Maria Sharapova Success Story

Maria Sharapova

 

"I'm not the next anyone, I'm the first Maria Sharapova."

– Maria Sharapova

•      NAME:  Maria Sharapova
•      OCCUPATION: Tennis Player
•      BIRTH DATE: April 19, 1987 (Age: 26)
•      PLACE OF BIRTH: Nyagan, Russia

Tennis player Maria Sharapova was born on April 19, 1987, in Nyagan, Siberia, Russia. Sharapova began playing tennis as a young child, and at age 9 was taken by her father to Florida, where she enrolled at a tennis academy.

Sharapova turned professional at 14, claimed her first WTA victory at the 2003 AIG Japan Open and also reached the fourth round at Wimbledon on her first attempt during the same year. Success came in 2004 when she won the singles title there, becoming Russia's first woman Wimbledon champion. At the end of 2004 she added the WTA Championship title to her achievements. She was ranked number 4 at the start of 2006 and that year won the US Open.

In 2007, a shoulder injury sidelined Sharapova and contributed to a series of losses, but she was still ranked among the top 5 women's tennis players at the end of that year. Her shoulder injury continued to plague her game, sidelining her in 2008. In 2009, Sharapova had surgery to repair the injury and after a year of rehabilitation and a string of losses, she started to make a comeback in 2011 when she finished the year ranked 4, her first top 5 finish since 2007.

In June 2012, Sharapova defeated Sara Errani in the women's French Open, becoming the 10th woman to complete a career Grand Slam, winning all four major tennis tournaments.

At the 2012 Summer Olympic Games -- Sharapova's Olympic debut -- she won a silver medal in women's singles, losing the gold to American tennis star Serena Williams. Sharapova came in second to Williams the following year at the French Open. She lost the singles titles to Williams in the finals. That June, Sharapova made a less-than-impressive showing at Wimbledon. She only made it as far as the second round of competition.

Off the court, Sharapova's beauty and popular appeal have led to major commercial endorsements with companies including Nike and Tiffany & Co. Sharapova is engaged to marry Slovenian professional basketball player Sasha Vujacic.

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