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| '''Maria Yuryevna Sharapova''' (shah-RAH-puh-vuh; {{lang-ru|Мари́я Ю́рьевна Шара́пова}}; born ], ]) is a former ''']''' ]n professional ] player and ]. Her parents are originally from ], ], but moved to ] in ] in the aftermath of the ]. Sharapova was born in ], Russia, the following year. She now lives in the ] but retains Russian citizenship. | '''Maria Yuryevna Sharapova''' (shah-RAH-puh-vuh; {{lang-ru|Мари́я Ю́рьевна Шара́пова}}; born ], ]) is a former ''']''' ]n professional ] player and ]. Her parents are originally from ], ], but moved to ] in ] in the aftermath of the ]. Sharapova was born in ], Russia, the following year. She now lives in the ] but retains Russian citizenship. | ||
| ==Career== | |||
| At the age of three, Sharapova moved with her family to the ] town of ], beginning to play tennis at the age of four, using a ] given to her by ]'s father. At age five or six, at a tennis clinic in ], Sharapova was spotted by ], who urged her parents to get her serious coaching in the ]. | |||
| In ], Sharapova became the third youngest ] women's champion (after ] and ]) and second youngest in the ] by defeating defending two-time champion ] in straight sets (6-1, 6-4). She also became the first Russian ever to win that tournament. | |||
| Maria Sharapova is the hottest babe in WTA Tennis | |||
| At 6 ft 2 in., Sharapova is regarded by many as possessing a natural beauty and figure and has done some ] in November ] with ]. She enjoys ] and is known to read ] magazines. However, she says she does not want to overdo these activities, preferring to focus on her tennis. She is often compared to ], also a Russian, a ] student, and a model. However, Sharapova, Bollettieri, and Kournikova all reject the comparison. | |||
| From June ] until her Wimbledon semi-final appearance in ], 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 ], Sharapova signed a deal to represent ] and promotes both their ]s and office products. | |||
| ] in 2005]] | |||
| In April ], Sharapova was listed by '']'' as among the 50 most beautiful celebrities in the world. In June ], ] 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 ] 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 ] 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 ], who lost a historic match to Venus Williams in the ] Wimbledon final, holding firm. | |||
| However, a ] that Davenport sustained in the Wimbledon final meant that she could not defend her titles won during the US hard court season of ]. 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 ], ]. 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 ], ] despite losing in the Semi-finals of the ]. | |||
| Her loss in the semifinal of the ] US Open against Kim Clijsters marked the fourth time that season that she lost at a ] against the eventual champion: ]-SF-Serena Williams, ]-QF-Justine Henin-Hardenne, Wimbledon-SF-Venus Williams, US Open-SF-Kim Clijsters. That streak was broken in January ], when Sharapova lost in the Australian Open semi-final to ]. Henin-Hardenne went on to lose in the final of the ] to ]. | |||
| ] | |||
| In February ], Sharapova featured in a six-page ] photoshoot spread in the '']'' annual magazine which debuted on ], along with 25 other scantily-clad ]. Sharapova joined the ranks of other ] 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 ] in the final, 6-1 6-2. This is her first title in ] and the 11th in career. Sharapova is the first Russian to reach the final of the Pacific Life Open. As Dementieva reached the final later, surprisingly defeating ], this was the first-ever all-Russian final at this Tier I tournament. | |||
| ] Magazine ranked Sharapova eighth among the "100 Sexiest Women in the World" in its 2006 List, up from her 36th placement in the previous year's edition. | |||
| ==Education== | ==Education== | ||
Revision as of 15:06, 8 June 2006
| ||
| Country: |  Russia
| |
| Residence: | Bradenton, Florida, USA | |
| Height: | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) | |
| Weight: | 59 kg (131 lb) | |
| Plays: | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) | |
| Turned pro: | 2001 | |
| Highest singles ranking: | 1 (2005/08/22) | |
| Highest doubles ranking: | 41 (2004/06/14) | |
| Singles titles: | 11 | |
| Doubles Titles: | 3 | |
| Career Prize Money: | $5,026,526 | |
| Grand Slam Record Titles: 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | SF (2005, 2006) | |
| French Open | QF (2004-05) | |
| Wimbledon | W (2004) | |
| U.S. Open | SF (2005) | |
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (shah-RAH-puh-vuh; Template:Lang-ru; born April 19, 1987) is a former World No. 1 Russian professional tennis player and model. 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. She now lives in the USA but retains Russian citizenship.
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 17 years of age. (source: Inside Tennis magazine, Sept. issue)
Awards
- WTA Newcomer of the Year
- WTA Player of the Year
- WTA Most Improved Player of the Year
- WTA Player Service
- ESPY Best Female Tennis Player
- Named Russia's tennis federation as the country's best female player for the year
- Awarded the honorary Master of Sports of Russia title
Trivia
- Says what she enjoys most about being a professional tennis player is the travelling/getting to meet new people and see new cultures.
- Is good friends with fellow Russian tennis player Maria Kirilenko, despite not getting along with many of the other female Russian tennis players.
- Is affectionately called "Masha".
- Is currently single. (Stated by herself on Total Request Live)
- Is ambidextrous, and was undecided about which hand to use dominantly up until her professional tennis career began.
Quotes
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- "Tennis gets me worked up. It's a drive! I forget about everything while playing and I don't care a damn about what is going on out of court".
- "I’ve been playing against older and stronger competition my whole life. It has made me a better tennis player and able to play against this kind of level despite their strength and experience".
- "I don’t follow other players or the tournaments they play. I have my own schedule and do my own thing".
- "I'm not the next anyone, I'm the first Maria Sharapova."
- "So this is just tennis. You wake up, you either step on your right foot or your left, and, you know, hopefully you step on your right."
- "In a few years, hopefully, the stories won't be about my grunting or my looks, but about me being a great tennis player. With Monica Seles, everyone started talking about her being a big grunter, but who cares now that she grunts? When she walks on court, everyone thinks she's a champion."
- "People always ask about young people like me being forced into things. I play tennis because I love it. I think Russians might be tougher than other people. When I arrived in America I was young, but I already knew what I wanted. I think that when you start from nothing, when you come from nothing, it makes you hungry. I am proud of where I came from and I know what I want. I want to win."
- "Well, I mean, why would you want to be No. 20 and then when you get to No. 20 it's like you don't want to be No. 1, you know? It's like shoot for the moon. If you miss, you'll still be among the stars, so..."
- "Well, you can't win every single day, that's just a fact. You know, it's impossible to win every single match, and it's one of those days where, you know, they lost. And, I mean, everyone's going to have a moment like that. There's only one winner in a tournament. So out of how many people in this draw, they're all going to be considered losers and only one's the winner. Unfortunately, that's just the sport we're in where, you know, you're either the winner, but the chance of that is slim, you know (laughing)."
- "I definitely feel Russian inside, even when I'm in America I feel Russian,"
- "It's good to finish the year with a win. But i didn't expect to win like that."
Grand Slam singles finals
Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 2004 | Wimbledon | Serena Williams | 6-1, 6-4 |
Titles (14)
Singles (11)
|
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| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | Sep 29, 2003 | Tokyo, Japan | Hard | Aniko Kapros (Hungary) | 2-6 6-2 7-6 |
| 2. | Oct 27, 2003 | Quebec City, Canada | Hard | Milagros Sequera (Venezuela) | 6-2 retired |
| 3. | Jun 7, 2004 | Birmingham, Great Britain | Grass | Tatiana Golovin (France) | 4-6 6-2 6-1 |
| 4. | Jun 21, 2004 | Wimbledon, London, Great Britain | Grass | Serena Williams (USA) | 6-1 6-4 |
| 5. | Sep 27, 2004 | Seoul, South Korea | Hard | Marta Domachowska (Poland) | 6-1 6-1 |
| 6. | Oct 4, 2004 | Tokyo, Japan | Hard | Mashona Washington (USA) | 6-0 6-1 |
| 7. | Nov 8, 2004 | WTA Championships, Los Angeles, USA | Hard | Serena Williams (USA) | 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 |
| 8. | Feb 6, 2005 | Tokyo, Japan | Carpet | Lindsay Davenport (USA) | 6-1 3-6 7-6 |
| 9. | Feb 21, 2005 | Doha, Qatar | Hard | Alicia Molik (Australia) | 4-6 6-1 6-4 |
| 10. | Jun 6, 2005 | Birmingham, Great Britain | Grass | Jelena Jankovic (Serbia & Montenegro) | 6-2 4-6 6-1 |
| 11. | Mar 18, 2006 | Indian Wells, USA | Hard | Elena Dementieva (Russia) | 6-1 6-2 |
Singles Finalist (4)
- 2004: Zurich (lost to Alicia Molik)
- 2005: Miami (lost to Kim Clijsters)
- 2006: Dubai (lost to Justine Henin-Hardenne)
- 2006: Miami (lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova)
Performance Timeline
| Tournament | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | SF | SF | 3r | 1r | - | 0 |
| French Open | 4r | QF | QF | 1r | - | 0 |
| Wimbledon | SF | W | 4r | - | 1 | |
| U.S. Open | SF | 3r | 2r | - | 0 | |
| Grand Slam Win-Loss | 8-2 | 19-4 | 15-3 | 4-4 | - | 46-13 |
| Tokyo | SF | W | 2r | - | - | 1 |
| Indian Wells | W | SF | 4r | 1r | 2r | 1 |
| Miami | F | F | 4r | 1r | - | 0 |
| Charleston | - | - | - | 1r | - | 0 |
| Berlin | - | QF | 3r | - | - | 0 |
| Rome | - | SF | 3r | - | - | 0 |
| San Diego | - | QF | - | - | 0 | |
| Montreal/Toronto | - | 3r | 1r | - | 0 | |
| Moscow | QF | - | - | - | 0 | |
| Zurich | - | F | - | - | 0 | |
| WTA Tour Championships | SF | W | - | - | 1 | |
| Tournaments played | 6 | 15 | 20 | 14 | 2 | 56 |
| Finals reached | 3 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 15 |
| Tournaments Won | 1 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 11 |
| Hardcourt Win-Loss | 16-2 | 29-7 | 34-11 | 20-8 | 1-2 | 100-30 |
| Clay Win-Loss | 3-1 | 9-3 | 8-3 | 5-2 | - | 25-9 |
| Grass Win-Loss | 10-1 | 12-0 | 9-2 | - | 31-3 | |
| Carpet Win-Loss | 5-2 | 5-1 | 1-1 | - | - | 11-4 |
| Overall Win-Loss | 24-5 | 53-12 | 55-15 | 34-12 | 1-2 | 167-46 |
| Year End Ranking | 4 | 4 | 32 | 186 | N/A |
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-8 (quarter finals up to finalist).
If ITF women's circuit (Hardcourt: 22-4; Clay: 9-1) participation is included, overall win-loss record stands at 198-51.
References
- "Maria puts world domination on hold". (Nov. 11, 2005). New Straits Times, p. 42.
External links
- Maria Sharapova at the Women's Tennis Association
- Maria Sharapova at IMDb
- The officail maria Sharapova website
- Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue: Maria Sharapova
| Preceded byLindsay Davenport | World No. 1 August 22, 2005 - August 28, 2005 September 12, 2005 - October 23, 2005 |
Succeeded byLindsay Davenport |
| Preceded byNadia Petrova | WTA Most Improved Player 2004 |
Succeeded byAna Ivanovic |
| Preceded byJustine Henin-Hardenne | WTA Player of the Year 2004 |
Succeeded byKim Clijsters |
| Women's Tennis Association (WTA) world No. 1 singles players | |
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She is FIT
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