Maria Sharapova AP Photo
ISTANBUL – Maria Sharapova admitted on Friday that she felt embarrassed by her contribution to a tennis-style Gangnam video and revealed the Asian dance craze had completely passed her by.
Teenage players, Britain’s Laura Robson and Genie Bouchard of Canada, decided the women players should not to be outdone by Novak Djokovic’s Gangnam performance in Beijing, and created a video of their own.
They persuaded Sharapova to introduce it, which she duly did with a saucy wink, something she might not have done had she actually known what she was introducing. “Yeah, it was really fun until — well, when I found out what Gangnam was and what Gangnam Style was,” Sharapova admitted.
“So I did it and I sound ridiculous. I sound like I don’t know what I’m talking about. Obviously and I’m very embarrassed about it.
“I was driving my car and I hear this ridiculous song and I’m like, what is this? And I look at my radio and it says Gangnam Style.”
Gangnam is the music and dance pioneered by rapper Psy, who has become the first South Korean pop star to become a global phenomenon.
His video featuring a manic horse-riding dance is said to have become YouTube’s most liked of all time.
Sharapova didn’t know that but she did, however, know that the best course was to gently satirise herself.
She did that after explaining that Robson approached her after one of her matches in Beijing, asking if she would do a quick introduction to her video, Gangnam Style.
“I’m like, what?” is how Sharapova characterised her response.
“She’s like, Gangnam Style. I’m like, I’ll do it if you tell me how to pronounce it right,” Sharapova went on.
“She’s like, What do you mean you don’t know how to pronounce it? I’m like, I’ve never heard of this. What is it?”
“I didn’t even know what it was. Now maybe I can, you know, attempt it (to dance). But before I needed to know how to pronounce it!”
Sharapova concluded: “Oh, my goodness. I’m 25. I’m not that old. I’m still into it. So I didn’t know what I was doing, but it came out great. It was funny.”