Maria Sharapova

Since bursting onto the tennis scene in 2001 as a gifted 14 year old, Maria Sharapova has been one of the most exciting and consistent performers on the WTA tour. The 2005 US Open tennis championships winner is immensely popular with the media and is one of the mostly highly paid women in sport.

Player Biography

Maria Sharapove was born in Siberia, Russia a year after her family moved from Belarus to escape the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster. Sharapova showed an aptitude for tennis at a very early age, and moved to the United States when she was seven to attend the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy.

Career

Maria Sharapova made her WTA debut in 2003, aged just 16, winning two 5^th tier WTA titles in her first full season at the top and earning herself the WTA Newcomer of the Year award. In 2004, after winning two WTA tournaments on grass in England, Sharapova was given a wildcard to Wimbledon.

Grand Slam Record

Sharapova made the most of her opportunity, powering past Lindsay Davenport and Serena Williams to become the third youngest player, and only Russian, to have won the Wimbledon women's title. She followed her Wimbledon success with three WTA titles including a win over Serena Williams in the final of the WTA Championships.

In the next two years Maria Sharapova performed brilliantly on the WTA tour, winning 7 WTA titles. Her form in the grand slam events was also top notch as she consistently reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon. Sharapova's only weakness appeared to be on clay, where she had to content herself with 4^th round and quarterfinal French Open exits.

Towards the end of 2006 Maria Sharapova claimed her second grand slam title, winning the US Open by defeating Belgian superstar Justine Henin in the women's singles final. 2007 saw Sharapova win only one WTA tournament as she experience a mild dip in form.  The young Russian's best 2007 grand slam results came in the form of an appearance in the Australian Open final, and her first ever appearance in the semi-finals of the French Open.

She claimed the 2008 Australian Open, defeating Ana Ivanovic 7–5, 6–3, and went on to win both the Qatar Open as well as the Bausch & Lomb Championships. Sharapova then pulled out of the 2008 US Open due a shoulder injury she had been suffering from as early as April 2008, which also led to her missing the Beijing Olympics.

Playing Style

Maria Sharapova is described as an offensive baseline player, with her superior height allowing her to generate tremendous power in her forehand and two-handed backhand. Her major weakness  is her service game, which focuses on placement rather than power.