role mode for your kids!
If anyone knows how to build a routine that actually holds up under pressure, it’s Maria Sharapova. The tennis champion spent decades adjusting to changing conditions on the court—and now she’s applying that same discipline to motherhood.
At The Honest Company’s “Mother of All Standards: On & Off the Court” event during the U.S. Open, the mom to 4-year-old Theodore, whom she shares with her fiancé, British businessman Alexander Gilkes, sat down with Olympic sprinter Allyson Felix for a candid conversation about parenting, ambition and what it really takes to feel like yourself in the middle of the mom chaos—and it was pure gold for anyone hunting for practical takeaways.
The best part? A rapid-fire round where Sharapova spelled out her personal non-negotiables—the small, repeatable habits that keep her grounded. Here’s what she swears by, plus the wisdom she and Felix shared about ambition, perfectionism and the exhaustion no one warns you about.
1. A coffee ritual before anyone else is awake
What does Sharapova do every single morning without fail? The answer is refreshingly simple. She has a coffee—by herself.
“I know it’s boring,” she quipped, “but I set my alarm like 30 minutes before I know my son is going to wake up, and that 30 minutes is so precious and it’s so quiet, and I absolutely love it.”
Felix immediately recognized it for what it was. “So that’s that ‘me time’ that we were talking about,” she said.
The takeaway for busy moms: 30 minutes of solitude, protected on purpose, before the day demands anything from you. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It just has to be your moment.
2. Strength training as the instant reset
When Felix asked what one thing in her routine instantly makes her feel more like herself, Sharapova’s answer marked a real shift from her competitive years.
“I love a strength workout now, and it’s something that I did during my career, but I actually focused a lot more on cardio, and now I love like the strength training aspect of it, and I feel really tough,” she said.
That pivot—from cardio-heavy training to strength work in midlife—is one worth noting. Feeling strong physically translates into feeling capable everywhere else.
3. A strict bedtime routine, no wiggle room
If there’s one parenting rule Sharapova refuses to bend on, it’s the clock at night.
“I’m pretty… what would you say… slightly strict on bedtime routines, like timing of going to bed, and that’s just based on experience. Like, if we’re 20 minutes off, it’s not going to be a good day the next day,” she said.
Felix nodded along. “I’m with you 100%. Discipline.”
For any mom who’s watched a late bedtime spiral into a wrecked morning, this one hits home. Sharapova’s rule: 20 minutes off is enough to derail everything.
4. Sanitizing wipes, always
The mom-bag essential? Not up for debate.
“Oh, sanitizing wipes. No-brainer,” Sharapova said.
“Got to wipe it down,” Felix added.
“Got to wipe them all down!” Sharapova said.
At Woman’s World, we like these calming lavender sanitizing wipes.
5. Quality ingredients, no compromise
When Felix asked about the one standard as a mother she’ll never compromise on, Sharapova didn’t hesitate: quality ingredients.
“We have to be mindful about what we’re putting on our body and what we’re using on our skin,” she said. “It applies to parents and it applies to our kids.”
The bigger picture: adjusting when everything changes
Those five habits aren’t random. They’re built on a mindset Sharapova traces straight back to her sport, where conditions can flip overnight.
“In sports, you’re always like, there are circumstances, right? I mean, yesterday it was like sunny, hot, right? The ball is playing light in Flushing Meadows. Today you wake up and it’s pouring rain. The ball’s heavy, and all these athletes, they have to adjust—their string pattern, you know, how their movements, you know, and the game plans they have. So, all those little things that we got to practice every single day, we now apply in different aspects of our life, especially motherhood,” she said.
Translation: the ability to adapt on the fly is a skill, and it’s one moms use constantly.
Ambition fuels you—it doesn’t take from your kids
Sharapova was honest about the guilt of leaving her son for work trips, even short ones. But she’s found a way to reframe it.
“I’ve always been ambitious from a very young age, and it shouldn’t get in the way of other things in your life, because it fuels you. It’s part of your identity, it’s part of who you are, and I’m a better mom by fulfilling myself with the projects that I’m a part of. And when I come back home, I feel that I’m a better mom,” she said.
Felix’s own arc has been about letting go of the perfectionist streak she carried through her running career.
“I was just so critical of myself,” Felix said. “The perfectionist: I could always be better, you know? And I think motherhood brought a level of softness to me, and just saying like, ‘Okay, if I’m doing my best, like that’s enough.’”
Presence over perfection
Sharapova’s parenting philosophy circles back to something simple: showing up, fully, in the moment.
She reminds herself constantly that “time goes so quickly, so take it in, enjoy it, even the tough moments of it,” she said.
Her goal is to be someone her son knows is “present, that is willing to listen, that will give him feedback… and… it may be constructive criticism, and it may be praise, but to always know that it comes from a great place, and it comes from a place of love.”
The exhaustion no one talks about
Sharapova was refreshingly candid about the piece of motherhood that catches even elite athletes off guard: the vanishing recovery time.
“In sport, you’re always… you are always on, but then you’re so good at knowing when to turn off, because that like recovery part is so important. In motherhood, that time… that recovery part has shrunk completely!” she said.
Even the rare quiet moment gets swallowed by planning. “When it’s calm, I’m ordering something for my kid, and you know, I’m planning something for him, I’m booking a… a pony ride, I’m booking a birthday party,” she said.
Felix’s reply captured it perfectly: “It’s endless.”
And finally, a laugh
Felix, who is mom to two children with her husband, Kenneth Ferguson: a 7-year-old daughter named Camryn and a 2-year old son named Kenneth Maurice Ferguson III, closed with a story about her daughter’s post-race feedback that any mom will recognize.
“She’s very encouraging, but also brutally honest. You know? She’s like… ‘Well, that didn’t look so fast.’ Actually… I was like, ‘Well, I won the race!’” she said.
Kids keep you humble. Even the ones with medal-winning moms.
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