Maria Sharapova |
|
| Country: | Russia |
| Residence: | Bradenton, Florida, USA |
| Height: | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) |
| Weight: | 59 kg (131 lbs) |
| 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: | 10 |
| Doubles Titles: | 3 |
| Career Prize Money: | $4,673,351 |
| 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 (Russian: Мари́я Ю́рьевна Шара́пова; 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.
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 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.
2003
2004
2005
|
2005. See also: List of Norwegian newspapers. 2004. The online edition is owned by the company DB Medialab AS, who also owns half of the Norwegian internet portal site and ISP start.no. 2003. By October 2005 it had 1.27 million weekly unique visitors and 83.3 million weekly page impressions [1]. Henin-Hardenne went on to lose in the final of the Australian Open to Amelie Mauresmo, retiring due to a stomach ailement. The paper went online 8 March 1995, and is the oldest one still alive in Norway. That streak was broken in January 2006, when Sharapova lost in the Australian Open semi-final to Justine Henin-Hardenne. Dagbladet also runs one of Norway's largest websites, being slightly smaller than its main rival, Verdens Gang. 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. The magazine has a reader coverage of approximately 26% of the adult population of Norway. 1 ranking again on September 12, 2005 despite losing in the Semi-finals of the US Open. Over the past few years Dagbladet has had success with Magasinet as part of the Saturday edition. Sharapova rose to the No. In 1990, the newspaper was the first in Norway to publish a Sunday edition in more than 70 years, and it was also the first of the major Norwegian newspapers with its own Internet web site in 1995. Sharapova's reign was short-lived, lasting only a week after Davenport re-ascended after winning the New Haven title. For a number of years Dagbladet has had a leading role within development of new editorial products in Norway. 1 ranking on August 22, 2005. Dagbladet is published seven days a week, and includes an additional feature magazine, Magasinet, every Saturday. 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. The word "Dagbladet" literally means "The daily paper". Because of this, she lost valuable ranking points. The newspaper was founded in 1869, and its format was changed to tabloid in 1983. 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. Dagbladet is Norway's third largest newspaper with a circulation of 191,164 copies in 2002. 1 ranking, with Lindsay Davenport, who lost a historic match to Venus Williams in the 2005 Wimbledon final, holding firm. Sharapova's streak on grass was ended, as was her quest for the No. 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. 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. A significant portion of this amount came from endorsements. In June 2005, Forbes magazine listed Sharapova as the highest-paid female athlete in the world, with annual earnings of $18 million. In April 2005, Sharapova was listed by People Magazine as among the 50 most beautiful celebrities in the world. and promotes both their cameras and office products. In November 2004, Sharapova signed a deal to represent Canon Inc. Sharapova's huge success continued after winning Wimbledon, with a victory at the WTA Season-Ending Championships and consistent results. 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. However, Sharapova, Bollettieri, and Kournikova all reject the comparison. She is often compared to Anna Kournikova, also a Russian Bollettieri student and model. However, she says she does not want to overdo these activities, preferring to focus on her tennis. She enjoys fashion and is known to read celebrity magazines. 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. A 6 ft 2 in. Maria Sharapova uses the Prince Shark Racket and consequently the popularity of the racket has gone through the roof. She also became the first Russian ever to win that tournament. 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). 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. 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. . While having Belorussian roots and residing in the USA, Sharapova holds Russian citizenship. Sharapova was born in Nyagan, Russia, the following year. Her parents are originally from Homiel, Belarus, but moved to Russia in 1986 in the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. 4. 1 Russian professional tennis player, and currently World No. Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (Russian: Мари́я Ю́рьевна Шара́пова; born April 19, 1987) is a former World No. 42. New Straits Times, p. 11, 2005). (Nov. "Maria puts world domination on hold". 2005: Miami (lost to Kim Clijsters). 2004: Zurich (lost to Alicia Molik). awarded the honorary Master of Sports of Russia title. Named Russia's tennis federation as the country's best female player for the year. ESPY Best Female Tennis Player. WTA Player Service. WTA Most Improved Player of the Year. WTA Player of the Year. WTA Newcomer of the Year. |