251 Facts About Sharapova

Maria Yuryevna Sharapova is a Russian former world No 1 tennis player.

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.

Sharapova is one of ten women, and the only Russian, to achieve the career Grand Slam.

Sharapova is an Olympic medalist, having won silver in women's singles at the 2012 London Olympics.

Sharapova became the world No 1 for the first time on 22 August 2005 at the age of 18, becoming the first Russian woman to top the singles rankings, and last held the position for a fifth time for four weeks from 11 June 2012, to 8 July 2012.

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Sharapova won five major titles — two at the French Open and one each at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.

Sharapova won 36 titles in total, including the year-end championships in her debut in 2004.

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.

Sharapova returned to the WTA Tour on 26 April 2017 at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

Sharapova has been featured in a number of modeling assignments, including a feature in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

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.

Maria Sharapova was born on 19 April 1987, in mNyagan, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.

In 1990, when Sharapova was three, the family moved to Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia.

Sharapova hit her first tennis ball when she was 4 years old.

In 1993, at the age of six, 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, who had previously trained players such as Andre Agassi, Monica Seles, and Anna Kournikova.

In 1995 she was signed by IMG, who agreed to pay the annual tuition fee of $35,000 for Sharapova to stay at the academy, allowing her to finally enroll at the age of 9.

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.

Sharapova was then given a special distinction, the Rising Star Award, which is awarded only to players of exceptional promise.

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.

Sharapova was the youngest girl ever to reach the final of the Australian Open junior championship at 14 years and 9 months.

Sharapova reached No 6 in the ITF junior world singles ranking on 21 October 2002.

From 2003, Sharapova played a full season and made a rapid climb into the top 50 by the end of the year.

Sharapova made her debuts at both the Australian Open and the French Open, but failed to win a match in either.

Sharapova was defeated in the third round of the Australian Open by sixth seed Anastasia Myskina.

Sharapova later reached the semifinals at the Cellular South Cup, where she lost to eventual champion Vera Zvonareva.

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Sharapova won the third title of her career at the Wimbledon warm-up DFS Classic, defeating Tatiana Golovin in the final.

Sharapova became the second Russian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title.

Sharapova entered the top 10 in the rankings for the first time as a result of the win.

Sharapova then made her debut at the year-ending WTA Tour Championships.

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.

Sharapova held three match points in the third set of her semifinal match, before losing to eventual champion Serena Williams.

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.

Sharapova made the semifinals of a clay-court tournament for the first time at the Italian Open, where she lost to Patty Schnyder.

Sharapova would have become world No 1 for the first time had she won the tournament.

Sharapova then reached the quarterfinals of the French Open for the second consecutive year, before losing to eventual champion Henin.

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.

Sharapova's reign lasted only one week as Davenport reclaimed the top ranking after winning the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament.

Sharapova retained it for six weeks, but after playing few tournaments while injured, she again relinquished the ranking to Davenport.

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.

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.

Sharapova reached the final in Miami before losing to Kuznetsova.

Sharapova claimed her second title of the year at the Tier I Acura Classic, defeating Clijsters for the first time in the final.

Autumn, Sharapova won titles in back-to-back weeks at the Zurich Open and the Generali Ladies Linz.

Sharapova would have finished the season as world No 1 had she won the event.

Sharapova was the top seed at the Australian Open due to top-ranked Justine Henin's withdrawal.

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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.

Sharapova reached the semifinals of the French Open for the first time in her career, before losing to Ana Ivanovic.

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.

Sharapova was seeded fifth at the Australian Open, but was not considered a favorite.

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.

Sharapova's winning streak was ended in the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open by Kuznetsova.

Sharapova did not attempt to defend her Australian Open title, as she continued to recover from surgery.

Sharapova was upset in the second round by Gisela Dulko in three sets.

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.

Sharapova found her way into the third round, defeating Tsvetana Pironkova and Christina McHale, all in straight sets.

Sharapova was stunned in the third round by American teenager Melanie Oudin.

Sharapova ultimately finished the season at world No 14, having improved from No 126 when she started her comeback from injury.

Sharapova then rebounded by winning a smaller American event, the Cellular South Cup, her 21st career WTA title and first of the year.

At the Indian Wells Open, 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.

Sharapova continued her French Open preparation at the Internationaux de Strasbourg as a wildcard, advancing to the final, where she beat Kristina Barrois.

Sharapova began her preparations for Wimbledon at the Aegon Classic.

Sharapova made it to the fourth round, where she played top seed and 2009 finalist Caroline Wozniacki and lost.

Sharapova played in the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, where she was upset in the first round by 39-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm.

Sharapova lost to the Hungarian veteran and eventual champion, Greta Arn, in the quarterfinals.

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.

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Sharapova had to pull out of the Dubai Championships and the Qatar Open because of an ear infection.

Sharapova returned to the tour in March by taking part in the 2011 BNP Paribas Open, where she was seeded 16th.

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.

At Key Biscayne, Sharapova defeated 26th seed Alexandra Dulgheru in the quarterfinals, in a match lasting 3 hours and 28 minutes.

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.

At the Wimbledon Championships, Sharapova had not dropped a set entering the final, before losing to eighth seed Petra Kvitova, in straight sets.

Sharapova started her summer hard-court season at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California.

Sharapova subsequently moved up to world No 4, her highest ranking since August 2008 and the highest since her comeback from her shoulder injury.

Sharapova beat Heather Watson, and Anastasiya Yakimova, to reach the third round.

Sharapova then flew to Istanbul to prepare for the 2011 WTA Tour Championships, her first time qualifying since 2007.

Sharapova ended the year as No 4 in the world, her first top-10 finish since 2008 and first top-5 finish since 2007.

Sharapova withdrew from the 2012 Brisbane International because of her ongoing ankle injury.

Sharapova then played in the Paris, where she lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Angelique Kerber.

At the Indian Wells Open, after battling for over three hours, Sharapova defeated compatriot Maria Kirilenko to set up a semifinal meeting with Ana Ivanovic.

Sharapova had a bye in the first round, and advanced to the third round after Alize Cornet retired in the second set.

Sharapova won her first title of the year in Stuttgart after defeating world number one Victoria Azarenka.

In doing so, Sharapova defeated three current Grand Slam title holders to win the tournament.

Sharapova then played on the Madrid Open, a Premier Mandatory event.

Sharapova was then beaten by eventual champion Serena Williams, in straight sets.

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.

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Sharapova became only the tenth woman to complete a Career Grand Slam with the French Open victory.

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.

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.

Sharapova made her Olympic debut at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and was seeded third in the singles draw.

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.

Sharapova defeated Kirilenko to reach the Olympic final and guarantee a medal.

Nonetheless, with this performance, Sharapova won an Olympic silver medal and overtook Agnieszka Radwanska as world No 2.

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.

Sharapova made it to the quarterfinals, losing to Samantha Stosur.

Sharapova defeated Sara Errani, Agnieszka Radwanska, and Samantha Stosur in the round-robin matches.

Sharapova's first scheduled tournament of the 2013 season was the Brisbane International, where she was seeded second.

Sharapova started her season at the Australian Open seeded second.

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.

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.

Sharapova reached the semifinals at the Qatar Open, losing to Serena Williams for the 10th straight time in her career.

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.

Sharapova's win made her the No 2 player in the world behind Serena Williams.

Sharapova faced Serena Williams for the 15th time, losing for the 12th consecutive time in straight sets.

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.

At the French Open, Sharapova reached the final again, beating Azarenka in three sets in the semifinals, but there she lost in straight sets to Serena Williams.

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Sharapova had not played since August 2013 due to a recurring shoulder injury and made her comeback at the Brisbane International.

At the Australian Open, Sharapova, ranked third, was knocked out of the tournament in the fourth round by the 20th seed, and eventual finalist, Dominika Cibulkova.

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.

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.

Sharapova then competed in the Italian Open in Rome, where she made the third round.

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.

At Wimbledon, Sharapova reached the fourth round, where she lost to Angelique Kerber, the ninth seed, in three sets.

Sharapova then played the Rogers Cup in Montreal where she was the fourth seed.

Sharapova received a first round bye and faced Garbine Muguruza in her opener, she won in three sets.

Sharapova then went on to defeat Pavlyuchenkova and newly crowned world No 2, Simona Halep, to reach the last four.

Sharapova faced Ivanovic again but lost in a roller coaster three-setter despite having two match points.

Sharapova then travelled to New York for the US Open where she was the 5th seed.

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.

Sharapova next played the inaugural 2014 Wuhan open where she was seeded fourth.

Sharapova won the match in 2 hours 30 minutes, defeating the Czech in three sets.

Also, Sharapova closed in on the year-end number-one ranking spot, being just 467 points behind Williams.

Sharapova was drawn in the white group, with Kvitova, Radwanska and Wozniacki.

Sharapova's first match was a three set loss to Wozniacki.

Sharapova ended the year with a win against Radwanska in three sets, finishing third overall in the White Group.

Sharapova ended the year as world No 2, behind Serena Williams.

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Sharapova kicked off her 2015 season at the Brisbane International where she was top seed and received a bye in the first round.

Sharapova later withdrew from her match against Caroline Garcia, citing a stomach virus.

Sharapova began her clay season in Stuttgart where she was the three-time defending champion.

The last time Sharapova lost a match on clay, after winning the first set was against Dinara Safina in the fourth round at the 2008 French Open.

Sharapova beat Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals in straight sets to set up a re-match with Daria Gavrilova.

Sharapova beat Gavrilova in straight sets to advance to the final, where she faced Carla Suarez Navarro.

Sharapova then received a wildcard into Wuhan Open and received a bye into the second round.

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.

Sharapova then won all three of her round-robin matches, and achieved 1st position in her group.

Sharapova then played the player who finished 2nd in the White Group, Petra Kvitova.

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.

Sharapova began her 2016 season at the Brisbane International where she was the defending champion.

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.

Sharapova was drawn to face Nao Hibino in the first round and won in straight sets.

Sharapova then won her second round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, in straight sets.

Sharapova then lost her first set in the tournament as she defeated Lauren Davis, in three sets.

Sharapova then faced Serena Williams in the quarterfinal, a repeat of the previous year's final.

Sharapova failed to defend her finalist points from the previous year, and fell to sixth in the rankings after the tournament.

Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko has implied that Sharapova was targeted due to the political crisis in Russian-American relations.

In October 2016, 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.

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Sharapova was given wildcards to compete in the following three WTA tournaments: Women's Stuttgart Open, Madrid Open and Italian Open.

Sharapova then took part in the Madrid Open where she beat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in three sets.

Sharapova played a second round encounter with Eugenie Bouchard which after three sets Sharapova lost.

At one set apiece, Sharapova needed a medical timeout for her thigh, which ultimately forced her to retire in the third set.

Sharapova was given another wildcard at the Stanford Classic, her first hard court tournament since the 2016 Australian Open.

Sharapova withdrew from the next round with a left arm injury.

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.

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.

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.

Sharapova defeated the teenager in tight straight sets to advance to the second week of the US Open.

Sharapova was defeated by 16th seed Anastasija Sevastova in the fourth round.

Sharapova received and accepted wildcards to enter the China Open and Tianjin Open, both held in China.

Sharapova then remained in China for the Tianjin Open, which was her first appearance at the tournament.

Sharapova recorded her first opening round loss since 2013, with a straight-sets loss to eighth seed Magdalena Rybarikova.

Sharapova defeated Mihaela Buzarnescu, Alison Riske and Zarina Diyas to advance to the semifinals, where she fell to defending champion Katerina Siniakova.

Sharapova then returned to the Australian Open for the first time since her suspension, defeating Tatjana Maria and Anastasija Sevastova in the opening two rounds, before losing to Angelique Kerber in straight sets in the third round.

Sharapova received a wildcard to enter the Qatar Open, losing in three sets to Monica Niculescu in the opening round.

Sharapova pulled out of the Dubai Tennis Championships due to citing a forearm strain.

Sharapova played the Indian Wells Open falling in the opening round to Naomi Osaka in straight sets.

Sharapova was set to play the Miami Open but withdrew due to a forearm injury.

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Sharapova started her clay court season at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

Sharapova faced sixth seed Caroline Garcia in the opening round but lost in three tight sets.

Sharapova ended her losing streak with a straight sets win over Mihaela Buzarnescu at the Madrid Open.

Sharapova defeated Irina-Camelia Begu, and Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets to advance to quarterfinals.

Sharapova fell to Kiki Bertens in three sets, despite the loss, she climbed back inside the top 40.

Sharapova began her Italian Open campaign with a three set win over 16th seed Ashleigh Barty.

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.

Sharapova's run ended with a straight sets loss to world No 3 Garbine Muguruza in the quarterfinals.

Sharapova was set to play the Birmingham Classic but withdrew to fully recover ahead of Wimbledon.

Sharapova played two exhibition matches, losing her debut to Greece's Maria Sakkari but defeating Natalia Vikhlyantseva.

Sharapova exited Wimbledon with a three set lost to Vitalia Diatchenko despite being up a set and serving for the match.

Sharapova was set to play at the Silicon Valley Classic but withdrew due to a change in her schedule.

Sharapova played at the Rogers Cup and recorded straight sets wins over Sesil Karatantcheva and Daria Kasatkina.

Sharapova fell in the third round with a straight sets loss to world No 6, Caroline Garcia.

Sharapova began her US Open campaign in the opening round, with a straight set win over Patty Schnyder.

Sharapova continued her run with straight set wins over Sorana Cirstea and Jelena Ostapenko.

Sharapova ended her season with withdraws at the China Open, Tianjin Open and Kremlin Cup with a right shoulder injury.

Sharapova started her Australian Open campaign without the loss of a game in a win over Harriet Dart.

Sharapova followed up with a straight set win over Rebecca Peterson and a three set victory over defending champion Caroline Wozniacki.

Sharapova's run ended with a three set loss to Ashleigh Barty in the fourth round.

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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.

Sharapova withdrew from her second round match against Daria Kasatkina.

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.

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.

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.

Sharapova's run ended in the second round with a straight sets lost to Angelique Kerber.

Sharapova lost in the opening round of the Rogers Cup to Anett Kontaveit in three sets.

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.

Sharapova ended the year ranked No 131, her lowest year-end ranking since 2002.

Sharapova began her 2020 season at an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, where she defeated Ajla Tomljanovic in straight sets.

Sharapova received a wildcard at the Brisbane International and fell in the opening round to Jennifer Brady in three sets.

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.

On 7 March 2016, Sharapova revealed that she had failed a drug test at the 2016 Australian Open, which she described as the result of an oversight.

Sharapova was provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Federation from playing tennis effective from March 12,2016.

Sharapova later released a statement regarding the test and explaining her use of the medicine:.

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.

On March 11,2016, Sharapova denied reports about the five missed warnings via Facebook:.

Chris Evert expressed her surprise at the lack of support in tennis for Sharapova, noting that she "[had] always isolated herself from the rest of the tennis world, from the players".

Sharapova's case prompted Federer to urge the tennis federation to conduct more anti-doping tests.

The Russian Tennis Federation strongly defended Sharapova, describing the positive drug test as "nonsense" and adding that they expected Sharapova to be available for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Racquet manufacturer HEAD stood by Sharapova, saying, "We look forward to working with her", and announced that they intended to extend their contract.

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.

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.

Sharapova later withdrew from ties against Spain in April 2007 and against the United States in July 2007 because of injuries.

However, 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.

Sharapova finally made her Fed Cup debut in February 2008, in Russia's quarterfinal tie against Israel.

Sharapova was supposed to play Alize Cornet but she was suffering from a viral illness.

Sharapova defeated Silvia Soler Espinosa in the first rubber, but was unable to play her second rubber due to illness.

In 2015, 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.

Sharapova was scheduled to play the semi-final against Germany she withdrew days before the competition.

Sharapova then joined the team for the final against Czech Republic and won both of her matches, against Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova.

Sharapova was an aggressive baseliner, whose game was centered around her powerful serve and groundstokes.

Sharapova hit her shots with relentless speed, power, and depth, and could generate sharp, acute angles with both her forehand and backhand.

Sharapova's forehand was strong, with her being capable of dominating opponents with her flat, powerful forehand.

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.

From 2010 onwards, when she returned after shoulder surgery, Sharapova began to hit her forehand with a more conventional swing, with increased amounts of topspin.

Later in her career, 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, with this shot.

From 2010, Sharapova returned to a more elongated motion, similar to her pre-surgery serve.

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.

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.

In 2011, Sharapova was engaged to Slovenian professional basketball player Sasha Vujacic, with whom she had been in a relationship since 2009.

On 31 August 2012, Sharapova confirmed that the pair had ended the engagement and separated earlier that year.

Since 2018, Sharapova has been in a relationship with British businessman Alexander Gilkes.

Sharapova has lived in the United States since moving there at the age of seven.

From 2005 to 2011, Sharapova was named to the Forbes Celebrity 100, which attempts to compile the top 100 most powerful celebrities of that year.

Sharapova made varying remarks on how long she intends to maintain her tennis career.

However, in an interview before her 2012 Australian Open semifinal, Sharapova changed her stance, saying she intended to continue playing tennis for as long as she enjoyed playing the game.

Maria Sharapova Foundation is committed to helping children around the world achieve their dreams.

On February 14,2007, Sharapova was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme and donated US$210,000 to UNDP Chernobyl-recovery projects.

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.

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.

In July 2008, 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 Sharapova had gone on to win.

Sharapova topped that list every year until 2016, even after her 2007 shoulder injury.

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.

Sharapova starred in an award-winning campaign for the sports clothing brand Nike, "Pretty", in the summer of 2006.

Sharapova signed a sponsorship deal in January 2007 with Gatorade and Tropicana, which ended in 2009.

In 2007, Sharapova was featured in a number of Canon USA's commercials for the PowerShot.

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.

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.

Sharapova had earlier collaborated with Nike on the little black dress that she wore for her night matches at the 2006 US Open.

Sharapova used the Prince Triple Threat Hornet for part of 2003 and then used several different Prince racquets until the US Open.

Sharapova 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 OS at that tournament specially designed for her.

Sharapova then switched to the Prince O3 White racquet in January 2006.

Sharapova switched to the Prince O3 Speedport Black in July 2008.

Sharapova signed a three-year deal to be brand ambassador for Porsche in 2013.