Maria Yuryevna Sharapova is a Russian former world No 1 tennis player.
263 Facts About Maria Sharapova
2.
Maria Sharapova competed on the WTA Tour from 2001 to 2020 and was ranked world No 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association for 21 weeks.
3.
Maria Sharapova is one of ten women, and the only Russian, to achieve the career Grand Slam.
4.
Maria Sharapova is an Olympic medalist, having won silver in women's singles at the 2012 London Olympics.
5.
Maria Sharapova has been considered as one of the best competitors of her generation.
6.
Maria Sharapova won 36 titles in total, including the year-end championships in her debut in 2004.
7.
Maria Sharapova failed a drug test at the 2016 Australian Open, testing positive for meldonium, a substance that had been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
8.
Maria Sharapova returned to the WTA Tour on 26 April 2017 at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
9.
Maria Sharapova has been featured in a number of modeling assignments, including a feature in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
10.
Maria Sharapova has appeared in many advertisements, including those for Nike, Prince, and Canon, and has been the face of several fashion houses, most notably Cole Haan.
11.
Maria Sharapova was born on 19 April 1987, in Nyagan, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.
12.
In 1990, when Maria Sharapova was three, the family moved to Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia.
13.
Maria Sharapova hit her first tennis ball when she was 4 years old.
14.
Maria Sharapova took her first tennis lessons with veteran Russian coach Yuri Yutkin, who was instantly impressed when he saw her play, noting her "exceptional hand-eye coordination".
15.
In 1993, at the age of six, Maria Sharapova attended a tennis clinic in Moscow run by Martina Navratilova, who recommended professional training with Nick Bollettieri at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
16.
In 1995 she was signed by IMG, who agreed to pay the annual tuition fee of $35,000 for Maria Sharapova to stay at the academy, allowing her to finally enroll at the age of 9.
17.
Maria Sharapova first hit tennis fame in November 2000, when she won the Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships in the girls' 16 division at the age of just 13.
18.
Maria Sharapova was then given a special distinction, the Rising Star Award, which is awarded only to players of exceptional promise.
19.
Maria Sharapova made her professional debut in 2001 on her 14th birthday on 19 April, and played her first WTA tournament at the Pacific Life Open in 2002, winning a match before losing to Monica Seles.
20.
Maria Sharapova was the youngest girl ever to reach the final of the Australian Open junior championship at 14 years and 9 months.
21.
Maria Sharapova reached No 6 in the ITF junior world singles ranking on 21 October 2002.
22.
From 2003, Maria Sharapova played a full season and made a rapid climb into the top 50 by the end of the year.
23.
Maria Sharapova made her debuts at both the Australian Open and the French Open, but failed to win a match in either.
24.
Maria Sharapova was defeated in the third round of the Australian Open by sixth seed Anastasia Myskina.
25.
Maria Sharapova later reached the semifinals at the Cellular South Cup, where she lost to eventual champion Vera Zvonareva.
26.
Maria Sharapova won the third title of her career at the Wimbledon warm-up DFS Classic, defeating Tatiana Golovin in the final.
27.
Maria Sharapova became the second Russian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title.
28.
Maria Sharapova entered the top 10 in the rankings for the first time as a result of the win.
29.
Maria Sharapova then made her debut at the year-ending WTA Tour Championships.
30.
Maria Sharapova started the year at the Australian Open, where she defeated fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the second Grand Slam semifinal of her career.
31.
Maria Sharapova held three match points in the third set of her semifinal match, before losing to eventual champion Serena Williams.
32.
Maria Sharapova defeated former world No 1 players Justine Henin and Venus Williams to reach the final at the Tier I NASDAQ-100 Open, where she lost to Kim Clijsters.
33.
Maria Sharapova made the semifinals of a clay-court tournament for the first time at the Italian Open, where she lost to Patty Schnyder.
34.
Maria Sharapova would have become world No 1 for the first time had she won the tournament.
35.
Maria Sharapova then reached the quarterfinals of the French Open for the second consecutive year, before losing to eventual champion Henin.
36.
Maria Sharapova had far fewer points to defend, and so she became the first Asian and Russian woman to hold the world No 1 ranking on 22 August 2005.
37.
Maria Sharapova's reign lasted only one week as Davenport reclaimed the top ranking after winning the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament.
38.
Maria Sharapova retained it for six weeks, but after playing few tournaments while injured, she again relinquished the ranking to Davenport.
39.
Maria Sharapova started 2006 by losing in the semifinals of the Australian Open in three sets to Henin, losing a rematch several weeks later at the Dubai Tennis Championships, having defeated former world No 1 Martina Hingis and world No 3 Lindsay Davenport in earlier rounds of the tournament.
40.
Maria Sharapova claimed her first title in nine months at the Tier I tournament in Indian Wells, defeating Hingis in the semifinals and Elena Dementieva in the final.
41.
Maria Sharapova reached the final in Miami before losing to Kuznetsova.
42.
Maria Sharapova claimed her second title of the year at the Tier I Acura Classic, defeating Clijsters for the first time in the final.
43.
That autumn, Maria Sharapova won titles in back-to-back weeks at the Zurich Open and the Generali Ladies Linz.
44.
Maria Sharapova would have finished the season as world No 1 had she won the event.
45.
Maria Sharapova was the top seed at the Australian Open due to top-ranked Justine Henin's withdrawal.
46.
Maria Sharapova held it for seven weeks, surrendering it back to Henin after failing to defend her title at the Pacific Life Open, instead losing in the fourth round to Vera Zvonareva after struggling with a hamstring injury.
47.
Maria Sharapova reached the semifinals of the French Open for the first time in her career, before losing to Ana Ivanovic.
48.
Maria Sharapova clinched the US Open Series by defending her title at the Acura Classic, her only championship of the year, and reaching the semifinals in Los Angeles.
49.
Maria Sharapova was seeded fifth at the Australian Open, but was not considered a favorite.
50.
Maria Sharapova proceeded to the finals by defeating Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals, and defeated Ana Ivanovic in the final to win her third Grand Slam title, having not dropped a set all tournament.
51.
Maria Sharapova's winning streak was ended in the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open by Kuznetsova.
52.
Maria Sharapova did not attempt to defend her Australian Open title, as she continued to recover from surgery.
53.
Maria Sharapova was upset in the second round by Gisela Dulko in three sets.
54.
Maria Sharapova enjoyed considerable success in the summer months, reaching the quarterfinals at the Bank of the West Classic, the semifinals at the LA Women's Championships, and finishing runner-up at the Rogers Cup to Elena Dementieva.
55.
Maria Sharapova found her way into the third round, defeating Tsvetana Pironkova and Christina McHale, all in straight sets.
56.
Maria Sharapova was stunned in the third round by American teenager Melanie Oudin.
57.
The loss made Maria Sharapova's ranking go down to No 32.
58.
Maria Sharapova ultimately finished the season at world No 14, having improved from No 126 when she started her comeback from injury.
59.
The loss meant that for the first time since 2003, Maria Sharapova had lost her opening match at a Grand Slam event.
60.
Maria Sharapova then rebounded by winning a smaller American event, the Cellular South Cup, her 21st career WTA title and first of the year.
61.
At the Indian Wells Open, Maria Sharapova lost in the third round to Zheng Jie, aggravating a bruised bone on her right elbow in the process, which resulted in her eventual withdrawal from the Sony Ericsson Open and the Family Circle Cup.
62.
Maria Sharapova continued her French Open preparation at the Internationaux de Strasbourg as a wildcard, advancing to the final, where she beat Kristina Barrois.
63.
Maria Sharapova began her preparations for Wimbledon at the Aegon Classic.
64.
Maria Sharapova made it to the fourth round, where she played top seed and 2009 finalist Caroline Wozniacki and lost.
65.
Maria Sharapova played in the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, where she was upset in the first round by 39-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm.
66.
Maria Sharapova ended the year at number 18 in the world.
67.
Maria Sharapova lost to the Hungarian veteran and eventual champion, Greta Arn, in the quarterfinals.
68.
Maria Sharapova participated in the first Grand Slam of the season at the Australian Open, where she was the 14th seed, but lost to Andrea Petkovic in the fourth round.
69.
Maria Sharapova had to pull out of the Dubai Championships and the Qatar Open because of an ear infection.
70.
Maria Sharapova returned to the tour in March by taking part in the 2011 BNP Paribas Open, where she was seeded 16th.
71.
Maria Sharapova defeated former world No 1, Dinara Safina, in the fourth round en route to the semifinal, where she lost to world No 1, Caroline Wozniacki.
72.
At Key Biscayne, Maria Sharapova defeated 26th seed Alexandra Dulgheru in the quarterfinals, in a match lasting 3 hours and 28 minutes.
73.
Maria Sharapova defeated top seed Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals and sixth seed Samantha Stosur in the final to take home the title, marking her biggest clay-court victory to date.
74.
At the Wimbledon Championships, Maria Sharapova had not dropped a set entering the final, before losing to eighth seed Petra Kvitova, in straight sets.
75.
Maria Sharapova started her summer hard-court season at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California.
76.
Maria Sharapova subsequently moved up to world No 4, her highest ranking since August 2008 and the highest since her comeback from her shoulder injury.
77.
Maria Sharapova entered the US Open, where she was seeded third.
78.
Maria Sharapova beat Heather Watson, and Anastasiya Yakimova, to reach the third round.
79.
However, because of the fall of Kim Clijsters and Vera Zvonareva in the rankings, Maria Sharapova climbed to world No 2.
80.
Maria Sharapova then flew to Istanbul to prepare for the 2011 WTA Tour Championships, her first time qualifying since 2007.
81.
Maria Sharapova ended the year as No 4 in the world, her first top-10 finish since 2008 and first top-5 finish since 2007.
82.
Maria Sharapova withdrew from the 2012 Brisbane International because of her ongoing ankle injury.
83.
Maria Sharapova then played in the Paris, where she lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Angelique Kerber.
84.
Maria Sharapova had a bye in the first round, and advanced to the third round after Alize Cornet retired in the second set.
85.
Maria Sharapova won her first title of the year in Stuttgart after defeating world number one Victoria Azarenka.
86.
In doing so, Maria Sharapova defeated three current Grand Slam title holders to win the tournament.
87.
Maria Sharapova then played on the Madrid Open, a Premier Mandatory event.
88.
Maria Sharapova was then beaten by eventual champion Serena Williams, in straight sets.
89.
Maria Sharapova was seeded second at the French Open, where she defeated Alexandra Cadantu, Ayumi Morita, 28th seed Peng Shuai, Klara Koukalova, Kaia Kanepi and Petra Kvitova on her way to the finals, allowing her to regain the world No 1 ranking.
90.
Maria Sharapova became only the tenth woman to complete a Career Grand Slam with the French Open victory.
91.
Maria Sharapova decided not to compete in any of the grass-court warm-up events and instead proceeded straight to the Wimbledon Championships, where she was the top seed at a major event for the first time since the 2008 French Open.
92.
Maria Sharapova breezed through her first three matches over Anastasia Rodionova, Tsvetana Pironkova and the crafty Hsieh Su-wei, extended her winning streak to 15 matches.
93.
Maria Sharapova made her Olympic debut at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and was seeded third in the singles draw.
94.
Maria Sharapova easily beat Shahar Pe'er and hometown favorite Laura Robson in straight sets, before avenging her defeat against Lisicki four weeks prior by beating the German in the third round in a tight three-set match.
95.
Maria Sharapova defeated Kirilenko to reach the Olympic final and guarantee a medal.
96.
Nonetheless, with this performance, Maria Sharapova won an Olympic silver medal and overtook Agnieszka Radwanska as world No 2.
97.
Maria Sharapova did not compete in any of the summer hard-court warm-up events after the Olympics, pulling out of both Montreal and Cincinnati due to a stomach virus.
98.
Maria Sharapova made it to the quarterfinals, losing to Samantha Stosur.
99.
Maria Sharapova defeated Sara Errani, Agnieszka Radwanska, and Samantha Stosur in the round-robin matches.
100.
Maria Sharapova's first scheduled tournament of the 2013 season was the Brisbane International, where she was seeded second.
101.
Maria Sharapova started her season at the Australian Open seeded second.
102.
Maria Sharapova defeated Olga Puchkova and Misaki Doi in the first two rounds without losing a game in either match, the first time a player won in back-to-back double bagels at a Grand Slam tournament since the 1985 Australian Open.
103.
Maria Sharapova then defeated Venus Williams, Kirsten Flipkens, and Ekaterina Makarova, where in losing nine games, she overtook Monica Seles' record of fewest games dropped heading into a Grand Slam semifinal.
104.
Maria Sharapova reached the semifinals at the Qatar Open, losing to Serena Williams for the 10th straight time in her career.
105.
Maria Sharapova received a bye into the second round and successfully reached the final without dropping a set, where she faced 2011 Indian wells champion and former world No 1, Caroline Wozniacki.
106.
Maria Sharapova's win made her the No 2 player in the world behind Serena Williams.
107.
Maria Sharapova was top seed and had a bye in the first round.
108.
Maria Sharapova faced Serena Williams for the 15th time, losing for the 12th consecutive time in straight sets.
109.
Maria Sharapova beat 16th seed Sloane Stephens in straight sets in the third round, but then did not play her quarterfinal match against seventh seed Sara Errani and retired from the tournament due to a viral illness.
110.
At the French Open, Maria Sharapova reached the final again, beating Azarenka in three sets in the semifinals, but there she lost in straight sets to Serena Williams.
111.
Maria Sharapova had not played since August 2013 due to a recurring shoulder injury and made her comeback at the Brisbane International.
112.
At the Australian Open, Maria Sharapova, ranked third, was knocked out of the tournament in the fourth round by the 20th seed, and eventual finalist, Dominika Cibulkova.
113.
Maria Sharapova then participated in Open GdF Suez where she was upset in the semifinals to fellow Russian and eventual tournament winner Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, in three sets.
114.
Maria Sharapova reached the semifinals in Miami, facing Serena Williams in a rematch of last year's final and lost her 15th consecutive match to Williams.
115.
Maria Sharapova then competed in the Italian Open in Rome, where she made the third round.
116.
Maria Sharapova was seeded seventh at the French Open and defeated Ksenia Pervak, Tsvetana Pironkova, and Paula Ormaechea in the first three rounds, all in straight sets.
117.
At Wimbledon, Maria Sharapova reached the fourth round, where she lost to Angelique Kerber, the ninth seed, in three sets.
118.
Maria Sharapova then played the Rogers Cup in Montreal where she was the fourth seed.
119.
Maria Sharapova received a first round bye and faced Garbine Muguruza in her opener, she won in three sets.
120.
Maria Sharapova then went on to defeat Pavlyuchenkova and newly crowned world No 2, Simona Halep, to reach the last four.
121.
Maria Sharapova faced Ivanovic again but lost in a roller coaster three-setter despite having two match points.
122.
Maria Sharapova then travelled to New York for the US Open where she was the 5th seed.
123.
Maria Sharapova defeated compatriot Maria Kirilenko and Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru before overcoming 26th seeded German Sabine Lisicki in round 3 to set up a clash with Caroline Wozniacki in the round of 16.
124.
Maria Sharapova next played the inaugural 2014 Wuhan open where she was seeded fourth.
125.
Maria Sharapova won the match in 2 hours 30 minutes, defeating the Czech in three sets.
126.
Also, Maria Sharapova closed in on the year-end number-one ranking spot, being just 467 points behind Williams.
127.
Maria Sharapova was ranked No 2 heading into the WTA Tour Championships, with a chance of overtaking Serena Williams as world No 1.
128.
Maria Sharapova was drawn in the white group, with Kvitova, Radwanska and Wozniacki.
129.
Maria Sharapova's first match was a three set loss to Wozniacki.
130.
Maria Sharapova lost her second round robin match to Kvitova in straight sets; her first loss to Petra since 2011.
131.
Maria Sharapova still had a chance of making the semifinals, but she needed to beat Radwanska in two sets, and Wozniacki needed to beat Petra in straight sets as well.
132.
Maria Sharapova ended the year with a win against Radwanska in three sets, finishing third overall in the White Group.
133.
Maria Sharapova ended the year as world No 2, behind Serena Williams.
134.
Maria Sharapova kicked off her 2015 season at the Brisbane International where she was top seed and received a bye in the first round.
135.
Maria Sharapova later withdrew from her match against Caroline Garcia, citing a stomach virus.
136.
Maria Sharapova began her clay season in Stuttgart where she was the three-time defending champion.
137.
The loss snapped a 64 match win streak on clay where Maria Sharapova won the first set and went on to win the match.
138.
The last time Maria Sharapova lost a match on clay, after winning the first set was against Dinara Safina in the fourth round at the 2008 French Open.
139.
Maria Sharapova beat Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals in straight sets to set up a re-match with Daria Gavrilova.
140.
Maria Sharapova beat Gavrilova in straight sets to advance to the final, where she faced Carla Suarez Navarro.
141.
Maria Sharapova then received a wildcard into Wuhan Open and received a bye into the second round.
142.
Maria Sharapova then withdrew from the China Open, where she was the defending champion, to recover in time for the WTA Finals and the Fed Cup final.
143.
Maria Sharapova then won all three of her round-robin matches, and achieved 1st position in her group.
144.
Maria Sharapova then played the player who finished 2nd in the White Group, Petra Kvitova.
145.
Maria Sharapova then played in the Fed Cup final, winning both of her matches, against Karolina Pliskova and got revenge against Petra Kvitova for her loss in the WTA Finals.
146.
Maria Sharapova began her 2016 season at the Brisbane International where she was the defending champion.
147.
Maria Sharapova would have faced Ekaterina Makarova in the first round, but withdrew hours before the match, citing a left forearm injury, and was replaced by Margarita Gasparyan.
148.
Maria Sharapova was drawn to face Nao Hibino in the first round and won in straight sets.
149.
Maria Sharapova then won her second round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, in straight sets.
150.
Maria Sharapova then lost her first set in the tournament as she defeated Lauren Davis, in three sets.
151.
Maria Sharapova then faced Serena Williams in the quarterfinal, a repeat of the previous year's final.
152.
Maria Sharapova failed to defend her finalist points from the previous year, and fell to sixth in the rankings after the tournament.
153.
Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko has implied that Maria Sharapova was targeted due to the political crisis in Russian-American relations.
154.
In October 2016, Maria Sharapova's ban was reduced from 24 months to 15 months, starting from 26 January 2016, the date of the drug test she had failed.
155.
Maria Sharapova was given wildcards to compete in the following three WTA tournaments: Women's Stuttgart Open, Madrid Open and Italian Open.
156.
Maria Sharapova then took part in the Madrid Open where she beat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in three sets.
157.
Maria Sharapova played a second round encounter with Eugenie Bouchard which after three sets Maria Sharapova lost.
158.
At one set apiece, Maria Sharapova needed a medical timeout for her thigh, which ultimately forced her to retire in the third set.
159.
Maria Sharapova was given another wildcard at the Stanford Classic, her first hard court tournament since the 2016 Australian Open.
160.
Maria Sharapova withdrew from the next round with a left arm injury.
161.
Maria Sharapova was set to make a return at the Canadian Open, where she had received a wildcard, but ultimately withdraw due to a left arm injury.
162.
Maria Sharapova was set to play the Cincinnati Open as a wildcard but pulled out to be fully fit for the US Open, which had granted Sharapova a wildcard entry.
163.
Maria Sharapova opened the US Open against world No 2, Simona Halep, and won in three sets, her first US Open win since the 2014 US Open.
164.
Maria Sharapova defeated the teenager in tight straight sets to advance to the second week of the US Open.
165.
Maria Sharapova was defeated by 16th seed Anastasija Sevastova in the fourth round.
166.
Maria Sharapova received and accepted wildcards to enter the China Open and Tianjin Open, both held in China.
167.
Maria Sharapova then remained in China for the Tianjin Open, which was her first appearance at the tournament.
168.
Maria Sharapova recorded her first opening round loss since 2013, with a straight-sets loss to eighth seed Magdalena Rybarikova.
169.
Maria Sharapova defeated Mihaela Buzarnescu, Alison Riske and Zarina Diyas to advance to the semifinals, where she fell to defending champion Katerina Siniakova.
170.
Maria Sharapova received a wildcard to enter the Qatar Open, losing in three sets to Monica Niculescu in the opening round.
171.
Maria Sharapova pulled out of the Dubai Tennis Championships due to citing a forearm strain.
172.
Maria Sharapova played the Indian Wells Open falling in the opening round to Naomi Osaka in straight sets.
173.
Maria Sharapova was set to play the Miami Open but withdrew due to a forearm injury.
174.
Maria Sharapova started her clay court season at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
175.
Maria Sharapova faced sixth seed Caroline Garcia in the opening round but lost in three tight sets.
176.
Maria Sharapova ended her losing streak with a straight sets win over Mihaela Buzarnescu at the Madrid Open.
177.
Maria Sharapova defeated Irina-Camelia Begu, and Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets to advance to quarterfinals.
178.
Maria Sharapova fell to Kiki Bertens in three sets, despite the loss, she climbed back inside the top 40.
179.
Maria Sharapova began her Italian Open campaign with a three set win over 16th seed Ashleigh Barty.
180.
Maria Sharapova began her 2018 French Open campaign with a three set win over Richel Hogenkamp and continued with a straight sets win over Croatia's Donna Vekic in the second round.
181.
Maria Sharapova's run ended with a straight sets loss to world No 3 Garbine Muguruza in the quarterfinals.
182.
Maria Sharapova was set to play the Birmingham Classic but withdrew to fully recover ahead of Wimbledon.
183.
Maria Sharapova exited Wimbledon with a three set lost to Vitalia Diatchenko despite being up a set and serving for the match.
184.
Maria Sharapova was set to play at the Silicon Valley Classic but withdrew due to a change in her schedule.
185.
Maria Sharapova played at the Rogers Cup and recorded straight sets wins over Sesil Karatantcheva and Daria Kasatkina.
186.
Maria Sharapova fell in the third round with a straight sets loss to world No 6, Caroline Garcia.
187.
Maria Sharapova began her US Open campaign in the opening round, with a straight set win over Patty Schnyder.
188.
Maria Sharapova continued her run with straight set wins over Sorana Cirstea and Jelena Ostapenko.
189.
Maria Sharapova ended her season with withdraws at the China Open, Tianjin Open and Kremlin Cup with a right shoulder injury.
190.
Maria Sharapova ended the season inside the top 30, ranked 29.
191.
Maria Sharapova started her Australian Open campaign without the loss of a game in a win over Harriet Dart.
192.
Maria Sharapova followed up with a straight set win over Rebecca Peterson and a three set victory over defending champion Caroline Wozniacki.
193.
Maria Sharapova's run ended with a three set loss to Ashleigh Barty in the fourth round.
194.
Maria Sharapova recorded her first win in Russia in thirteen years with a straight sets win over Daria Gavrilova at the 2019 St Petersburg Ladies' Trophy.
195.
Maria Sharapova withdrew from her second round match against Daria Kasatkina.
196.
Maria Sharapova was set to play at the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open but withdrew before the tournaments started due to a shoulder injury for which she stated she was to have minor surgery to repair a fraying tendon and a labrum tear.
197.
Maria Sharapova later withdrew from the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Madrid Open, Italian Open and French Open due to not being able to compete at her highest level because of her lingering shoulder injury.
198.
Maria Sharapova made a return after being away for over four months, in the grasscourt season at the Mallorca Open where she received a wild card.
199.
Maria Sharapova's run ended in the second round with a straight sets lost to Angelique Kerber.
200.
Maria Sharapova lost in the opening round of the Rogers Cup to Anett Kontaveit in three sets.
201.
Maria Sharapova fell in the opening round of the US Open to eventual finalist Serena Williams in straight sets, it was her final match of the year.
202.
Maria Sharapova ended the year ranked No 131, her lowest year-end ranking since 2002.
203.
Maria Sharapova began her 2020 season at an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, where she defeated Ajla Tomljanovic in straight sets.
204.
Maria Sharapova received a wildcard at the Brisbane International and fell in the opening round to Jennifer Brady in three sets.
205.
Maria Sharapova participated at the Kooyong Classic, where her opening match against Laura Siegemund was stopped after the second set due to heavy smoke from wildfires, before being defeated by Tomljanovic in the second round.
206.
On 7 March 2016, Maria Sharapova revealed that she had failed a drug test at the 2016 Australian Open, which she described as the result of an oversight.
207.
Maria Sharapova was provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Federation from playing tennis effective from March 12,2016.
208.
Maria Sharapova later released a statement regarding the test and explaining her use of the medicine:.
209.
Maria Sharapova said that she had been taking the drug to treat magnesium deficiency, an irregular EKG and family history of diabetes, and indicated that she had not read an email informing her that meldonium had been banned for use in tennis.
210.
On March 11,2016, Maria Sharapova denied reports about the five missed warnings via Facebook:.
211.
Chris Evert expressed her surprise at the lack of support in tennis for Maria Sharapova, noting that she "[had] always isolated herself from the rest of the tennis world, from the players".
212.
Maria Sharapova's case prompted Federer to urge the tennis federation to conduct more anti-doping tests.
213.
The Russian Tennis Federation strongly defended Maria Sharapova, describing the positive drug test as "nonsense" and adding that they expected Maria Sharapova to be available for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
214.
Racquet manufacturer HEAD stood by Maria Sharapova, saying, "We look forward to working with her", and announced that they intended to extend their contract.
215.
Maria Sharapova committed an anti-doping rule violation and that while it was with "no significant fault", she bore some degree of fault, for which a sanction of 15 months is appropriate.
216.
Maria Sharapova has lived in the United States since moving there at the age of seven, but retains her Russian citizenship, and is therefore eligible to play in the Fed Cup for Russia.
217.
Maria Sharapova later withdrew from ties against Spain in April 2007 and against the United States in July 2007 because of injuries.
218.
However, Maria Sharapova attended the final, cheering from the sidelines and acting as a "hitting partner" in practices, resulting in some of her Russian teammates implying that she was attending only to enable her to play at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
219.
Maria Sharapova finally made her Fed Cup debut in February 2008, in Russia's quarterfinal tie against Israel.
220.
Maria Sharapova was supposed to play Alize Cornet but she was suffering from a viral illness.
221.
Maria Sharapova defeated Silvia Soler Espinosa in the first rubber, but was unable to play her second rubber due to illness.
222.
In 2015, Maria Sharapova helped Russia earn a place in the semifinals after beating Pole Urszula Radwanska in the first tie and her sister Agnieszka Radwanska in the second tie.
223.
Maria Sharapova was scheduled to play the semifinal against Germany she withdrew days before the competition.
224.
Maria Sharapova then joined the team for the final against Czech Republic and won both of her matches, against Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova.
225.
Maria Sharapova was an aggressive baseliner, whose game was centered around her powerful serve and groundstokes.
226.
Maria Sharapova hit her shots with relentless speed, power, and depth, and could generate sharp, acute angles with both her forehand and backhand.
227.
Maria Sharapova's forehand was strong, with her being capable of dominating opponents with her flat, powerful forehand.
228.
Maria Sharapova was one of the few players on the WTA Tour who often used the reverse forehand, known as the 'buggy whip' forehand; her forehand technique allowed her to hit winners from defensive positions.
229.
From 2010 onwards, when she returned after shoulder surgery, Maria Sharapova began to hit her forehand with a more conventional swing, with increased amounts of topspin.
230.
Later in her career, Maria Sharapova added both a drop shot and a sliced backhand to her repertoire, making for a more unpredictable playing style; whilst her drop shot was highly telegraphed, her exceptional execution allowed her to end points, or induce unforced errors from opponents.
231.
From 2010, Maria Sharapova returned to a more elongated motion, similar to her pre-surgery serve.
232.
Maria Sharapova was thought to have good speed around the court, especially considering her height, although her footwork, speed, and court coverage were always considered the major weaknesses in her game.
233.
Maria Sharapova initially was not as well-suited to slower clay courts, admitting in 2007 that she was not as comfortable with her movement on clay compared with other court surfaces; she once described herself as like a "cow on ice" on clay due to her inability to slide.
234.
In 2011, Maria Sharapova was engaged to Slovenian professional basketball player Sasha Vujacic, with whom she had been in a relationship since 2009.
235.
On 31 August 2012, Maria Sharapova confirmed that the pair had ended the engagement and separated earlier that year.
236.
Between 2012 and 2015, Maria Sharapova dated Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov.
237.
Since 2018, Maria Sharapova has been in a relationship with British businessman Alexander Gilkes.
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Maria Sharapova has lived in the United States since moving there at the age of seven.
239.
From 2005 to 2011, Maria Sharapova was named to the Forbes Celebrity 100, which attempts to compile the top 100 most powerful celebrities of that year.
240.
Maria Sharapova made varying remarks on how long she intends to maintain her tennis career.
241.
However, in an interview before her 2012 Australian Open semifinal, Maria Sharapova changed her stance, saying she intended to continue playing tennis for as long as she enjoyed playing the game.
242.
The Maria Sharapova Foundation is committed to helping children around the world achieve their dreams.
243.
On February 14,2007, Maria Sharapova was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme and donated US$210,000 to UNDP Chernobyl-recovery projects.
244.
Maria Sharapova stated at the time that she was planning to travel back to the area after Wimbledon in 2008, though it didn't happen since she had to travel back to the US because of her shoulder injury.
245.
Maria Sharapova helped to promote the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and was the first torch bearer in the torch-lighting ceremony during the opening festivities.
246.
In July 2008, Maria Sharapova sent a message on DVD to the memorial service of cancer victim Emily Bailes, who had performed the coin toss ahead of the 2004 Wimbledon final that Maria Sharapova had gone on to win.
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Maria Sharapova topped that list every year until 2016, even after her 2007 shoulder injury.
248.
Maria Sharapova posed in a six-page bikini photoshoot spread in the 2006 Valentine's Day issue of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, alongside 25 supermodels.
249.
Immediately after her win at the 2004 Wimbledon Championship, mobile phone company Motorola signed Maria Sharapova to endorse their mobile phone line.
250.
Maria Sharapova starred in an award-winning campaign for the sports clothing brand Nike, "Pretty", in the summer of 2006.
251.
Maria Sharapova signed a sponsorship deal in January 2007 with Gatorade and Tropicana, which ended in 2009.
252.
In 2007, Maria Sharapova was featured in a number of Canon USA's commercials for the PowerShot.
253.
Maria Sharapova had previously found that the outfits given to her by Nike did not suit her frame and were worn by too many other players.
254.
Maria Sharapova comes up with design ideas and sketches in a process that begins 18 months before the event and receives royalties from the sale of the collection, of which the corresponding dresses are coordinated to be available simultaneously with the corresponding major tournament.
255.
Maria Sharapova had earlier collaborated with Nike on the little black dress that she wore for her night matches at the 2006 US Open.
256.
Maria Sharapova used the Prince Triple Threat Hornet for part of 2003 and then used several different Prince racquets until the US Open.
257.
Maria Sharapova gave the racquet she used in the 2004 Wimbledon final to Regis Philbin when taping Live with Regis and Kelly.
258.
Maria Sharapova began using the Prince Shark OS at that tournament specially designed for her.
259.
Maria Sharapova then switched to the Prince O3 White racquet in January 2006.
260.
Maria Sharapova switched to the Prince O3 Speedport Black in July 2008.
261.
Maria Sharapova signed a three-year deal to be brand ambassador for Porsche in 2013.
262.
Later in 2020, Maria Sharapova became an investor in wellness brand therabody.
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Some other companies Maria Sharapova has invested in includes UFC, Tonal, Public.