154 Alla Kudryavtseva. 2 heading into the WTA Tour Championships, with a chance of overtaking Serena Williams as world No. Maria Sharapova has set a watermark in the world of tennis. 1 can return to the tour", "Eddie Herr International Special Awards", "Wimbledon 2009: Maria Sharapova – 20 facts you didn't know", "Myskina downs Sharapova in Russian clash", "Federer upset in Rotterdam; Roddick falls at Kroger", "Suarez strikes another blow for Argentina", "Sharapova Wins Wimbledon After Improbable Journey", "Sharapova Rights Her Game vs. Venus Williams", "Q&A: Sharapova's First Business Aims for the Sweet Spot", "Sharapova, Henin-Hardenne advance to Open final", "Kuznetsova quiets Sharapova scream on the way to title", "Mauresmo survives lapse to reach Wimbledon final", "Sharapova outlasts Clijsters in Acura final", "Sharapova stops No. ", Immediately after her win at the 2004 Wimbledon Championship, mobile phone company Motorola signed Sharapova to endorse their mobile phone line. In her early career, as a junior, she enrolled at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. Sharapova defeated the teenager in tight straight sets to advance to the second week of the US Open. [9][10] In 2018, she launched a new programme to mentor women entrepreneurs.[11]. Sharapova ended her season with withdraws at the China Open, Tianjin Open and Kremlin Cup with a right shoulder injury. After that, she met Sasha Vujacic in 2009 and fell in love with him. It obviously helps with the encouragement. 1 Henin in the quarterfinals,[72] ending the latter's 32-match winning streak. [175], Sharapova began her 2018 season at the Shenzhen Open. As it was, she finished ranked world No. Sharapova's next tournament was the Italian Open in Rome where she was seeded 3rd. 14, having improved from No. 1 Jelena Janković, in 2 hours and 49 minutes, making it the longest WTA tour final of the year. [240] She is one of the few players on the WTA tour who often use the reverse forehand. I've said this, just before the tournament, a few weeks before, I woke up, and I was just so happy to be going back on the court. [73] She proceeded to the finals by defeating Jelena Janković in the semifinals, and defeated Ana Ivanovic in the final to win her third Grand Slam title, having not dropped a set all tournament. She beat Heather Watson, and Anastasiya Yakimova, to reach the third round. 2. [25] Her best results in the Junior Grand Slam tournaments were the finals of the 2002 Australian Open, finals of the 2002 Wimbledon Championships, third round of the 2002 French Open, and second round of the 2001 US Open. 1 ranking. However, her estimated net worth said to be $ 196 million and her salary was not disclosed yet publicly. She breezed through her first three matches over Anastasia Rodionova, Tsvetana Pironkova and the crafty Hsieh Su-wei, extended her winning streak to 15 matches. Her father, Yuri, befriended Aleksandr Kafelnikov, whose son Yevgeny would go on to win two Grand Slam singles titles and become Russia's first world No. [300], Following in the footsteps of tennis players who started clothing lines such as Fred Perry and René Lacoste, Sharapova launched her own tennis apparel line, the Nike Maria Sharapova Collection, in 2010. [227] However, the behavior of Sharapova's father during her matches on the WTA Tour, combined with a perceived lack of commitment by her to the Fed Cup, made her selection for the Russian Fed Cup team controversial in the past. [130] Her first tournament of the season was the 2012 Australian Open, where she was seeded fourth. She is also an Olympic medalist, having won a silver medal in women's singles at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Precisely, her body measurement is 36-26-36 inches and her bra size is 32B. 9 Ana Ivanovic in the semis. Sharapova reached No. Maria Sharapova had won only three matches since reaching the fourth round of 2019 Australian Open and was defeated in the first round at this year's Australian Open in Melbourne by Donna Vekic. But years go on. Maria Sharapova and boyfriend Alexander Gilkes are looking forward to the next chapter. [206] 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". From her early high school times she was interested within sports. [144] 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 then took part in the 2017 Mutua Madrid Open where she beat Mirjana Lučić-Baroni in three sets. In February, following her participation in the Fed Cup, Sharapova played in Acapulco, where she beat Shelby Rogers, Mariana Duque Mariño and Magdaléna Rybáriková to advance the semifinals. She was able to produce speeds greater than before, including a 121-mph serve hit at the Birmingham tournament in 2010 – the fastest serve of her career.[252]. At the age of 15, she became the youngest player ever to reach the finals of Australian Open Junior tournament in 2002. 17. 4 in the world, her first top-10 finish since 2008 and first top-5 finish since 2007. After reaching the final, Sharapova recaptured the world No.