Maria Sharapova
Biography
Maria
Yuryevna Sharapova (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 third youngest Wimbledon women's champion (after
Lottie Dod and Martina Hingis) and second youngest in the Open Era
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, a Bollettieri student, and a 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 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 that 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. That streak was broken in January 2006,
when Sharapova lost in the Australian Open semi-final to Justine
Henin-Hardenne. Henin-Hardenne went on to lose in the final of the
Australian Open to Amelie Mauresmo, retiring due to a stomach ailement.
In February
2006, Sharapova featured in a six-page bikini photoshoot spread
in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue annual magazine which debuted
on Valentine's Day, along with 25 other scantily-clad supermodels.
Sharapova joined the ranks of other athletes who have previously
appeared in the publication. On March 18, Sharapova, as No.3 seed,
claimed her first title of the year at the Pacific Life Open at
Indian Wells (a Tier 1 event), defeating No.4 seed Elena Dementieva
in the final, 6-1 6-2. This is her first title in 2006 and the 11th
in career. Note: Sharapova is the first Russian to reach the final
of the Pacific Life Open. As Dementieva reaches the final later,
surprisingly defeating Justine Henin-Hardenne, this is the first-ever
all-Russian final at this Tier I tournament.
Maria Sharapova Filmography
"Jimmy Kimmel
Live"
- Episode dated 21 December 2005 (2005) TV Episode .... Herself
"Matthew's Best Hit TV+"
- Episode dated 18 October 2005 (2005) TV Episode .... Herself
"Open Access"
- Viewers' Choice (2005) TV Episode .... Herself
- Doha & San Jose (2005) TV Episode .... Herself
- Year-End Championships (2004) TV Episode .... Herself
- Best of Open Access (2004) TV Episode .... Herself
- Miami (2004) TV Episode .... Herself
"Today"
... aka NBC News Today (USA: promotional title)
... aka The Today Show (USA)
- Episode dated 23 August 2005 (2005) TV Episode .... Herself
ESPY Awards (2005) (TV) .... Herself
"The Footy Show"
- Live from London (2005) TV Episode .... Herself
Stars for Stars: A Celebration of Tennis Excellence (2005) (TV)
.... Herself
Charity Jam (2005) (TV) .... Herself
"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno"
- Episode dated 16 July 2004 (2004) TV Episode .... Herself
"Total Request Live"
... aka TRL (USA: promotional abbreviation)
... aka Total Request with Carson Daly (USA)
- Episode dated 7 July 2004 (2004) TV Episode .... Herself
"The Early Show"
... aka The Saturday Early Show (USA: weekend title)
- Episode dated 7 July 2004 (2004) TV Episode .... Herself
"Live with Regis and Kathie Lee"
... aka Live with Regis (USA: new title)
... aka Live with Regis & Kelly (USA: new title)
- Episode dated 6 July 2004 (2004) TV Episode .... Herself
"No Strings" (2003) TV Series .... Herself |
