Maria Sharapova was born on April 19, 1987 in Nyagan, Russia. She has eclipsed the popularity of another Russian tennis player, Anna Kournikova. Sharapova has won two Grand Slam singles titles. The first was when she became the third youngest player ever to win Wimbledon, at age 17, in 2004. She won her second grand slam title in 2006. At the end of that year, she was the world's highest-paid female athlete. Personal life Sharapova's father, Yuri Sharapov, brought Maria to the United States to attend the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida when she was 7 years old. In 2004, a year after reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon as a wild card, Maria Sharapova became the third-youngest Wimbledon women's champion (after Lottie Dod and Martina Hingis) and second-youngest in the open era by defeating Ai Sugiyama (5-7, 7-5, 6-1) in a quarterfinal, Lindsay Davenport (2-6, 7-6, 6-1) in a semifinal, and two-time defending champion Serena Williams (6-1, 6-4) in the final. She also became the first Russian to win that tournament. At the U.S. Open a few months later, she lost to French player and two-time Grand Slam champion Mary Pierce. Maria Sharapova ended 2004 with a victory at the season-ending WTA Championships, defeating an injured Serena Williams (4-6, 6-2, 6-4) after coming back from 0-4 in the final set.
Poster
From June 2004 until her Wimbledon semifinal appearance in 2005, Sharapova won 22 straight matches on grass, including consecutive Birmingham titles and the Wimbledon championship. She reached the semifinals of the 2005 Australian Open, where she held three match points against Serena Williams before losing 2-6, 7-5, 8-6. Defending her Wimbledon title in 2005, Sharapova reached the semifinals without losing a set but then was well beaten by a rejuvenated Venus Williams (7-6, 6-1). Sharapova rose to the No. 1 ranking on September 12, 2005 (after holding it briefly before), despite losing in the semifinals of the U.S. Open. Sharapova kept the No. 1 ranking for six weeks before relinquishing it to Davenport following the 2005 Zurich Open. At the 2006 Australian Open, Sharapova lost in the semifinals to Justine Henin 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, the only match of the year that she lost after winning the first set. Sharapova claimed her first title of 2006 and eleventh of her career at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, a Tier 1 event at which she was the third seed. At the 2006 French Open Maria Sharapova reached the fourth round without having played any of the clay-court tune-ups, before losing to Dinara Safina 7-5, 2-6, 7-5. For the second consecutive year, Sharapova was defeated in the semifinals of Wimbledon, losing to eventual winner Amelie Mauresmo 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. Sharapova entered the 2006 U.S. Open seeded third after Kim Clijsters dropped out of the tournament with a wrist injury. Favoured to reach the final, she defeated Mauresmo, the top-ranked player in the world, in a semifinal 6-0, 4-6, 6-0. Sharapova then prevailed over Henin-Hardenne in the final 6-4, 6-4 to win her second Grand Slam title. She then defeated fourth-seeded Clijsters 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals to reach her first Australian Open final and gain the opportunity to win the only Grand Slam singles title that a Russian woman had not yet won. However, Serena Williams, ranked No. 81 in the world, beat Sharapova easily 6-1, 6-2. Maria Sharapova then reached semifinals of the French Open for the first time in her career. She defeated Patty Schnyder in the fourth round after being down match point, then beat fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze in the quarterfinals. In her semifinal match she fell to Ana Ivanovic with a lopsided score of 6-2, 6-1. Sharapova couldn't duplicate her earlier success at Wimbledon, falling victim to eventual champion Venus Williams, in the fourth round. Sharapova was subdued by Williams' dominant serve and crashed out in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3.
As the top seed at the Australian Open (due to top-ranked Justine Henin's withdrawal), Maria Sharapova came within two points from defeat in the first round against 62nd-ranked Camille Pin, but ultimately won 6–3, 4–6, 9–7. In the semifinals, Sharapova defeated fourth-seeded Kim Clijsters to reach her first Australian Open final and gain the opportunity to win the only Grand Slam singles title that a Russian woman had not yet won. However, Serena Williams, ranked 81st, overpowered Sharapova 6–1, 6–2 in the final. Reaching the final allowed Sharapova to recapture the World No. 1 ranking, which she held for seven weeks until a fourth-round loss at Indian Wells. In Miami, Sharapova was defeated again by Williams (6–1, 6–1). A shoulder injury forced Sharapova to miss most of the clay court season for the second consecutive year, and played just one low-level tournament on clay in the lead-up to the French Open. However, Maria Sharapova reached the semifinals there for the first time in her career (saving a match point against Patty Schnyder in the fourth round), but then fell to Ana Ivanovic 6–2, 6–1. On grass in Birmingham, Maria Sharapova reached only her second final of the year, but lost to second-seeded Jelena Jankovic. At Wimbledon, Sharapova lost to eventual champion Venus Williams in the fourth round 6–1, 6–3. Sharapova won her first title of the year in San Diego, defeating Schnyder in the final. This was the main reason for her clinching the US Open Series for the first time. Seeded second at the US Open, Sharapova won her first two matches with the loss of only two games but then lost her third round match to 18-year-old Pole Agnieszka Radwanska in three sets, having committed 12 double faults and 49 unforced errors. It was Sharapova's earliest exit at a Grand Slam singles tournament since she lost in the same round at the tournament in 2004. Maria Sharapova did not play again for six weeks after after the US Open. On her return in Moscow, she lost her opening match to Victoria Azarenka, before withdrawing from events in Zurich and Linz. These losses and withdrawals meant that she fell out of the top five on the rankings for the first time in three years, and she was awarded qualification to the WTA Tour Championships only because Venus Williams withdrew from the tournament. She won all her round-robin matches, including a 6–1, 6–2 win over Ivanovic, before defeating Anna Chakvetadze in the semifinals. In the final, Sharapova lost to World No. 1 Henin 5–7, 7–5, 6–3 in a match that lasted 3 hours and 24 minutes, the 12th longest tour match during the open era. Maria Sharapova ended the year ranked World No. 5, the fourth consecutive year that she finished in the top five. However, for the first time since 2004, she did not finish the year as the top ranked Russian (the honor instead being held by Svetlana Kuznetsova). Sharapova also won just one title (at San Diego), the first time she had failed to win at least two titles since 2002 (when she played just three WTA matches).
2008 As the fifth seed at the Australian Open (her lowest seeding at a Grand Slam singles tournament since the 2004 U.S. Open), Sharapova progressed to the quarterfinals without dropping a set, defeating former World No. 1 Lindsay Davenport en route. Maria Sharapova then defeated World No. 1 Justine Henin 6–4, 6–0, ending her 32-match winning streak, before reaching her second consecutive Australian Open final after she defeated an injured Jelena Jankovic 6–3, 6–1 in the semifinals. She then defeated Ana Ivanovic in the final 7–5, 6–3, thus winning the tournament without dropping a set. After the Australian Open, Sharapova extended her winning streak to 18 matches, a run that included two wins on her Fed Cup debut and winning the Tier I tournament in Doha, defeating Vera Zvonareva in a three-set final. She was defeated for the first time in 2008 in the semifinals of Indian Wells by Svetlana Kuznetsova. Sharapova then withdrew from Miami, claiming a shoulder injury. Maria Sharapova progressed to the first clay court final of her career at the tournament in Amelia Island, Florida, where she defeated Dominika Cibulkova. In the third round, she had defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues 7–6(3), 5–7, 7–6(1) in 3 hours and 27 minutes, her longest ever match. In Charleston, South Carolina the next week, Sharapova lost to Serena Williams in the quarterfinals 7–5, 4–6, 6–1 after Sharapova had held a set point in the first set. This was her fourth consecutive loss to the American. In May, Sharapova regained the World No. 1 ranking because of Henin's sudden retirement and subsequent removal from the rankings. She was consequently the top-seeded player at the French Open. In the first round, she defeated compatriot Evgeniya Rodina 6–1, 3–6, 8–6 after being two points from becoming the first female top seeded player in the open era to lose in the first round of this tournament. She ultimately lost to 13th seed and eventual runner-up Dinara Safina in a 2 hour, 52 minute fourth round match 6–7(6), 7–6(5), 6–2, after Sharapova had two match points at 5–3 in the second set. Maria Sharapova lost the World No. 1 ranking as a result of this loss. At Wimbledon, Sharapova was seeded third but lost in the second round to World No. 159 Alla Kudryavtseva, her earliest loss at the tournament. Sharapova now intends to play in Montreal, the Olympics, and the US Open. Fed Cup participation Sharapova's representation of Russia in the Fed Cup has been controversial. At the end of 2004, compatriot Anastasia Myskina stated she would stop playing for Russia if Sharapova joined. At the end of 2005, Maria Sharapova stated she was now keen to make her Fed Cup debut and was set to play against Belgium in April 2006, but withdrew. Sharapova later withdrew from ties against Spain in April 2007 and against the United States in July 2007 because of injuries. The latter withdrawal led to Russia's captain saying she would be "ineligible for selection" for the Fed Cup final in September. However, Sharapova attended the final, cheering from the sidelines and acting as a "hitting partner" in practices, resulting in some of her Russian teammates implying that she was attending only to enable her to play at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (rules state that players must have "shown commitment" to Fed Cup in order to play). Svetlana Kuznetsova said, "She said she wanted to be our practise partner but if you can't play how then can you practise?" Maria Sharapova finally made her Fed Cup debut in February 2008, in Russia's quarterfinal tie against Israel. Sharapova won both her singles rubbers, against Tzipora Obziler and Shahar Peer, helping Russia to a 4-1 victory. Personal life Maria Sharapova has lived in the United States since moving there at the age of seven but retains her Russian citizenship. She has a home in Manhattan Beach, California and in early 2008, purchased a penthouse apartment in Netanya, Israel. On February 14, 2007, Sharapova was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and donated US$100,000 to UNDP Chernobyl-recovery projects. She is planning on traveling back to the area after Wimbledon in 2008. On-court tennis outfits Maria Sharapova is well known for designing her unique tennis outfits, especially for Grand Slam tournaments. Among her most memorable were her nighttime 2006 US Open dress, inspired by Audrey Hepburn's look from Breakfast at Tiffany's, her swan inspired white dress during the 2007 Wimbledon Championships and her 2007 US Open night dress, which was red and sequined with over 600 Swarovski crystals. For the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, she wore a pair of shorts with a translucent vest top with a tuxedo style front. The attire also came with a blazer. She said that the outfit was inspired by menswear and was intended to be classy and suitable for Wimbledon.
2005 2006 2007 Endorsements Honda, Land Rover, Motorola , Gatorade ,Tropicana - orange juice, TAG Heuer, Nike , Prince Sports, Canon Maria Sharapova's endorsements have earned her considerably more than she has won in tournament play. In June 2005, Forbes magazine listed her as the highest-paid female athlete in the world, with annual earnings of U.S. $18 million.
In 2006, Maxim magazine named Sharapova the hottest athlete in the world for the fourth consecutive year. In a poll run by Britain's FHM magazine, Sharapova was voted the seventh most eligible bachelorette. Voting took into consideration both "wealth and looks." Maria Sharapova's first racquet (before she entered the professional circuit) was one given to her by a family friend. Sharapova used the Prince Tour Diablo for part of 2003 and then used several different Prince tennis racquets until the U.S. Open. Sharapova began using the Prince Shark MP at that tournament and had a major part in the production of the Shark racquet. She then switched to the Prince O3 White racquet in January 2006, and this is currently the tennis racquet that Maria Sharapova uses.
Go to the List of Male and Female Tennis Players
|
