Maria Sharapova: The Glamorous Queen of Tennis

Maria Sharapova is the current sensation of the tennis world. With the rare combination of talent and beauty she reigns in the court and also the glamour world. But her starting point was not a bed of roses. On 19 April in 1987 she was born in a Siberian town of Russia. Earlier her parents left Belarus to save the expecting baby from the radiation of the Chernobyl disaster.

In 1989 they moved to Sochi, a resort town. At the age of 4 luckily Maria met the father of a tennis champion got a tennis racquet as a gift and this changed her course of life. Little Maria started playing and practicing tennis.

While performing at a tennis clinic she got the notice of tennis legend Martina Navratilova. Martina was much amazed at her talent and advised her father to take Maria to a tennis academy of Florida, U.S. With little money and without knowing English her father took her to the U.S.A when she was only 7.

IMG sponsored her while her father took an odd job. She joined a tennis academy and practiced hard. Later her mother came to the U.S.A. and taught Maria. Maria never went to any formal school for studies.

In 2001 Maria started playing official tennis by joining the junior tennis. In that year she won 25 matches and lost only 3. The following year she won 26 matches. This year she also won three titles like previous year. Her WTA ranking was 186. In 2003 she joined the WTA tour and won 34 matches. She achieved two professional titles the Japan Open and Quebec City and her ranking was 32.

2004 was a turning point in her career. Maria stunned the tennis world as she won the Wimbledon women's singles title by beating champion player Serena Williams (6-1) (6-4). She was the first Russian to win a Wimbledon singles title.

She became the third youngest Wimbledon women's champion. From June 2004 to Wimbledon quarterfinal 2005 Maria won 22 straight matches on grass. Sharapova's success continued both in and out of court. She got huge commercial offers and endorsements.

2005 was also an important year for her. On 22nd August she became the first Russian player to become the number 1 tennis player. She lost her top position on 29 August but later regained it on September 12. Then again Sharapova lost her top position to Davenport on 24 October. This year she was beaten in the Wimbledon semifinal by Venus Williams (7-6) (6-1).

She was the only player in this year to reach Semifinal at 3 of 4 major tournaments. In 2005 Sharapova won 19 of 23 Grand Slam matches. She reached 2005 Australian Semifinal but was defeated by Serena Williams (2-6) (7-5) (8-6). Since Chmyreva in 1975 Sharapova was the first Russian woman to reach Australian Open Semifinal. In the U.S Open Semifinal she was beaten by Clijsters. Because of injury problem Sharapova withdrew from soma matches and also Canadian Open.

2006 is also a special year as she won her 2nd Grand Slam. At the beginning of this year Sharapova reached Australian Open Semifinal but lost to Justine Henin-Hardenne. In March she won 11th career tour singles title at Indian Wells defeating number 4 seed Elena Dementieva. In this tournament's history these two were the first Russians to reach the Final. Then she reached the Nasdaq 100 open but was beaten by Svetlana kuznetsova, 6-4, and 6-3. At the French Open Sarapova was defeated by Dinara Safina in the fourth round. Like last year this year again she was beaten at the Wimbledon Semifinal by the eventual winner.

This time the winner is Mauresmo, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. Sharapova achieved her 2nd title of 2006 at the Acura Classic defeating Clijsters. They played five times but this was her first victory against Clijsters. When Sharapova defeated number one player Mauresmo in a semifinal she became the hot favorite to win the U.S Open and she really became the winner after beating Henin-Hardenne in the final, 6-4, and 6-4. This was her 3rd title in 2006 and 13th WTA career title.

Next year Sharapova will play for her country Russia at the Federation Cup. The Russians are looking forward to it and expecting her with the team mates to bring the cup for them. Let's see whether she can fulfill their dream.

This tall (6 feet 2) player's achievement and award list is very long though she is so young. She was featured on cover of many popular magazines. ESPN and Forbes in 2005 listed her as the richest female athlete in the world. According to People's magazine she was one of the most beautiful people.

In 2005 Sharapova was one of the most marketable female athletes. From the beginning of her successful career she was flooded with numerous offers from the giant companies around the world. Nike, Canon, Motorola, Land Rover and other big companies have deals with her. Sharapova's success and glamorous presence are really helpful in endorsing their products. Maxim magazine named her as the hottest athlete of the world for four times. Her future in the commercials is very bright. She seems to enjoy it.

Maria Sharapova is very much aware of her personal beauty. In fact she knows how to present her attractively even in court. She likes wearing revealing outfit while fighting for a win. This Siberian siren has achieved a place with the supermodels in some magazines.

Back at home she likes to watch films and listen to music. Tennis is her passion. Besides this, she enjoys fashion, singing, dancing and movies. Her favorite cuisine is Thai and Russian and drinks are orangina and virgin strawberry daiquiris. She likes to read the Sherlock Holmes and Pippi Longstocking series

Maria is also interested in humanitarian act and has donated money for the poor children.

Her coach said that Sharapova plays without fear. She is really very confident.

Related Websites and Articles

http://cbs.sportsline.com/tennis/players/playerpage/385878

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Sharapova

http://www.tennisrulz.com/players/sharapova/biography.htm

http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/players/403

http://www.masha-sharapova.com/

http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Sharapova/Sharapova_bio.html

http://www.tennisrulz.com/articles/200606/43.htm

http://www.topix.net/content/ap/3301023625429050158938984275520550201948

http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Sharapova/Sharapova_numbers.html

http://www.sharapova.org.uk/