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Maria Sharapova

Nickname(s)	Masha
Country	Russia
Residence	Longboat Key, Florida, United States
Date of birth	April 19, 1987 (1987-04-19) (age 22)
Place of birth	Nyagan, Soviet Union
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)1
Weight	59.1 kg (130 lb; 9.31 st)1
Turned pro	April 19, 2001
Plays	Right-handed; two-handed backhand
Career prize money	US$12,383,566
Singles
Career record	315–73 (81.2%)
Career titles	19
Highest ranking	No. 1 (August 22, 2005)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open	W (2008)
French Open	SF (2007)
Wimbledon	W (2004)
US Open	W (2006)
Major tournaments
WTA Championships	W (2004)
Doubles
Career record	23–17
Career titles	3
Highest ranking	No. 41 (June 14, 2004)
Australian Open	2R (2003, 2004)
US Open	2R (2003)
Last updated on: June 15, 2009.

Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (Russian: Мари́я Ю́рьевна Шара́пова​ (help·info), Mariya Yur’evna Shara'pova [pronounced Sha-RA-po-va]; born April 19, 1987) is a formerly World No. 1 and three time Grand Slam Russian professional tennis player. In 2004 at the age of 17, she won Wimbledon, defeating Serena Williams in the final.² She has since won the 2006 US Open, defeating Justine Henin in the final,³ and the 2008 Australian Open, defeating Ana Ivanović in the final.⁴ Sharapova has represented Russia in Fed Cup, although her appearances have been controversial.⁵

She has been featured in a number of modeling assignments, including a feature in Sports Illustrated. Sharapova was the most searched-for athlete on Yahoo! in both 2005 and 2008.¹⁶⁷ In July 2008, as a result of her success both on and off court, she was the world's highest-paid female athlete earning $26 million.⁸ Sharapova is on track to repeat this feat again in 2009; despite playing few matches due to injury Sharapova made $22 million between June 2008 and June 2009.⁹

Starting in 2007, Sharapova began to suffer from a right shoulder injury. She underwent surgery and as a result did not play a professional singles match from August 2008 to May 2009. Because of her inability to play because of injury, she was unable to defend her ranking points. As a result, she was ranked #102 on May 18, 2009. She is currently ranked World No. 60 as of June 21, 2009.

Playing style

Sharapova is a power baseliner, with power, depth, and angles on her forehand and backhand.¹⁰ Instead of using a traditional volley or overhead smash, she often prefers to hit a powerful "swinging" volley when approaching the net or attacking lobs.¹¹ Sharapova is thought to have good speed around the court, especially considering her height.¹⁰ At the beginning of 2008, some observers noted that Sharapova had developed her game, showing improved movement and footwork and the addition of a drop shot and sliced backhand to her repertoire of shots.¹²¹³ Sharapova is known for on-court "grunting", which reached a recorded 101 decibels during a match at Wimbledon in 2005.¹⁴ Monica Seles suggested that grunting is involuntary and a part of tennis.¹⁵ When questioned by the media, Sharapova urged the media to "just watch the match."¹⁶

Serve

Sharapova's first and second serves are powerful.¹⁰ She is often able to produce an ace (or a service winner) or provoke a weak reply from her opponent, which allows her to take control of the rally immediately.^{citation needed} A serious shoulder injury in early 2007, however, reduced the effectiveness of her serve for several months. She routinely produced eight to ten double faults in many of her matches during this period.¹⁷ She later changed her service motion to a more compacted backswing (as opposed to her traditional elongated backswing) in an attempt to put less stress on her shoulder.¹⁸ Two-time US Open singles champion Tracy Austin believes that Sharapova often loses confidence in the rest of her game when she experiences problems with her serve and consequently produces more unforced errors and generally plays more tentatively.¹⁹

Sharapova's shoulder injury, making her miss parts of the season, also took effect on her playing style. As now she uses a more abbreviated lift up serve rather than a swing. However, the only big change since her comeback was the serve.^{citation needed}

Surfaces

Because she predicates her game on power, Sharapova's preferred surfaces are the fast-playing hard and grass courts, and she is not as well-suited to the slower clay courts.²⁰ Sharapova has admitted that she is not as comfortable with her movement on clay compared with other court surfaces²⁰ and once described herself as like a "cow on ice" after a match on clay.²⁰ Her limitations on this surface are reflected in her career results. The French Open is the only Grand Slam singles title she has not yet won, though she reached the semifinals there in 2007. She has won 18 titles on other surfaces and won her first Women's Tennis Association tour title on clay during her eighth year as a touring professional.

Biography

Early life

Sharapova was born in 1987 to Yuri and Elena, ethnic Russians, in the town of Nyagan in Siberia, Russia. Her parents moved from Gomel, Belarus after the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986 affected the region.²¹ When Sharapova was two, the family moved to Sochi where her father befriended Aleksandr Kafelnikov, whose son Yevgeny would go on to become a Grand Slam champion. Aleksandr gave Sharapova her first tennis racket at the age of four, whereupon she began practicing regularly with her father in a local park.²²

Age six, Sharapova attended a tennis clinic in Moscow run by Martina Navratilova, who recommended professional training at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida.²² Sharapova and her father, neither of whom could speak English, moved to Florida in 1994. Visa restrictions prevented Sharapova's mother from joining them for two years.²¹ Sharapova's father took various low-paying jobs, including dish washing, to fund her lessons before she was admitted to the academy. In 1995, she was signed by IMG and finally enrolled in the academy.²²

Career

2001–03: Professional debut

Sharapova turned professional in 2001 but played just one tournament that year. The following year, the 14 year-old Sharapova became the youngest female to reach the final of both the junior Australian Open²³ and the junior Wimbledon Championships.^{citation needed} She also won three titles on the International Tennis Federation Circuit and played her first matches on the main Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour, including winning a match at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, a Tier I event.

Sharapova started playing tour events full-time in 2003. She lost in the first round of both the Australian Open and the French Open.²⁴ She lost in the fourth round at Wimbledon after having defeating two seeded players.²⁴ After being defeated in the second round of the US Open,²⁴ Sharapova won her first two Tier III titles  – the Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo in October²⁴ and the Bell Challenge in Quebec City four weeks later.²⁴ She finished the year ranked World No. 32 and was named the WTA Newcomer of the Year.

2004

Sharapova was defeated in the third round of the Australian Open²⁵ and lost in the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, a Tier I event.²⁵ On hard courts, she lost in the semifinals of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee²⁵ and in the fourth round of both the Pacific Life Open²⁵ and the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida.²⁵

During the spring clay court season, Sharapova lost in the third round of the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin²⁵ and the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, both of which were Tier I events.²⁵ At the French Open, her first Grand Slam singles event,²⁵ she was defeated in the quarterfinals. Leading up to Wimbledon, Sharapova won her third career title at the DFS Classic in Birmingham, United Kingdom.²⁵ Seeded 13th and aged 17, Sharapova won her first Grand Slam title when she won the singles title at Wimbledon.²⁵

During the North American summer hard court season leading up to the US Open, Sharapova played three tournaments. She lost in the quarterfinals of the Tier I Acura Classic in San Diego,²⁵ the third round of the Tier I Rogers Cup in Montreal,²⁵ and the second round of the Tier II Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut. At the US Open, Sharapova was defeated in the third round by Mary Pierce.²⁵

In three tournaments in Asia during the autumn, Sharapova lost in the semifinals of one, won the second tournament, and successfully defended her title at the Japan Open Tennis Championships.²⁵ In her first Tier I tournament final, Sharapova lost to Alicia Molik at the Zurich Open.²⁵ After losing in the semifinals of the Advanta Championships Philadelphia,²⁵ she ended the year by winning the 2004 WTA Tour Championships, defeating an injured Serena Williams in the final.²⁵

Her five titles during the year were matched or bettered only by Lindsay Davenport (7) and Justine Henin (5). Sharapova topped the prize money list for the year and finished 2004 ranked World No. 4.

2005–06

Sharapova at Indian Wells in 2005.

Sharapova started 2005 by reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open, where she lost to the eventual champion.²⁶ In February at the Toray Pan Pacific Open, Sharapova defeated top ranked Lindsay Davenport in the final²⁶ and went on to win the final of the Qatar Total Open in Doha.²⁶ In the semifinals of the Tier I Pacific Life Open, she lost to World No. 1 Davenport 6/0 6/0.²⁶²⁷ Similarly, Sharapova lost to Kim Clijsters in the final of the Tier I NASDAQ-100 Open in Key Biscayne, Florida.²⁶

On clay, Sharapova lost in the quarterfinals of the Tier I Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin²⁶ and the semifinals of the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia.²⁶ At the French Open, Sharapova lost in the quarterfinals again.²⁶ On grass, Sharapova successfully defended her title at the DFS Classic, although her 24-match winning streak on grass was broken in the Wimbledon semifinals.²⁶

The injury Davenport sustained at Wimbledon prevented her from playing tournaments and earning new ranking points to replace those that were expiring from the previous year. Sharapova, with fewer points to defend, became the first Russian woman to hold the World No. 1 ranking on August 22, 2005.²⁸ Her reign lasted only one week, however, as Davenport reclaimed the top ranking after winning the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut.²⁸

Sharapova celebrating after winning the 2006 US Open.

Although top seeded Sharapova lost in the semifinals of the US Open, she once again leapfrogged Davenport to take the World No. 1 ranking on September 12, 2005, retaining it for six weeks before relinquishing it again to Davenport following the Zurich Open.²⁸ To conclude the year, Sharapova failed to defend her title at the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships.²⁶ She won three titles and was the only player to reach three Grand Slam semifinals, finished 2005 ranked World No. 4, and became the top-ranked Russian for the first time.

Sharapova lost in the semifinals of the 2006 Australian Open²⁹ and in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships.²⁹ Sharapova claimed her first title of 2006 and eleventh of her career at the Pacific Life Open²⁹ but lost in the final of the NASDAQ-100 Open.²⁹

On clay, Sharapova participated only at the French Open because of injury²⁹ and was eliminated in the fourth round.²⁹ On grass, Sharapova was unsuccessful in her attempt to win the DFS Classic for the third consecutive year, losing instead in the semifinals.²⁹ At Wimbledon, Sharapova was defeated in the semifinals for the second consecutive year.²⁹

Sharapova claimed her second title of the year at the Acura Classic.²⁹ At the JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles, Sharapova was eliminated in the semifinals.²⁹ As the third seed at the US Open, Sharapova defeated World No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo in the semifinals²⁹ and World No. 2 Justine Henin in the final²⁹ to win her second Grand Slam singles title.²⁹

That autumn, Sharapova won the Tier I Zurich Open final against Daniela Hantuchová²⁹ and beat fellow Russian and defending champion Nadia Petrova to clinch the Generali Ladies Linz tournament,²⁹ her fifth title of 2006 and the 15th title of her career. To end the year, Sharapova lost in the semifinals of the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships to eventual champion Henin.²⁹

Sharapova finished 2006 ranked World No. 2. She was the top Russian player for the second year. She won three Tier I titles, more than any other player. Her total of five titles was second only to Henin's six.^{citation needed}

2007

Sharapova at the 2007 Australian Open.

For the first time, Sharapova reached the singles final of the Australian Open, which no Russian woman had yet won. However, Serena Williams, ranked World No. 81, overpowered Sharapova in the final.³⁰ By reaching the final, Sharapova recaptured the World No. 1 ranking.²⁸

Partly due to hamstring and shoulder injuries that reduced the effectiveness of her serve, Sharapova did not win any of her next three tournaments, retiring from her semifinal match at the Toray Pan Pacific Open and losing in the fourth round at both the Pacific Life Open and the Sony Ericsson Open. During this period, she also lost the World No. 1 ranking.³⁰ The shoulder injury also forced Sharapova to miss most of the clay court season for the second consecutive year. Her only tune-up for the French Open was the Istanbul Cup, where she lost in the semifinals.³⁰ She reached the semifinals of the French Open for the first time in her career but fell to Ivanović 6–2, 6–1.³⁰ On grass, Sharapova lost in the final of the DFS Classic to Jelena Janković.³⁰ At Wimbledon, Sharapova was defeated in the fourth round by the eventual champion.³⁰

Sharapova's first summer hardcourt tournament was the Acura Classic, where she won her first title of the year, fifth Tier I career title, and 16th singles title of her career by defeating Schnyder in the final.³⁰ At the JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles the next week, a shin injury forced her to withdraw from her semifinal match shortly before the match started. Nevertheless, she clinched the US Open Series for the first time.²⁸

Seeded second at the US Open, Sharapova won her first two matches with the loss of only two games³⁰ but lost her third round match to 18 year-old Agnieszka Radwańska.³¹ It was Sharapova's earliest exit at a Grand Slam singles tournament since the 2004 US Open where she lost in the same round.²⁸ Sharapova did not play again until the Kremlin Cup in October, where she lost in the second round.³⁰ The recurring shoulder problem forced Sharapova to withdraw from the Zurich Open and the Generali Ladies Linz tournament,³⁰ at both of which she was the defending champion. The early loss and the withdrawals caused Sharapova to fall out of the top five in the rankings for the first time in three years.²⁸

Sharapova qualified for the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships only because Venus Williams withdrew from the tournament.²⁸ She won all three of her Red Group round-robin matches.³⁰ Sharapova then defeated the runner-up of the Yellow Group, World No. 7 Anna Chakvetadze, in the semifinals 6–2, 6–2.³⁰ In the final, Sharapova lost to World No. 1 Henin in 3 hours and 24 minutes. Sharapova ended the year ranked World No. 5, her fourth consecutive year-end finish 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 Kuznetsova) and for the first time since 2002 she won just one singles title.²⁸

2008

As the fifth-seeded player at the Australian Open,³² Sharapova defeated World No. 1 Justine Henin in the quarterfinals 6–4, 6–0,³³ ending the latter's 32-match winning streak.³⁴ She then beat Jelena Janković in the semifinals³⁵³⁶ and Ana Ivanović in the final.³⁵ She is the only female Russian ever to have won the Australian Open and did so without losing a set.

After the Australian Open, Sharapova extended her winning streak to 18 matches before finally losing.³⁵ She participated for the first time³⁷ in Fed Cup against Israel³⁵ and won the Tier I Qatar Total Open.³⁵ In the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open, Sharapova lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova.³⁵ Sharapova then withdrew from the Sony Ericsson Open, citing a shoulder injury.³⁸

Sharapova playing at the Pacific Life Open in 2008.

She was the top-seeded player at the Tier II Bausch & Lomb Championships.³⁵ After playing her longest ever match (3 hours, 26 minutes)³⁹ in the third round,⁴⁰ and a marathon quarterfinal,⁴¹ Sharapova received a walkover to the final after Davenport withdrew from the tournament.⁴² In her first career clay court final,⁴³ Sharapova defeated Dominika Cibulková.³⁵

The following week at the Tier I Family Circle Cup, Sharapova lost to Serena Williams in the quarterfinals 7–5, 4–6, 6–1.³⁵ This was Sharapova's fourth consecutive loss to Williams.⁴⁴ Seeded second at the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Sharapova defeated Patty Schnyder in the quarterfinals but bowed out of her semifinal against Janković³⁵ because of a calf injury.⁴⁵ Sharapova nevertheless regained the World No. 1 ranking because of Henin's sudden retirement from professional tennis and request to the Women's Tennis Association that her own ranking be removed immediately.⁴⁶

Sharapova was the top-seeded player at the French Open³⁵ and was within two points⁴⁷ of being knocked out by Evgeniya Rodina in the first round.⁴⁸ Sharapova ultimately lost to 13th-seeded and eventual runner-up Dinara Safina³⁵ in the fourth round.⁴⁹ She relinquished the World No. 1 ranking as a result of this loss.⁵⁰

Sharapova withdrew from the grass court DFS Classic because of a shoulder injury sustained during the French Open.⁵¹ At Wimbledon, Sharapova was seeded third but lost in the second round to compatriot and World No. 159 Alla Kudryavtseva 6–2, 6–4.³⁵ This was her earliest loss ever at Wimbledon.⁵²

At the Rogers Cup, Sharapova defeated Marta Domachowska of Poland,⁵³ although she needed treatment for her right shoulder. She then withdrew from the tournament.⁵⁴ A MRI scan revealed that Sharapova had been suffering from a rotator cuff tear since April. Thus, Sharapova missed both the Beijing Olympics and the US Open. On September 26, she announced on her website that she was taking the rest of the year off, thus missing the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships.⁵⁵

Sharapova finished the year ranked World No. 9.⁵⁶ She won three titles and had a win-loss record of 32–4.

2009

Sharapova withdrew from her first scheduled official tournament of the year, the Australian Open, where she was the defending champion, for not being in match condition.⁵⁷⁵⁸ In February, Sharapova withdrew from the Open GDF Suez tournament and the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships.¹⁵⁸

Sharapova made the quarter-finals of the 2009 French Open.

She and doubles partner, Elena Vesnina, lost in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open. She then withdrew from the singles competition at the Sony Ericsson Open, saying that she felt her shoulder needed more rest.⁵⁹ In May, she announced her withdrawal from the Internazionali BNL d'Italia and the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open.⁶⁰ Her long hiatus caused her world ranking dropped to as low as World No. 126 as of May 20, 2009. She made her comeback at the 2009 Warsaw Open as a wildcard, but she lost 6–2, 6–2 to Alona Bondarenko in the quarterfinals. After this, her world ranking recovered to No. 102.

The 2009 French Open in Paris was her first Grand Slam tournament since the Wimbledon 2008. Unseeded at the tournament, she reached the fourth round before her run was ended by Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova in the quarter-finals, 6–0, 6–2. This was also the first time she was bagelled since 2005.^{citation needed} Sharapova participated in the 2009 AEGON Classic, but was defeated by Na Li 6–4, 6–4 in the semifinals. She was seeded 24 in the 2009 Wimbledon Championships despite her low ranking number of 59. Sharapova met Viktoriya Kutuzova of Ukraine in the first round and defeated her 7-5, 6-4.⁶¹. But her second round opponent Gisela Dulko from Argentina defeated her 6–2 3–6 6–4.⁶²

Maria's next Sony Ericsson WTA Tour appearance will be the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford which will begin on July 27.  Maria will then play the  LA Women's Tennis Championships presented by Herbalife in Los Angeles the following week, it is another Premier $700K event.  After a break of a week, Maria will be playing the Rogers Cup in Toronto which begins on 17 August and that is a Premier $2M event.  Maria's next tournament will be the final Grand Slam of the year at the US Open in New York which will start on August 31.  Maria has played this event 5 times before and her Best result was winning it in 2006.

Fed Cup participation

Sharapova playing for the Russian Fed Cup team against Israel in 2008.

The behaviour of Sharapova's father during her matches on the WTA Tour, combined with a perceived lack of commitment by her to the Fed Cup, has made her selection for the Russian Fed Cup team cause controversy in the past.

After Sharapova had beaten fellow Russian Anastasia Myskina at the 2004 WTA Tour Championships, Myskina criticised Sharapova's father saying : "He was just yelling and screaming instructions to her and I thought he just might jump right on the court at one point in the match." At the Fed Cup semi-finals two weeks later Myskina stated she would stop playing for Russia if Sharapova joined the Russian team the following season : "If she joins our team next season you won't see me there for sure. His behaviour is totally incorrect, simply rude. I don't want to be around people like him." Larisa Neiland, assistant to Russia Fed Cup captain Shamil Tarpishchev, added : "Her father's behaviour (at the WTA Tour Championships) was simply outrageous. I just don't see how he could work with the rest of us." However Tarpishchev himself played down the problem : "I feel that things will calm down soon and we'll have Myskina, Sharapova, Kuznetsova and everyone else playing for Russia." ⁶³

At the end of 2005, Sharapova stated she was now keen to make her Fed Cup debut⁶⁴ and was set to play against Belgium in April 2006, but withdrew.⁶⁵ Sharapova later withdrew from ties against Spain in April 2007⁶⁶ and against the United States in July 2007⁶⁷ 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.⁶⁸ 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 practice partner but if you can't play how then can you practice?"⁶⁹

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 Pe'er, helping Russia to a 4–1 victory. Sharapova, however, did not play in Russia's Fed Cup semifinal or final later that year due to her injuries.^{citation needed}

Outside tennis

Sharapova has lived in the United States since moving there at the age of seven but retains her Russian citizenship.⁷⁰ She has a home in Manhattan Beach, California⁷¹ and in early 2008, purchased a penthouse apartment in Netanya, Israel.⁷² Sharapova lists fashion, movies, music and reading the Sherlock Holmes and Pippi Longstocking series as among her off-court interests,²⁸ while she has also talked in the past about how she takes hip-hop dance classes.⁷³

At the 2004 US Open, Sharapova, along with several other Russian female tennis players, wore a black ribbon in observance of the tragedy after the Beslan school hostage crisis, which took place only days before.⁷⁴ In 2005, she donated around US$50,000 to those affected by the crisis.²⁸ 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 stated at the time that she was planning to travel back to the area after Wimbledon in 2008,⁷⁵ though it is unknown whether this happened.

In July 2008, Sharapova sent a message on DVD to the memorial service of Emily Bailes, who had performed the coin toss ahead of the 2004 Wimbledon final that Sharapova had gone on to win.⁷⁶

Sharapova has often implied that she desires an early retirement. Following the retirement of 25-year-old Justine Henin, Sharapova said, "If I was 25 and I'd won so many Grand Slams, I'd quit too."⁷⁷ In an interview after the 2008 Australian Open, she balked at the idea of playing for another ten years, saying that she hoped to have "nice husband and a few kids" by then.⁷⁸

Endorsements

Arguably, the combination of her tennis success and physical beauty have enabled her to secure commercial endorsements that greatly exceed in value her tournament winnings.⁷⁹⁸⁰ In April 2005, People named her one of the 50 most beautiful celebrities in the world. In 2006, Maxim ranked Sharapova the hottest athlete in the world for the fourth consecutive year. She posed in a six-page bikini photoshoot spread in the 2006 Valentine's Day issue of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, alongside 25 scantily-clad supermodels.[1]

In a poll run by Britain's FHM magazine, she was voted the seventh most eligible bachelorette,⁸¹ based on both "wealth and looks."

Sharapova used the Prince Tour Diablo for part of 2003 and then used several different Prince racquets until the US Open. She gave the racquet she used in the 2004 Wimbledon final to Regis Philbin when taping Live with Regis and Kelly. Sharapova began using the Prince Shark OS at that tournament and had a major part in the production of the Shark racquet.^{citation needed} She then switched to the Prince O3 White racquet in January 2006. Because of Sharapova's various shoulder injuries, she switched to the Prince O3 Speedport Black Longbody in July 2008.^{citation needed}

In June 2007, Forbes magazine listed her as the highest-paid female athlete in the world, with annual earnings of over US$23 million,⁸² the majority of which was from endorsements and sponsorships. In a later interview, she said, "You know, one of the greatest things about being an athlete and, you know, making money is realizing that you can help, you know, help the world, and especially children, who I absolutely love working with."⁸³

Sharapova has also been depicted in many tennis-related video games, along with such players as Daniela Hantuchová, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams, and Anna Kournikova. Some of the titles are Top Spin (Playstation 2 version), Top Spin 2, Smash Court Tennis 3, Virtua Tennis 3, and Top Spin 3. She has also recently been featured in Virtua Tennis 2009 and she will be featured in Grand Slam Tennis by EA Games.

Upon hearing that Sports Illustrated had named her in 2006 as the world's best-paid female athlete, Sharapova said, apparently only a little tongue-in-cheek, "It's never enough. Bring on the money. There's no limit to how much you can make."⁸⁴

Career statistics and awards

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Maria Sharapova

• Official website
• Maria Sharapova profile on the WTA Tour's official website

Maria Sharapova Achievements v • d • e Women's Tennis Association (WTA) World No. 1 players Chris Evert (1975/1985 - 260 w) · Evonne Goolagong (1976 - 2 w) · / Martina Navrátilová (1978/1987 - 331 w) · Tracy Austin (1980 - 22 w) · Steffi Graf (1987/1997 - 377 w) · // Monica Seles (1991/1996 - 178 w) · Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (1995 - 12 w) · Martina Hingis (1997/2001 - 209 w) · Lindsay Davenport (1998/2006 - 98 w) · Jennifer Capriati (2001/2002 - 17 w) · Venus Williams (2002 - 11 w) · Serena Williams (2002/2009 - 72 w) · Kim Clijsters (2003/2006 - 19 w) · Justine Henin (2003/2008 - 117 w) · Amélie Mauresmo (2004/2006 - 39 w) · Maria Sharapova (2005/2008 - 17 w) · Ana Ivanović (2008 - 12 w) · Jelena Janković (2008/2009 - 18 w) · Dinara Safina (2009 - 11 w) WTA rankings incepted on November 3, 1975 · (year first held/year last held - number of weeks (w)) · current No. 1 in bold, as of June 29, 2009 v • d • e WTA Year-end championships winners (1971) Billie Jean King • (1972) Chris Evert • (1973) Chris Evert • (1974) Evonne Goolagong • (1975) Chris Evert • (1976) Evonne Goolagong • (1977) Chris Evert • (1978) Martina Navrátilová • (1979) Martina Navrátilová  • (1980) Tracy Austin • (1981) Martina Navrátilová • (1982) Sylvia Hanika • (1983) Martina Navrátilová • (1984) Martina Navrátilová • (1985) Martina Navrátilová • (1986-1) Martina Navrátilová • (1986-2) Martina Navrátilová  • (1987) Steffi Graf • (1988) Gabriela Sabatini • (1989) Steffi Graf • (1990) Monica Seles • (1991) Monica Seles • (1992) Monica Seles • (1993) Steffi Graf • (1994) Gabriela Sabatini • (1995) Steffi Graf • (1996) Steffi Graf • (1997) Jana Novotná • (1998) Martina Hingis • (1999) Lindsay Davenport • (2000) Martina Hingis • (2001) Serena Williams • (2002) Kim Clijsters • (2003) Kim Clijsters • (2004) Maria Sharapova • (2005) Amélie Mauresmo • (2006) Justine Henin • (2007) Justine Henin • (2008) Venus Williams v • d • e Women's Tennis Association: Top Russian female singles tennis players as of 22 June 2009 1. Dinara Safina (1 ▬) 2. Elena Dementieva (4 ▬) 3. Svetlana Kuznetsova (5 ▬) 4. Vera Zvonareva (7 ▬) 5. Nadia Petrova (10 ▬) 6. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (29 ▲) 7. Anna Chakvetadze (30 ▲) 8. Alisa Kleybanova (31 ▼) 9. Elena Vesnina (37 ▲) 10. Ekaterina Makarova (46 ▬) 11. Vera Dushevina (49 ▲) 12. Maria Kirilenko (59 ▼) 13. Maria Sharapova (60 ▼) 14. Alla Kudryavtseva (70 ▼)