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Maria Sharapova

Country (sports)	Russia
Residence	Bradenton, Florida, U.S.
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Turned pro	2001
Retired	Active
Plays	• Right • Two-handed backhand
Prize money	US$10,231,402
Singles
Career record	273-66
Career titles	16
Highest ranking	No.1 (August 22, 2005)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	F (2007, 2008*)
French Open	SF (2007)
Wimbledon	W (2004)
US Open	W (2006)
Doubles
Career record	23-16
Career titles	3
Highest ranking	41 (June 14, 2004)
Last updated on: November 12, 2007.

Maria Yuryevna Sharápova (Template:Lang-ru listen) (born April 19, 1987) is a Russian professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. As of November 19, 2007, she is the fifth-ranked female player in the world. At the end of 2006, she was the world's highest-paid female athlete.

Sharapova has won two Grand Slam singles titles. In 2004, she beat Serena Williams to take the Wimbledon title at the age of 17. Two years later, she defeated Justine Henin in the final of the 2006 U.S. Open. She also reached the final at the 2007 Australian Open.

At 6'2", Sharapova is one of the tallest women currently in the women's game. Only Lindsay Davenport has been a taller Grand Slam champion in the 21st Century.

Sharapova has in the past confirmed that her surname should be pronounced with the second syllable stressed, but English-speakers commonly and mistakenly stress the third syllable.

Playing style

Sharapova has been labeled as an offensive baseliner by tennis critics and fans. She is noted for having an excellent double-handed backhand and serves, particularly for the power and placement of these shots. She is also noted for having a good forehand. Likewise, critics claim that for her height, Sharapova has decent agility on-court. Being an offensive player, Sharapova is usually able to overpower her opponents or keep them on the run with sharp angles from the baseline. However, she is not known for being among the strongest of defensive players. She can lose precision on her groundstrokes when she is put on the run herself, a weakness that the best all-around players will exploit. Sharapova is also not a natural volleyer. Instead, she typically uses a powerful "swinging" volley for net approaches. Sharapova usually serves for placement, but uses enough power on her first and second serve that attacking that stroke is very difficult for her opponents. She has been trying to develop her "all-power" game, while also adding in slice, drop shots and drop volleys.

Due to shoulder injuries, after Wimbledon 2007, Sharapova adopted a new service action with a shorter backswing. Her first and second serve became less effective during the majority of the 2007 season. Previously, she had an elongated backswing to generate power on her serve. However, as a trade-off, the swing also placed incredible strain on her shoulder, leading to Sharapova's shoulder injury at the beginning of the 2007 season. With her shoulder injury apparently healed, Sharapova has since returned to her elongated service motion, and her serve has has been more effective in 2008.

Sharapova is ambidextrous; although she almost always employs a right-handed forehand and double-handed backhand, she is known to occasionally hit a left-handed shot. She is also renowned for her on-court "grunting," reaching 101 decibels (the volume of a police siren) during a match at Wimbledon 2005.

Career

2003: Early promise

Having turned professional in 2002, though playing just two WTA tournaments, Sharapova hit the Tour full-time in 2003. She qualified for both the Australian Open and French Open, though lost in the first round in both. Her first taste of real success came at Wimbledon; having been issued a wildcard, the 16-year-old progressed to the fourth round, defeating 11th seed Jelena Dokic en route, but then lost a tight match to compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Sharapova then won her first title at the Tier III tournament in Tokyo, and followed this up by winning another Tier III tournament in Quebec City. She finished a very successful first full year on the tour ranked 32nd, and was named the WTA Newcomer of the Year.

2004: Breakthrough year

Sharapova reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time at the 2004 French Open, where she lost to Paola Suarez. Immediately afterwards, she seized her third title at Birmingham, a grass-court Wimbledon warm-up event.

The 17-year-old Sharapova went into Wimbledon as the thirteenth seed, but tipped by some to perhaps cause some upsets. She made it to her second straight Grand Slam quarterfinal, where she defeated Ai Sugiyama 5-7, 7-5, 6-1, and then upset former world number one Lindsay Davenport 2-6, 7-6, 6-1 in the semifinals. She faced two-time defending champion Serena Williams in the final, with Williams the runaway favorite; however, Sharapova caused one of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon history by beating Williams 6-1, 6-4, to become the third-youngest Wimbledon women's champion (after Lottie Dod and Martina Hingis) and second-youngest in the open era, the first Russian to win that tournament and the lowest seed to win the women's event at that time (though Venus Williams would be seeded lower on her championship wins in 2005 and 2007).

At the U.S. Open a few months later, she lost to French player and two-time Grand Slam champion Mary Pierce in the third round. During the tournament, Sharapova and several other Russian women tennis players wore a black ribbon in observance of the tragedy after the Beslan school hostage crisis which took place only a few days before.

Sharapova continued her successful season by winning a title in Korea, defending her Tokyo title, and reaching her first Tier I final in Zurich. She ended 2004 with a victory at the season-ending WTA Championships, defeating an injured Serena Williams (4-6, 6-2, 6-4) after coming back from 0-4 in the final set. After losing to Sharapova in a semifinal of this event, Anastasia Myskina said: "He was just yelling and screaming instructions to her and I thought he just might jump right on the court at one point in the match."

Sharapova finished 2004 ranked fourth in the world and the second-ranked Russian (behind Myskina). She won five titles during the year, trailing only Lindsay Davenport's seven, and equal to Justine Henin-Hardenne. Sharapova also topped the prizewinnings list for the women that season.

2005: Consistency

Sharapova started the year by reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open, where she lost to eventual champion Serena Williams 2-6, 7-5, 8-6, despite holding three match points in the match. In February, she won her first Tier 1 event in Tokyo, and followed this up with success in Doha.

After reaching the French Open quarterfinals for the second straight year (losing to eventual champion Justine Henin-Hardenne), Sharapova successfully defended her Birmingham title, defeating Jelena Janković in the final to extend her winning streak on grass to 19 matches. She then moved on to the task of defending her Wimbledon title where she reached the semifinals without losing a set, but then was well beaten by a rejuvenated Venus Williams, the eventual champion, 7-6, 6-1. Sharapova's streak on grass was ended, as was her quest to dethrone top-ranked Lindsay Davenport.

However, Davenport injured her back in the Wimbledon final, preventing her from defending the ranking points she obtained during the U.S. hard-court season of 2004. Sharapova had fewer points to defend and therefore rose to the No. 1 ranking on August 22, 2005, becoming the first Russian woman to hold the position. Her reign lasted only one week, however, as Davenport re-ascended to the top ranking after winning the title in New Haven.

Sharapova reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open, losing to eventual champion Kim Clijsters. This meant that she had lost to the eventual champion at all four Grand Slam events that year. Nevertheless, the points accumulated meant she once again leapfrogged Davenport to take the No. 1 ranking again on September 12, 2005. She kept the No. 1 ranking for six weeks before relinquishing it again to Davenport following the 2005 Zurich Open.

Sharapova failed to defend her title at the WTA Championships, losing in the semifinals to eventual champion Amelie Mauresmo, but she still finished the year ranked number four again, and as the top-ranked Russian for the first time. She won three titles during the year, and was the only player that year to make it to three Grand Slam semi-finals.

2006: A second major title

At the 2006 Australian Open, Sharapova lost in the semifinals to Justine Henin-Hardenne 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, the only match of the year that she lost after winning the first set.

Sharapova claimed her first title of 2006 and eleventh of her career at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, a Tier I event at which she was the third seed. Sharapova and No. 4 seed Elena Dementieva became the first Russians to reach the event's final, with Sharapova triumphing 6-1, 6-2. Soon after, Sharapova lost in the final of the Nasdaq-100 Open to Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-3. Had Sharapova won the match, she would have became only the third player (after Steffi Graf and Kim Clijsters) in history to win the Indian Wells-Miami double.

Sharapova participated at the 2006 French Open without having played any of the clay-court tune-ups due to injury. After saving three match points in the first round against Mashona Washington, Sharapova was eliminated in the fourth round by Dinara Safina 7-5, 2-6, 7-5, after Sharapova led 5-1 in the third set. Sharapova lost 18 of the match's last 21 points.

Sharapova welcomed the onset of the grass season but failed to add a third successive Birmingham title to her collection, losing in the semifinals to American Jamea Jackson. Sharapova then moved onto Wimbledon, where she was defeated in the semifinals for the second consecutive year, losing to eventual winner and world number one Amélie Mauresmo 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

Sharapova claimed her second title of 2006 as the second seed at the Acura Classic in San Diego, defeating top-seeded Kim Clijsters 7-5, 7-5. This was Sharapova's first victory over Clijsters in five meetings, and many believe that this win was the turnaround for this season. She then played at Los Angeles, but lost to Elena Dementieva in the semifinals, her only summer hardcourt loss that year.

Sharapova entered the 2006 U.S. Open seeded third after Clijsters dropped out of the tournament with a wrist injury. Favored to reach the final, she struggled past Tatiana Golovin 7-6 7-6 in the quarterfinals, before defeating Mauresmo in a semifinal 6-0, 4-6, 6-0. Sharapova then prevailed over second-ranked Henin-Hardenne in the final 6-4, 6-4 to win her second Grand Slam title, having dropped just one set en route and joining the list of eight players who had beaten the Top 2 players in the world to win a Grand Slam.

Sharapova won the Zurich Open, defeating Daniela Hantuchová 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in the final. Sharapova then won the Generali Ladies Linz, defeating fellow Russian and defending champion Nadia Petrova 7-5, 6-2, to take her fifth title of 2006 and the 15th title of her career.

Until her loss in the semifinals of the WTA Championships to Justine Henin, Sharapova had won 19 consecutive matches. She finished the year at number two and, for the second year, as the Russian number one. During the year, she compiled a 59-9 record and won five titles (second only to Henin's six), including three Tier I titles, more than any other player that season.

2007: Mixed results

To start 2007, Sharapova reached the final of the Watson Water Champions Challenge, an exhibition tournament, where she was defeated by Kim Clijsters 6-3, 7-6(8). She went into the Australian Open as the top seed due to world number one Justine Henin's withdrawal. Sharapova defeated the 62nd-ranked Camille Pin in the first round 6-3, 4-6, 9-7 on her fourth match point in air temperatures that exceeded 40 °C (104 °F) and on-court temperatures that exceeded 50 °C (122 °F). After defeating, amongst others, compatriots Vera Zvonareva and Anna Chakvetadze, she defeated fourth-seeded Clijsters 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals to reach her first Australian Open final and gain the opportunity to win the only Grand Slam singles title that a Russian woman had not yet won. However, Serena Williams, ranked No. 81 in the world, overpowered an injured Sharapova 6-1, 6-2, though her final run allowed her to re-capture the World No. 1 spot.

Sharapova then achieved disappointing results at her next three tournaments, partly due to hamstring and shoulder injuries, which decimated the effectiveness of her serve. At the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan where she was a champion in 2005, she retired to Ana Ivanović when trailing 6-1 0-1 in the semifinals. At the Pacific Life Open, as the defending champion, she lost to Vera Zvonareva in the fourth round with a score of 4-6 7-5 6-1 after leading 5-4 in the second set. This loss saw her lose the No 1 spot after seven straight weeks. In the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, where she had been a finalist the past two years, she was crushed by Serena Williams for the second successive time with a lopsided scoreline of 6-1 6-1. In the previous round Sharapova had beaten Williams's sister Venus 2-6 6-2 7-5.

Sharapova would be forced to miss most of the clay court season for the second consecutive year because of the aforementioned injuries. She made her clay season debut at the Istanbul Cup, where she lost to Frenchwoman Aravane Rezaï in the semifinals 6-2, 6-4, in preparation for the French Open. She then reached the semifinals of the French Open for the first time in her career (saving a match point against Patty Schnyder and defeating Chakvetadze en route), but fell to up-and-comer Ana Ivanović 6-2, 6-1.

At the DFS Classic in Birmingham, United Kingdom, Sharapova lost in the final to second seeded Jelena Janković 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. She then moved on to Wimbledon but fell victim to Venus Williams, who would go on to win the Championships, in the fourth round 6-1, 6-3.

Sharapova's first summer hardcourt tournament was the last ever edition of the Acura Classic in San Diego, California, where she was the defending champion. She progressed to the final relatively easily, showing few of the serving problems that had dogged her all year. In the final, she faced 11th seed Patty Schnyder and won 6-2, 3-6, 6-0, claiming her first title of the year, 5th Tier I title, and the 16th singles title of her career. She then moved on to the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles, California, where she set up a semifinal encounter against fellow Russian Nadia Petrova, but withdrew briefly before the match with a shin injury. Nevertheless, she clinched the US Open Series for the first time.

Seeded second at the 2007 US Open, Sharapova was placed in the more favorable bottom half of the draw, and was tipped to at least reach the final. She raced through her first two matches, but then lost her third round match to 18-year-old Pole Agnieszka Radwańska 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, partly due to poor serving and a host of unforced errors. It was Sharapova's earliest exit at a Slam since she lost in the same round at the U.S. Open three years ago. Sharapova didn't play again until the Kremlin Cup in Moscow in October, where she lost out to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the second round, 7-6(9), 6-2 (after a first-round bye). The recurring shoulder problem then forced Sharapova to withdraw from events in Zurich and Linz, at both of which, she was the defending champion.

Sharapova was granted qualification to the 2007 WTA Tour Championships only by virtue of Venus Williams's withdrawal, as Sharapova was ranked only #9 on the Race rankings going into the event. Playing only her second match in two months, Sharapova beat Daniela Hantuchová 6-4, 7-5 in her first round-robin match, before coming from a set down to defeat Svetlana Kuznetsova 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 to ensure a place in the semifinals. In her third and final round robin match, Sharapova defeated Ana Ivanović 6-1, 6-2 in just over an hour, meaning she topped her group. Sharapova then defeated Anna Chakvetadze 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals to advance to the championship match. She then lost to top-ranked Henin 5-7 7-5 6-3 in a match that lasted 3 hours and 24 minutes: the 12th longest tour match in the Open Era. Her performance at the tournament was considered an excellent end to a modest season overall.

Sharapova ended the year as number 5 on the official WTA tour rankings, her fourth year in a row with a top 5 finish. However, for the first time since 2004, she did not finish the year as the number one Russian; that was Svetlana Kuznetsova, who was ranked world number two. She also won just one title (at San Diego), the first time she had failed to win at least two since 2002 (when she played just three WTA matches).

2008

After beating Anna Chakvetadze in an exhibition match in Singapore, Sharapova reached the final of the JB Group Classic exhibition tournament in Hong Kong, where she lost to Venus Williams in the final 6-4, 6-3.

Sharapova was the fifth seed at the Australian Open, which was her lowest seeding at a Grand Slam singles tournament since the 2004 U.S. Open. On the way to the quarterfinals, Sharapova defeated Lindsay Davenport in the second round and Elena Dementieva in the fourth round. In the quarterfinals, Sharapova defeated World No. 1 Justine Henin 6-4, 6-0, snapping Henin's 32-match winning streak. Sharapova then won her third consecutive Grand Slam semifinal and reached her second consecutive Australian Open final when she defeated an injured Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 6-1. She is scheduled to play Ana Ivanovic in the final.

Personal life

The Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986 compelled Sharapova's parents, Yuri and Yelena, to move from Gomel, Belarus, to the town of Nyagan in Siberia, Russia to live with Yelena's father. Maria was born the following year.

Sharapova's father brought her to the United States when she was seven years old, to attend the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Her mother, Yelena, could not come with them because of visa restrictions, and followed two years later. Sharapova has lived in the United States since then, but retains her Russian citizenship. She has a home in Manhattan Beach, California.

Awards

See: WTA Awards

2003

• Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Newcomer of the Year

2004

• WTA Player of the Year
• WTA Most Improved Player of the Year

2005

• ESPY Best Female Tennis Player
• Named the country's best female player for the year by Russia's tennis federation
• Master of Sports of Russia
• Prix de Citron Roland Garros

2006

• Named the country's best female player for the year by Russia's tennis federation
• Whirlpool 6th Sense Player of the Year

2007

• ESPY Best Female Tennis Player
• ESPY Best International Female Athlete
• ESPN Hottest Female Athlete

Endorsements

Sharapova's endorsements have earned her considerably more than she has won in tournament play. In June 2005, Forbes magazine listed her as the highest-paid female athlete in the world, with annual earnings of over U.S. $18 million. (CBS, the American television network, reported in August 2006 that the figure is over U.S. $20 million.) The majority is made from endorsements and sponsorships. In a later interview, she said, "You know, one of the greatest things about being an athlete and, you know, making money is realizing that you can help, you know, help the world, and especially children, who I absolutely love working with."

In 2005 during a photo shoot for Canon, a lewd photo was taken of Sharapova without her knowledge by Japanese advertising agency Dentsu. The company currently has a lawsuit related to this incident.

Sharapova is visible in and outside of the court for her looks. Sharapova posed in a six-page bikini photoshoot spread in the 2006 issue of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, annual magazine that debuted on Valentine's Day, along with 25 scantily-clad supermodels. Sharapova joined the ranks of other athletes who have previously appeared in the publication. In April 2005, Sharapova was listed by People Magazine as among the 50 most beautiful celebrities in the world.

In 2006, Maxim magazine named Sharapova the hottest athlete in the world for the fourth consecutive year.

On 14th January 2008 Maria Sharapova and Sony Ericsson signed exclusive four year sponsorship agreement for Maria Sharapova to become the company’s first global brand ambassador.

In a poll run by Britain's FHM magazine, Sharapova was voted the seventh most eligible bachelorette. Voting took into consideration both "wealth and looks."

Product endorsement and equipment

Sharapova's first racquet (before she entered the professional circuit) was one given to her by a family friend.

Sharapova used the Prince Tour Diablo for part of 2003 and then used several different Prince racquets until the U.S. Open. She gave the racquet she used in the 2004 Wimbledon final to Regis Philbin when taping Live with Regis and Kelly. Sharapova began using the Prince Shark MP at that tournament and had a major part in the production of the Shark racquet. She then switched to the Prince O3 White racquet in January 2006.

She endorses Nike accessories, apparel, and footwear. She is well known for designing her tennis outfits, her most memorable being her 2006 nighttime US Open dress, inspired by Audrey Hepburn's look from Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Current Sponsors:

• Canon (company)
• Colgate
• Gatorade
• Landrover
• Nike, Inc.
• Parlux Fragrances
• Prince Sports- signed a lifetime endorsement in 2007.
• Samantha Thavasa
• Sony Ericsson
• Tag Heuer
• Tropicana

Activism

On February 14, 2007, Sharapova was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and donated US$100,000 to UNDP Chernobyl-recovery projects. She is planning on traveling back to the area after Wimbledon in 2008.

Quotations

• When asked at the press conference after the 2006 U.S. Open final about her father's illegal signaling and feeding her during the match: I believe, at the end of the day, personally, my life is not about a banana.
• When questioned about her on-court grunting at the 2006 Australian Open: I know this is your job. But take your notepads, take your pencils down, take your grunt-o-meters down, the fashion police, put it all away and just watch the match.
• Reporter (after Sharapova won her second round at the 2007 French Open): So, do you feel when you get back on court after not hitting balls, do you actually feel stronger and faster as a result?

Sharapova: No, I feel terrible. I feel like a cow on ice. Especially on clay.

• 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.
• When I was working my way to the top of tennis, I didn't say I was number two, I said I wanted to be number one.
• A great tennis career is something that a 15-year-old normally doesn’t have. I hope my example helps other teens believe they can accomplish things they never thought possible.

Grand Slam singles finals

Wins (2)

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
2004	Wimbledon	Serena Williams	6-1, 6-4
2006	U.S. Open	Justine Henin	6-4, 6-4

Runner-up (1)

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
2007	Australian Open	Serena Williams	6-1, 6-2

WTA Tour Championships singles finals

Wins (1)

Year	Venue	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
2004	Los Angeles	Serena Williams	4-6, 6-2, 6-4

Runner Up (1)

Year	Venue	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
2007	Madrid	Justine Henin	5-7, 7-5, 6-3

WTA Tour titles (19)

Singles wins (16)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	September 29, 2003	Tokyo, Japan	Hard	Anikó Kapros	2-6, 6-2, 7-6(5)
2.	October 27, 2003	Quebec City, Canada	Hard (i)	Milagros Sequera	6-2 retired
3.	June 7, 2004	Birmingham, United Kingdom	Grass	Tatiana Golovin	4-6, 6-2, 6-1
4.	June 21, 2004	Wimbledon, United Kingdom	Grass	Serena Williams	6-1, 6-4
5.	September 27, 2004	Seoul, Korea	Hard	Marta Domachowska	6-1, 6-1
6.	October 4, 2004	Tokyo, Japan	Hard	Mashona Washington	6-0, 6-1
7.	November 8, 2004	WTA Championships, United States	Hard (i)	Serena Williams	4-6, 6-2, 6-4
8.	February 6, 2005	Tokyo, Japan	Carpet (i)	Lindsay Davenport	6-1, 3-6, 7-6(5)
9.	February 21, 2005	Doha, Qatar	Hard	Alicia Molik	4-6, 6-1, 6-4
10.	June 6, 2005	Birmingham, United Kingdom	Grass	Jelena Janković	6-2, 4-6, 6-1
11.	March 18, 2006	Indian Wells, United States	Hard	Elena Dementieva	6-1, 6-2
12.	August 6, 2006	San Diego, United States	Hard	Kim Clijsters	7-5, 7-5
13.	September 9, 2006	U.S. Open, United States	Hard	Justine Henin	6-4, 6-4
14.	October 22, 2006	Zürich, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Daniela Hantuchová	6-1, 4-6, 6-3
15.	October 29, 2006	Linz, Austria	Hard (i)	Nadia Petrova	7-5, 6-2
16.	August 5, 2007	San Diego, United States	Hard	Patty Schnyder	6-2, 3-6, 6-0

Doubles wins (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partnering	Opponents in the final	Score
1.	September 29, 2003	Tokyo, Japan	Hard	Tamarine Tanasugarn	Ansley Cargill & Ashley Harkleroad	7-6(1), 6-0
2.	October 20, 2003	Luxembourg, Luxembourg	Hard	Tamarine Tanasugarn	Elena Tatarkova & Marlene Weingartner	6-1, 6-4
3.	June 7, 2004	Birmingham, United Kingdom	Grass	Maria Kirilenko	Lisa McShea & Milagros Sequera	6-2, 6-1

WTA Tour runner-ups (8)

Singles runner-ups (7)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	October 24, 2004	Zurich, Switzerland	Hard	Alicia Molik	4-6, 6-2, 6-3
2.	March 3, 2005	Miami, USA	Hard	Kim Clijsters	6-3, 7-5
3.	February 26, 2006	Dubai, UAE	Hard	Justine Henin-Hardenne	7-5, 6-2
4.	March 2, 2006	Miami, USA	Hard	Svetlana Kuznetsova	6-4, 6-3
5.	January 29, 2007	Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia	Hard	Serena Williams	6-1, 6-2
6.	June 18, 2007	Birmingham, UK	Grass	Jelena Janković	4-6, 6-3, 7-5
7.	November 11, 2007	WTA Tour Championships, Madrid, Spain	Hard	Justine Henin	5-7, 7-5, 6-3

Doubles runner-up (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partnering	Opponents in the final	Score
1.	February 16, 2004	Memphis, United States	Hard	Vera Zvonareva	Åsa Svensson & Meilen Tu	6-4, 7-6(0)

ITF titles (4)

Singles (4)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	April 21, 2002	Gunma, Japan	Clay	Aiko Nakamura	6-4, 6-1
2.	August 4, 2002	Vancouver, Canada	Hard	Laura Granville	0-6, 6-3, 6-1
3.	September 15, 2002	Peachtree City, U.S.	Hard	Kelly McCain	6-0, 6-1
4.	May 11, 2003	Sea Island, U.S.	Clay	Christina Wheeler	6-4, 6-3

Singles performance timeline

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament when the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through December 31, 2007.

A = did not participate in the tournament.

SR = the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.

- = tournament was either not held or was not a Tier I event at the time it was held.

Doha became a Tier I event in 2008. San Diego and Zurich are no longer Tier I events.

If ITF women's circuit (Hardcourt: 22-4; Clay: 9-1) participation is included, then her overall win-loss record stands at 273-66.

WTA Tour career earnings

Notable matches

2004 Wimbledon final: defeated heavily-favored two-time defending champion Serena Williams 6-1, 6-4 to become the third youngest woman to win the title at the All England Club and the lowest seed (at the time) to do so.

2004 WTA Tour Championships final: defeated Serena Williams 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. Sharapova came back from a 4-0 deficit in the third round and won her first WTA Championships trophy.

2005 Australian Open semifinal: defeated by eventual champion Serena Williams 2-6, 7-5, 8-6. Sharapova led 6-2, 5-4 before Williams rallied to win the second set. In the third set, Sharapova again carved out a lead and even held three match points, but Williams battled back once again to win the match.

2005 U.S. Open semfinal: defeated by eventual champion Kim Clijsters 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-3. Sharapova was down 5-2 in the second set and one game away from defeat but fought back to claim the set. Sharapova wound up saving five match points; however, Clijsters won the match on her sixth match point.

2006 Miami semifinal: defeated Tatiana Golovin 6-3, 6-7(5), 4-3 retired. Sharapova had match points at 6-3, 5-1 but could not convert. The third set was close until Golovin was forced to retire after dramatically twisting her ankle. Some criticized Sharapova for turning her back on Golovin, but a television replay showed Sharapova turning her back before the fall. Sharapova later explained that she thought Golovin had simply cramped. When the Frenchwoman retired and was leaving the court, Sharapova gave her a round of applause along with the crowd to show her appreciation.

2006 San Diego final: defeated Clijsters 7-5, 7-5. This was Sharapova's first victory over the Belgian and her first title in San Diego. After this match, Sharapova lost just two more matches during 2006 and claimed three additional titles, including the U.S. Open.

2006 U.S. Open semifinal: defeated Amelie Mauresmo, the World No. 1, 6-0, 4-6, 6-0. This was the first U.S. Open semifinal with two 6-0 sets.

2006 U.S. Open final: defeated Justine Henin 6-4, 6-4 to win her second Grand Slam title. Sharapova beat Henin for only the second time in her career. This was only the eighth time in history that a player beat the world's top two ranked players in a Grand Slam event.

2007 French Open fourth round: defeated Patty Schnyder 3-6, 6-4, 9-7. Sharapova came into the tournament with an injury and overcame two match points against her during this match.

2007 WTA Tour Championships final: defeated by Henin 5-7, 7-5, 6-3. World No. 1 Henin was the pre-match favorite, but Sharapova took the first set on her eighth set point and at one stage in the second set, was a mere five points from victory. The match lasted 3 hours, 24 minutes, making it the 12th longest women's match in the open era. It was widely agreed as the best women's match of 2007, with some citing it as an all-time classic.

2008 Australian Open quarterfinal: defeated Henin 6-4, 6-0. Henin was the World No. 1, but Sharapova won her third victory in nine meetings with Henin. The win snapped Henin's 32-match winning streak and marked the first time Henin had suffered a "bagel" set since 2002. It also marked the first time since 2005 that Henin had lost in a Grand Slam tournament before the semifinals.

References

1. ^ "Players / Women / Profile Maria Sharapova - Russia".
2. Martin, John (September 7, 2006). "The Highest Paid Female Athlete On The Planet; Why Sharapova Is So Hot". ABC News. Retrieved 2006-09-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
3. Maria Sharapova - Tennis Game Profile
4. Maria Sharapova - Tennis Game Profile
5. Why do women tennis stars grunt?
6. Sharapova puts loss in perspective
7. Sharapova breezes past Davenport
8. Brilliant Sharapova hammers Henin
9. ^ Associated Press (2007-08-13). "Maria Sharapova plans 1st trip back to Chernobyl since family fled". International Herald Tribune.
10. "Maria Sharapova Inc". Sydney Morning Herald (Australia). 2008-01-20. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
11. "Tennis academy where stars are born". British Broadcasting Corporation. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
12. ^ Dennis Campbell (2004-11-28). "Love match turns to hate as Russian stars attack Maria". The Guardian (United Kingdom).
13. Kathy Ehrich-Dowd (2006-04-17). "Celebrity Q & A - Maria Sharapova". People Magazine.
14. Ad agency sued over lewd picture of Maria Sharapova
15. >"Maria Sharapova and Sony Ericsson sign 4 year contract". Mobiles2day.com. Maria Sharapova and Sony Ericsson sign 4 year contract
16. "Rod's daughter most eligible". NEWS.COM.AU. February 28, 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
17. Tennis Warehouse - Maria Sharapova
18. Tennis: At last, Sharapova proves it - she's not a 1-hit wonder
19. Beaten Sharapova turns on media
20. Maria Sharapova Official Site
21. Maria Sharapova quotes
22. Sharapova proves her worth
23. JockBio: Maria Sharapova Quotes

See also

• List of Grand Slam Women's Singles champions

External links

• Maria Sharapova's Official Site
• Maria Sharapova at the Women's Tennis Association
• Sharapova's record versus other players
• Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue: Maria Sharapova
• Maria Sharapova's Myspace page
• Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
• WTA Ranking Points

Template:Persondata

• 1987 births
• Living people
• People from Florida
• Russian expatriates in the United States
• Russian female models
• Russian tennis players
• US Open champions
• Wimbledon champions