Professional Tennis Player - Maria Sharapova

Celebrity Contributor

2007-10-29T04:06:00.000-07:00

Maria Sharapova joins Tennis Week Magazine as Celebrity Contributor

Tennis Week is partnering with one of tennis' top stars to take readers inside the lifestyle of a champion. Maria Sharapova, named by Vogue as one of its top 20 best-dressed new faces, is bringing her distinctive style, health and fitness insight, beauty and wellness tips, fashion flair and personal presence to the pages of Tennis Week Magazine. The two-time Grand Slam champion has signed on as a regular Editorial Contributor to Tennis Week Magazine, TW publisher Randy Master announced today.

A trend-setter on and off court, Sharapova will share the latest and hottest fashion, beauty and wellness and health and fitness tips with readers. In her role as editorial contributor Sharapova will personally create and edit material and produce her own page in each of the next nine issues of Tennis Week Magazine. Sharapova will make her editorial debut in the year-end November/December issue of Tennis Week and continue to create and edit her page in each of Tennis Week's eight issues in 2008.

"Maria Sharapova is a beautiful, glamorous, intelligent global tennis star. We are thrilled to welcome her as a regular contributor to Tennis Week Magazine," Master said. "Maria contributes content to her official web site, MariaSharapova.com, she's a very creative person and she's already working on ideas for her premier page in Tennis Week. We're excited to bring one of the world's most well-known athletes to the pages of Tennis Week and we believe Maria's page will become a popular destination for readers in each issue." Content from Sharapova's page will also extend to TennisWeek.com, which will re-launch next month featuring several exciting enhancements, and to MariaSharapova.com, Sharapova's official web site.

Sharapova's global appeal, grace and philanthropic pursuits transcend the tennis court. The former World No. 1and 12-time Grand Slam Roger Federer are the only tennis players to make the list of BusinessWeek's inaugural "The Power 100" ranking of the 100 most powerful people in sports. Sharapova earned "Best Female International Athlete" and "Best Female Tennis Player" honors at the 15th annual ESPY awards in July.

Maria Sharapova

2007-09-13T05:30:00.000-07:00

Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (born April 19, 1987) is a Russian professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. She is currently the second ranked player in the world. At the end of 2006, she was the world's highest-paid female athlete.

Sharapova has won two Grand Slam singles titles. She is the reigning U.S. Open champion, having defeated Justine Henin in the final of the 2006 U.S. Open. Two years earlier, she defeated Serena Williams in the final at Wimbledon.

Personal Life

2007-09-13T05:29:00.001-07:00

Sharapova's parents moved from Homel, Belarus, to Siberia, Russia, in 1986, after the Chernobyl nuclear accident. She was born the following year in Nyagan, Russia.

Sharapova's father, Yuri Sharapov, brought Maria to the United States to attend the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida when she was 7 years old. Her mother, Yelena, who could not come with them because of visa restrictions, followed a few years later. Sharapova has lived in the United States since then but retains her Russian citizenship.

In 2002, Sharapova bought a beach home in Manhattan Beach, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, but lives most of the year near the IMG training facility in Bradenton with her pomeranian, Dolce, who is featured in one of her advertisements for Canon PowerShot. Sharapova is good friends with fellow Russian tennis player Maria Kirilenko and actress Uma Thurman.

Career Titles

2007-09-13T05:27:00.000-07:00

Singles

2003: Tokyo & Quebec City
2004: Birmingham, Wimbledon, Seoul, Tokyo & WTA Championships
2005: Tokyo & DohaDoubles
2003: Tokyo, Luxembourg
2004: Birmingham

HIGHEST RANKINGS

Singles: 2 (11/4/2005)
Doubles: 41 (14/6/2004)BEST GRAND SLAM PERFORMANCES
Australian Open: Semis
Roland Garros: Quarters
Wimbledon: ChampionUS Open: 3rd round

Awards

2007-09-13T05:25:00.000-07:00

2003

* Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Newcomer of the Year 2004
* WTA Player of the Year
* WTA Most Improved Player of the Year
* WTA Player Service

2005

* ESPY Best Female Tennis Player
* Named the country's best female player for the year by Russia's tennis federation
* Master of Sports of Russia
* Prix de Citron Roland Garros

2006

* Named the country's best female player for the year by Russia's tennis federation2007
* ESPY Best Female Tennis Player
* ESPY Best International Female Athlete

Maria Sharapova Biography

2007-09-13T05:21:00.000-07:00

Date of Birth: April 19, 1987
Birthplace: Nyagan, Russia (Siberian Region)
Residence: Bradenton, Florida, USAWTA
Ranking: 4
Nationality: Russian
Plays: Right-handed
Racquet: Prince
Endorsements: Speedminton, Motorola, Parlux Fragrances, Canon, TAG Heuer, Honda Japan & Colgate-Palmolive
Favorite Movie: Pearl Harbor
Favorite Food: Russian
Favorite Book: Sherlock Holmes and Pippi Longstocking series Loves fashion, singing, jazz dancing and watching movies.