Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (Russian born April 19, 1987) is a Russian
professional tennis player, currently ranked World No. 2.. Her
parents are originally from Gomel, Belarus,
but moved to Russia in 1986 in the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear
accident. Sharapova was born in Nyagan, Russia, the following year.
Career
At the age of three, Sharapova moved with her family to the resort
town of Sochi, beginning to play tennis at the age of four, using
a racquet given to her by Yevgeny Kafelnikov's father. At age five
or six, at a tennis clinic in Moscow, Sharapova was spotted by Martina
Navratilova, who urged her parents to get her serious coaching in
the United States.
In 2004, Sharapova became the second youngest Wimbledon women's champion in the Open Era (after Martina Hingis) by defeating defending two-time champion Serena Williams in straight sets (6-1, 6-4). In the process she also became the first Russian ever to win that tournament.
A 6 ft 2 in blonde, Sharapova is regarded by many as possessing a natural beauty and figure and has done some modeling, having signed a contract in November 2003 with IMG Models. She enjoys fashion and is known to read celebrity magazines. However, she says she does not want to overdo these activities, preferring to focus on her tennis. She is often compared to Anna Kournikova, also a Russian Bollettieri student and model. However, Sharapova, Bollettieri, and Kournikova all reject the comparison.
From June 2004 until her Wimbledon semi-final appearance in 2005,
Sharapova had a 22-match winning streak on grass, including back-to-back
Birmingham titles and the Wimbledon crown. Sharapova's huge success
continued after winning Wimbledon, with a victory at the WTA Season-Ending
Championships and consistent results.
In April 2005, Sharapova was listed by People Magazine as among the
50 most beautiful celebrities in the world. In June of 2005, Forbes
magazine listed Sharapova as the highest-paid female athlete in the
world, with annual earnings of $18 million. A signficant portion of
this amount came from endorsements.
Defending her Wimbledon title in 2005 proved to be a simple enough task at first, with Sharapova sailing through to the semi-finals with ease without losing a set. However, she dropped her first set of the tournament against a rejuvenated Venus Williams and lost the match 6-7 1-6 in one of the most thrilling and masterful displays of power and accuracy seen in the women's game. Sharapova's streak on grass was ended, as was her quest for the No. 1 ranking, with Lindsay Davenport, who lost a historic match to Venus Williams in the 2005 Wimbledon final, holding firm.
However, a back injury Davenport sustained in the Wimbledon final
meant that she could not defend her titles won during the US hard court
season of 2004. Because of this, she lost valuable ranking points.
Sharapova was also suffering from an injury and did not complete a
tournament during the season; however, she had fewer points to defend
and therefore rose to the No. 1 ranking on August 22, 2005. However,
Sharapova's reign was shortlived, lasting only a week after Davenport
re-ascended after winning the New Haven title.