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Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova
(Russian;
born April
19, 1987)
is a former World
No. 1 Russian
professional tennis
player, and currently World No. 4. Her parents are originally from Homiel,
Belarus,
but moved to Russia
in 1986
in the aftermath of the Chernobyl
nuclear accident. Sharapova
was born in Nyagan,
Russia,
the following year. While having Belorussian
roots and residing in the USA,
Sharapova holds Russian citizenship.
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). She also became the
first Russian ever to win that tournament.
Maria Sharapova uses the Prince Shark Racket and consequently
the popularity of the racket has gone through the roof.
A 6 ft 2 in. and growing blonde, Sharapova is regarded by
many as possessing a natural beauty and figure and has done some modeling
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 November 2004, Sharapova signed a deal to represent Canon
Inc. and promotes both their cameras and office products.
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 significant 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, but she had fewer points to defend and therefore rose to the
No. 1 ranking on August 22, 2005. Sharapova's reign was short-lived, lasting
only a week after Davenport re-ascended after winning the New Haven title.
Sharapova rose to the No. 1 ranking again on September 12, 2005 despite losing
in the Semi-finals of the US Open.
Her loss in the semifinal of the 2005 US Open against Kim
Clijsters marked the fourth time that season that she lost at a Grand Slam
tournament against the eventual champion: Australian Open-SF-Serena Williams,
French Open-QF-Justine Henin-Hardenne, Wimbledon-SF-Venus Williams, US Open-SF-Kim
Clijsters.
Education
Sharapova studies via correspondence on the internet with
the Keystone High School home schooling program and has a liking for sociology.
As of 2004, she is in her second year of high school at 18 years of age.
(source: Inside Tennis magazine, Sept. issue)
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