Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova was born on April 19th, 1987 in the Soviet Union. Sharapova was raised in the town of Syagan, Russia by her parents Yuri and Elena Sharapova. Maria began playing tennis at an early age and was soon noticed by Aleksandre Kafelnikov, who in turn took an interest in her tennis ability and began coaching her. After practicing for a few years it became apparent to Maria, her coach and her family that she need further training if her hopes of playing at a professional level would happen. The decision was soon made for Maria and her father to move to the United States to give her a better chance. Maria’s mother was unable to make the move right away, so Maria’s father raised her alone in very tough times. To make ends meet, Maria’s father worked multiple jobs and it also helped with her needed lessons.

After all the hard work and lessons, things paid off in 2001 when Maria turned professional at the age of 13. Sharapova won her first Grand Slam singles title in 2004 when she defeated favored Serena Williams at Wimbledon. Sharapova did not win any major tournaments in 2005, but did defeated Justine Henin at the U. S Open in 2006. The last major tournament that Sharapova won was in 2008 when she defeated Ana Ivanovic at the Australian Open.

Maria Sharapova currently resides in Bradenton, Florida, but does still keep her Russian citizenship. Sharapova has many endorsement deals and has been featured on many covers of famous magazines.