Maria Sharapova

Maria was born in Russia in 1987. She began hitting tennis balls at the age of 4 and at 6 she participated in an exhibition match in Moscow which featured Martina Navratilova. Martina recommended to her the Nick Bollittieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida. In 1995, Maria and her father, Yuri Sharapova, decided to move to Florida in the USA. This meant leaving her mother for 2 years in Russia because of visa problems and financial troubles.

At the age of seven Maria and her father Yuri, who could speak barely any English , boarded a plane to the USA with only $700. When they arrived at Miami airport the next morning, her father took her on the handlebars of a bicycle to the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy without any notice whatsoever. They arrived at the academy and one of the coaches checked her out. The story goes that Maria knocked his hat off with the tennis ball, thereby making a favourable impression. This led to her obtaining a scholarship. At the age of 9, she was signed up by a number of sponsors including Prince (racquets), Oakley and Nike.

She did train at the Bollittieri Academy and at 14 Maria turned professional. In 2002 she reached the final of the Junior Australian Open, after which she joined the senior tour with a ranking of 186. In 2003 she made her first appearance as a senior in the Australian Open. This is when I noticed her. She seemed to have such determination and self-composure at this young age. She also had a few fierce ground strokes. Later that year she made the French Open and won her first titles on the WTA tour at Tokyo and Quebec. She ended 2003 ranked 32.


Maria really came to everyone's notice in 2004. She was tall, athletic and attractive. She reached the third round of the Australian Open, and then she won Wimbledon. In doing so she 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). In the process she also became the first Russian ever to win that tournament. She also won Birmingham, Seoul, Tokyo and the WTA Championships in that year. She was beginning to see some serious money. She topped the 2004 prize money list with $2,506,263, one of a record five women to earn more than $2 million in 2004. That's just prize money though. She has many big sponsorship deals.

In 2005 she won Tokyo, Birmingham and Doha. She reached the quarterfinals or better at all 15 events she contested, including reaching the semifinals at three of the four Grand Slams, and falling to the eventual champion at all four. She also became the first-ever Russian to become No.1 in the world, doing so between late August and October, holding the top spot for a total of seven nonconsecutive weeks before surrendering it to Davenport. She ended the year ranked No 4.

Maria is the richest female athlete in the world, according to Forbes Magazine (July 2005). She is coached by her father, Yuri Sharapov and Robert Lansdorp. She studies via the internet and loves reading. She is definitely one to watch in the future, because, unlike many of the other big talents at an early age, I think she is well looked after, without the problems other female tennis players have had with their fathers as coach. She also seems unaffected by her enormous fame.

There has recently been some gossip about Maria. On November 24, 2005 it was reported that a Florida production company has sued her over the right to market a documentary about female Russian tennis players. The law suit claims that Sharapova objected to the use of her name and image in the documentary. "Anna's Army: Behind the Rise of Russian Women's Tennis." The DVD has already been shown, but in September IMG, the agency which represents Sharapova, sent a letter accusing the production company of misappropriating her name. The counter sue is basically that in America, 'we have the right to make documentaries about current events, subjects of interests' according to the attorney L. Martin Reeder, Jr., who represents the production company.