Maria Sharapova - Russia 
| Birth Date:
| 4/19/1987 |
Age:
| 25 |
| Birth Place:
| Nyagan, Russia |
Residence:
| Bradenton, FL, USA |
| Height:
| 6' 2" (1.88 m) |
Weight:
| 130 lbs. (59 kg) |
| Year Turned Pro:
| 2001 (11 years on tour) |
Plays:
| Right-handed |
| Official Website:
| http://www.mariasharapova.com/ |
Twitter:
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Maria Yuryevna Sharapova, daughter of Yury and Yelena, is coached by her father, Yuri Sharapov, and Michael Joyce. Started playing at age 4, and at age 6 participated in a Moscow exhibition that featured Martina Navratilova. She trained at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida. At 6-feet, 2-inches, is one of the tallest players ever on the WTA Tour. She took the tennis world by storm in 2004, winning Wimbledon at age 17, the second-youngest player in the Open Era to do so. On August 22, 2005, she reached a career-high by becoming No. 1 in the World for the first time.
In 2005, she was named of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. In 2006, she was named the hottest athlete in the world by Maxim magazine, and also did a six-page photo shoot for Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue. In January 2010, she signed an eight-year, $70 million advertising contract with Nike, the most high-paying deal ever for a female athlete. She is an endorser for Nike, Prince, Tag Heuer, Evian and Canon as well as several fashion companies, including Cole Haan and Tiffany and Co. In 2007, Maria became a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and donated $100,000 to Chernobyl-related projects through the Maria Sharapova Foundation. In both 2005 and 2008, she was the most searched female athlete on Yahoo.com. In 2011, she became engaged to Sasha Vujacic, a professional basketball player.
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