Name: Maria Yuryevna Sharapova
DOB: April 19, 1987
Place of Birth: Nyagan, Soviet Union
Country: Russia
Turn Pro: 2001
Height: 6' 2
Plays: Right-handed, two-handed backhand
Racquet: Prince O3 Speedport Black
A Russian professional tennis player, Maria Yuryevna Sharapova was born on April 19, 1987. By the end of 2006, she had become the world’s most paid women’s tennis player. Maria’s parents are from Homyel, Belarus, but they moved to Siberia, Russia in 1986 due to the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster. A year after they had moved, Maria was born in Nyagan, Russia.
Yuri Sharapova brought Maria Sharapova to the United States as her initiator. In the States, Maria attended the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy situated in Florida. Maria’s mother Yelena was not able to come to the States because of an issue with her visa. However, she was able to come to the U.S. a few years later. Since her arrival here, Maria has continued to live in the U.S., however, she still has the right to live in Russia as she pleases.
By 2002, Maria had bought a home by the shore of Manhattan Beach in California, a suburban district of L.A. However, she still resides at the IMG training facility in Florida for the most part.
Maria has always been known to be a baseliner in her matches. Furthermore, she is distinguished by a faulty backhand and serve, most likely due to her lack of potency and sense of position of shots. Maria also has a certain liveliness on court when she is playing at her peak, which makes her a stand out player. Known to be an offensive player, Maria tends to shock her challengers with agility or force them to be active for long amounts of time.
Maria was designated as the Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Development Program in the year 2007. By then, she had in her hands every single Grand Slam singles title, that is, except the French Open. Maria considers the French Open to be her most challenging task because her assertive game style does not go well with a clay court. Along with the French Open, she has never won a WTA Tour singles title.
In 2004, Maria donated $10,000 in order to provide aid for those afflicted by the tsunami in Thailand. In 2005, she once again donated more than $50,000 to victims influenced by the school tragedy in Beslan, Russia. She was able to do this by auctioning off her Porsche, which she won through a WTA Tour Championship. Along with her other humanitarian deeds, Maria also donated $100,000 for the recovery of the Chernobyl accident in Europe. After the 2008 Wimbledon, she plans to go back to her initial home, Europe.