Sharapova made her professional breakthrough in 2004 at age 17, when she defeated two-time defending champion and top seed
Serena Williams in the
2004 Wimbledon final for her first
Grand Slam singles title. She entered the top 10 of the
WTA Rankings with the win. She subsequently won major titles at the
2006 US Open and
2008 Australian Open, before being forced out of the game for ten months by a recurring shoulder injury, which ultimately required surgery in October 2008. Sharapova returned in May 2009, ranked no. 126 in the world due to her extensive lay-off. Since her comeback, Sharapova has won eight singles titles (bringing her career total to 27), including her fourth grand slam title at the
2012 French Open, completing a career grand slam, and has also returned to the no. 1 ranking.
Sharapova has been featured in a number of modeling assignments, including a feature in the
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She has been featured in many advertisements, including for Nike, Prince and Canon, and is the face of several
fashion houses, most notably
Cole Haan. Sharapova was the most searched-for athlete on Yahoo! in 2005 and 2008. Since February 2007, she has been a
United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador, concerned specifically with the
Chernobyl Recovery and Development Programme. In June 2011, she was named one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future" by
Time, and in March 2012 was named one of the "
100 Greatest of All Time" by
Tennis Channel.
Early Life
Maria Sharapova's parents, Yuri and Elena, are from
Gomel, Belarus. Concerned about the regional effects of the 1986
Chernobyl nuclear accident, they left their homeland shortly before Sharapova was born.
When Sharapova was two, the family moved to
Sochi. There her father befriended Aleksandr Kafelnikov, whose son
Yevgeny would go on to win two Grand Slam singles titles and become Russia's first Number One world-ranked tennis player. Aleksandr gave Sharapova her first tennis racquet at the age of four, whereupon she began practicing regularly with her father at a local park. She took her first tennis lessons with veteran Russian coach Yuri Yutkin, who was instantly impressed when he saw her play, noting her "exceptional hand-eye coordination."
At the age of seven, Sharapova attended a tennis clinic in Moscow run by
Martina Navratilova, who recommended professional training at the
Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida, which had previously trained players such as
Andre Agassi,
Monica Seles, and
Anna Kournikova.
[11] With money tight, Yuri was forced to borrow the sum that would allow him and his daughter, neither of whom could speak English, to travel to the United States, which they finally did in 1994.
[12] Visa restrictions prevented Sharapova's mother from joining them for two years. Arriving in Florida with savings of US$700, Sharapova's father took various low-paying jobs, including dish-washing, to fund her lessons until she was old enough to be admitted to the academy. In 1995, she was signed by
IMG, who agreed to pay the annual tuition fee of $35,000 for Sharapova to stay at the academy, allowing her to finally enroll at the age of 9.
Tennis Career
2001 - 2003
Sharapova first gained attention on the tennis scene in November 2000, when she won the Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships in the girls' 16 division at the age of just 13. She was then given a special award, the Rising Star Award, which is awarded only to players of exceptional promise. She made her professional debut in 2001 on her birthday on April 19, and played her first WTA tournament at the
Pacific Life Open in 2002, winning a match before losing to
Monica Seles. Due to restrictions on how many professional events she could play, Sharapova went to hone her game in junior tournaments, where she reached the finals of the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2002. She was the youngest girl ever to reach the final of the Australian Open junior championship at 14 years and 9 months.
From 2003, Sharapova played a full season, and made a rapid climb into the top 50 by the end of the year. She made her debuts at both the Australian Open and the French Open, but failed to win a match in either. It was not until the grass season that she began to fulfill her promise, beating a top-20 player for the first time and reaching her first semifinal at the WTA level. Then, as a wildcard at
Wimbledon, she defeated 11th seed
Jelena Dokić to reach the fourth round, where she lost in three sets to
Svetlana Kuznetsova.
By the end of September, Sharapova had already captured her first WTA title at a smaller event, the
Japan Open Tennis Championships, before winning her second in her final tournament of the season, the
Bell Challenge. To cap off her first full season as a professional, she was awarded the WTA Newcomer of the Year honor.
2004: Winning Wimbledon
Sharapova was defeated in the third round of the
Australian Open by seventh seed
Anastasia Myskina.
The highlight of the remainder of her spring hard-court season was a run to the semifinals at the
Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup, where she ultimately lost to eventual champion
Vera Zvonareva.
During the spring clay-court season, Sharapova entered the top 20 on the WTA world rankings as a result of reaching the third round of the
Qatar Telecom German Open and the
Internazionali BNL d'Italia, both of which were Tier I events. At the latter event, she defeated a player ranked in the top 10 for the first time with a straight-sets win over world no. 10 and
2004 French Open finalist
Elena Dementieva. Later that clay-court season, she went on to make the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time at the
French Open, losing there to
Paola Suárez.
Sharapova won the third title of her career at the
Wimbledon warm-up
DFS Classic, defeating
Tatiana Golovin in the final. Seeded 13th and aged 17 at Wimbledon, she reached her first Grand Slam semifinal by defeating
Ai Sugiyama. There, she came back from a 6–2, 3–1 deficit to defeat fifth seed and former champion
Lindsay Davenport. In the final, Sharapova upset top seed and defending champion
Serena Williams to win her first Grand Slam singles title, and become the third youngest woman to win the Wimbledon title, behind only
Lottie Dod and
Martina Hingis. Sharapova also became the second Russian woman (after
Anastasia Myskina had won the year's previous major at
Roland Garros) to win a Grand Slam singles title. The victory was hailed by the media as "the most stunning upset in memory", with other writers commenting on her arrival as a serious challenger to the
Williams' dominance at Wimbledon. She entered the top 10 in the rankings for the first time as a result of the win.
Following her Wimbledon win, attention and interest in Sharapova in the media greatly increased, a rise in popularity dubbed as "Maria Mania." However, on court, she was struggling to achieve results, winning just three of six matches in her preparations for the
US Open. At the US Open itself, she reached the third round, before being eliminated by
Mary Pierce. In order to regain confidence, Sharapova played and won consecutive titles in Asia in the fall, the
Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships and the
Japan Open Tennis Championships.
In October, Sharapova defeated
Venus Williams en route to making the final of a
Tier I event for the first time at the
Zurich Open, losing in the final to
Alicia Molik. She then made her debut at the year-ending
WTA Tour Championships. There, she won two of her three round-robin matches (including a win over US Open champion
Svetlana Kuznetsova) in order to advance to the semifinals, where she defeated Myskina. In the final, she defeated
Serena Williams, 4–6, 6–2, 6–4, after trailing 4–0 in the final set.
2005: World no. 1
Sharapova started the year at the
Australian Open, where she defeated fifth seed
Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the second Grand Slam semifinal of her career. Sharapova held match points in the third set of her semifinal match, before losing to eventual champion
Serena Williams.
[22] In February, Sharapova won back-to-back tournaments, the
Toray Pan Pacific Open and the
Qatar Total Open,
[22] allowing her to reach the top 3 in the world rankings for the first time.
In the semifinals of the Tier I
Pacific Life Open, Sharapova was defeated by
Lindsay Davenport, 0–6, 0–6, the first time she had failed to win a game in a match. The following fortnight, she defeated former world no. 1 players
Justine Henin and
Venus Williams to reach the final at the Tier I
NASDAQ-100 Open, where she lost to
Kim Clijsters.
Sharapova made the semifinals of a clay-court tournament for the first time at the
Italian Open, where she lost to
Patty Schnyder. Sharapova would have become world no. 1 for the first time had she won the tournament. Sharapova then reached the quarterfinals of the
French Open for the second consecutive year, before losing to eventual champion Henin. On grass, Sharapova won her third title of the year when she successfully defended her title at the
DFS Classic, defeating
Jelena Janković in the final. As the defending champion at
Wimbledon, Sharapova reached the semifinals without dropping a set and losing a service game just once, extending her winning streak on grass to 24 matches. However, she was then beaten by eventual champion
Venus Williams.
A back injury sustained by world no. 1 Davenport at Wimbledon prevented her from playing tournaments during the summer hard-court season, which meant she could not earn new ranking points to replace those that were expiring from the previous year. Sharapova, although also injured for much of this time, had far fewer points to defend, and so she became the first Russian woman to hold the world no. 1 ranking on August 22, 2005. Her reign lasted only one week, however, as Davenport reclaimed the top ranking after winning the
Pilot Pen Tennis tournament.
As the top seed at the
US Open, Sharapova lost in the semifinals to
Kim Clijsters, meaning she had lost to the eventual champion in every Grand Slam of the season. However, she once again leapfrogged Davenport to take the world no. 1 ranking on September 12, 2005. She retained it for six weeks, but after playing few tournaments while injured, she again relinquished the ranking to Davenport. To conclude the year, Sharapova failed to defend her title at the year-end
Sony Ericsson Championships in Los Angeles, defeating Davenport in one of her round-robin matches, but ultimately losing in the semifinals to eventual champion
Amélie Mauresmo.
2006: US Open Champion
Sharapova started 2006 by losing in the semifinals of the
Australian Open in three sets to Henin, also losing a rematch several weeks later at the
Dubai Tennis Championships, having defeated former world no. 1
Martina Hingis and world no. 3
Lindsay Davenport in earlier rounds of the tournament. Sharapova claimed her first title in nine months at the Tier I tournament in Indian Wells, defeating Hingis in the semifinals and
Elena Dementieva in the final. The following fortnight, she reached the final in
Miami before losing to Kuznetsova.
Missing the entire clay-court season with injury, Sharapova returned for the
French Open. There, after saving match points in defeating
Mashona Washington in the first round, she was eliminated by
Dinara Safina in the fourth round.
On grass, Sharapova was unsuccessful in her attempt to win in Birmingham for the third consecutive year, losing in the semifinals to
Jamea Jackson. Despite that, she was among the title favorites at
Wimbledon, where the eventual champion Mauresmo ended up beating her in the semifinals.
Sharapova claimed her second title of the year at the Tier I
Acura Classic, defeating Clijsters for the first time in the final. As the third seed at the
US Open, Sharapova defeated top seed Mauresmo for the first time in the semifinals, and then followed up by beating second seed
Justine Henin[26] in order to win her second Grand Slam singles title.
That autumn, Sharapova won titles in back-to-back weeks at the
Zurich Open and the
Generali Ladies Linz. By winning all three of her round-robin matches at the
WTA Tour Championships, she extended her win streak to 19 matches, before it was snapped in the semifinals by eventual champion Henin. Sharapova would have finished the season as world no. 1 had she won the event. As it was, she finished ranked world no. 2, her best year-end finish yet.
2007: Soulder injury and fall out of Top 5
Sharapova was the top seed at the
Australian Open due to top-ranked
Justine Henin's withdrawal. After being two points away from defeat in the first round against
Camille Pin, rallying for a 6–3, 4–6, 9–7 victory, she went on to reach the final of the tournament for the first time, but was routed there by
Serena Williams, 1–6, 2–6, ranked world no. 81 at the time.
[27] After reaching the final, Sharapova recaptured the world no. 1 ranking. She held it for seven weeks, surrendering it back to Henin after failing to defend her title at the
Pacific Life Open, instead losing in the fourth round to
Vera Zvonareva after struggling with a hamstring injury. The following fortnight, she defeated
Venus Williams in the third round of the
Sony Ericsson Open, before suffering another defeat, 1–6, 1–6, to Serena Williams.
A shoulder injury forced Sharapova to miss most of the clay-court season for the second consecutive year, resulting in her only tune-up for the
French Open being the
Istanbul Cup, where she lost in the semifinals to
Aravane Rezaï. Despite her lack of preparation, she reached the semifinals of the French Open for the first time in her career (having saved match points against
Patty Schnyder in the fourth round), before losing to
Ana Ivanović.
On grass, Sharapova was runner-up to
Jelena Janković at the
DFS Classic. Following that, she experienced her earliest Wimbledon loss since 2003 by losing in the fourth round to eventual champion
Venus Williams.
Sharapova clinched the
US Open Series by defending her title at the
Acura Classic, her only championship of the year, and reaching the semifinals in Los Angeles. In her
US Open title defense, Sharapova was upset in her third round match to 30th seed
Agnieszka Radwańska, making it her earliest exit at a Grand Slam singles tournament since the
2004 US Open, where she lost in the same round.
Following the US Open loss, Sharapova did not play again until the
Kremlin Cup in October, where she lost her opening match to
Victoria Azarenka.
[27] Shortly after this, she fell out of the top 5 in the world rankings for the first time since 2004. She qualified for the eight-woman year-end
Sony Ericsson Championships due to a withdrawal by
Venus Williams before the start of the tournament. Despite having not previously won a match in two months, Sharapova topped her round-robin group at the tournament, after winning all three of her matches, defeating
Svetlana Kuznetsova,
Ana Ivanović, and
Daniela Hantuchová. She then defeated
Anna Chakvetadze in the semifinals. In the final, she lost to world no. 1 Henin in a match that lasted 3 hours and 24 minutes. Sharapova reached the top five again to end the year.
2008: Australian Open Champion and recurrence of shoulder injury
Sharapova was seeded fifth at the
Australian Open, but was not considered a favorite. Nevertheless, she defeated former world no. 1
Lindsay Davenport in the second round, and then world no. 1 Henin in the quarterfinals, ending the latter's 32-match winning streak. She proceeded to the finals by defeating
Jelena Janković in the semifinals, where she defeated
Ana Ivanović to win her third Grand Slam title,
having not dropped a set all tournament.
After the Australian Open, Sharapova extended her winning streak to 18 matches. This run encompassed two wins in singles rubbers when making her debut for
Russia in the
Fed Cup against
Israel and victory at the Tier I
Qatar Total Open. Her winning streak was ended in the semifinals of the
Pacific Life Open by Kuznetsova. In April, Sharapova won the
Bausch & Lomb Championships, having survived her longest-ever match, at 3 hours and 26 minutes long, in the third round against
Anabel Medina Garrigues.
[34][35] The following week, at the
Family Circle Cup, she lost in the quarterfinals to
Serena Williams, her fourth consecutive loss to the American.
In May, Sharapova regained the world no. 1 ranking because of Henin's sudden retirement from professional tennis and request to the
WTA that her own ranking be removed immediately. As the top-seeded player at the
French Open Sharapova was within two points of being knocked out by
Evgeniya Rodina in the first round, before eventually winning. As a result of losing to eventual finalist
Dinara Safina in the fourth round (after serving for the match), she relinquished her no. 1 ranking. Her dip in form continued at
Wimbledon, where she lost in the second round to world no. 154
Alla Kudryavtseva. This was her earliest loss ever at Wimbledon, and at any Grand Slam in almost five years.
Sharapova withdrew from the
Rogers Cup tournament in August due to a shoulder injury. An
MRI scan revealed that she had been suffering from a
rotator cuff tear since April, forcing her out of all tournaments for the rest of the season, including the
Beijing Olympics, the
US Open, and the
WTA Tour Championships. In spite of that, she still finished the year ranked world no. 9. In October, after a failed attempt to rehabilitate the shoulder, Sharapova had surgery to repair the tear.
2009: Shoulder surgery and rehabilitation
Sharapova did not attempt to defend her
Australian Open title, as she continued to recover from surgery. She returned to the sport in March, in the doubles tournament at the
BNP Paribas Open, but she and partner
Elena Vesnina lost in the first round. After this, Sharapova withdrew from further singles tournaments, resulting in her standing in the world rankings being severely affected. She dropped out of the top 100 for the first time in six years in May, the nadir being world no. 126.
Playing her first singles tournament in nearly ten months, Sharapova made the quarterfinals of the clay-court
Warsaw Open in May, losing to finalist
Alona Bondarenko. The following week, in the first Grand Slam appearance since her surgery, she reached the quarterfinals of the
French Open, before her run was ended by
Dominika Cibulková.
During the summer grass-court season, Sharapova played in
Birmingham, losing in the semifinals. Sharapova then played at the
2009 Wimbledon Championships as the 24th seed. She was upset in the second round by
Gisela Dulko in three sets.
Sharapova enjoyed considerable success in the summer months, reaching the quarterfinals at the
Bank of the West Classic, the semifinals at the
LA Women's Tennis Championships, and finishing runner-up at the
Rogers Cup to
Elena Dementieva. At the
2009 US Open, Sharapova was seeded 29th. She entered her way into the third round defeating
Tsvetana Pironkova and
Christina McHale all in straight sets. She was stunned in the third round by American teenager
Melanie Oudin 3–6, 6–4, 7–5. It was the first time in Sharapova's career that she lost to a teenager at a
Grand Slam event. The devastating loss made Sharapova's ranking go down to no. 32.
The final stretch of the season brought Sharapova her first title of the year in
Tokyo, after opponent
Jelena Janković retired after being down 2–5 to Sharapova in the final. By virtue of that result, she was the recipient of a bye at the
China Open, but failed to capitalize on it, losing to
Peng Shuai in the third round. She ultimately finished the season at world no. 14, having improved from no. 126 when she starting her comeback from injury.
2010: Beginnings of return to form
After playing two exhibition tournaments in Asia, Sharapova officially began her season at the
Australian Open, where she was upset in her first-round match against
Maria Kirilenko. The loss meant that for the first time since 2003, Sharapova had lost her opening match at a Grand Slam event.
[48] She then rebounded by winning a smaller American event, the
Cellular South Cup, her 21st career WTA title and first of the year.
At the
BNP Paribas Open, Sharapova lost in the third round to
Zheng Jie, aggravating a bruised bone on her right elbow in the process, which resulted in her eventual withdrawal from the
Sony Ericsson Open and the
Family Circle Cup.
Returning at the
2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, Sharapova lost in the first round to
Lucie Šafářová. She continued her French Open preparation at the
Internationaux de Strasbourg as a wildcard, advancing to the final, where she beat
Kristina Barrois. This was her first title on red clay and 22nd overall title. At the
French Open, Sharapova's brief clay season culminated with a third-round loss to four-time champion
Justine Henin.
Sharapova began her preparations for Wimbledon at the
AEGON Classic. She advanced to the final for the fourth time, where she lost to
Li Na. As the 16th seed at
Wimbledon, Sharapova lost in the fourth round to world no. 1 and eventual champion
Serena Williams, 6–7, 4–6, despite having three set points in the opening set. The match was seen as another encouraging performance for Sharapova, with some stating their belief that she was approaching the form that would see her contending for Grand Slams once more,and Sharapova herself that stating she felt that she was "in a much better spot than I was last year."
During the
US Open Series, Sharapova made two straight finals, losing to
Victoria Azarenka at the
Bank of the West Classic, and to
Kim Clijsters at the
Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open. In the latter match, Sharapova held three match points while leading 5–3 on Clijsters's serve late in the second set, but could not convert them.
At the
U.S. Open, Sharapova was the 14th seed. She made it to the fourth round, where she played top seed and 2009 finalist
Caroline Wozniacki and lost, 3–6, 4–6.
Sharapova's last two tournaments of the season ended in disappointment. She played in the
Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, where she was upset in the first round by 39-year-old former world no. 4
Kimiko Date-Krumm. Her last tournament of the year was the
China Open, where she lost in the second round to fellow Russian
Elena Vesnina. Days later, she announced the end of her 2010 season. She ended the year at number 18 in the world.
2011: Back to form
It was announced that Sharapova would bring in
Thomas Hogstedt as a coach for the 2011 season, joining
Michael Joyce. On December 5, Sharapova played an exhibition match against world no. 2
Vera Zvonareva in Monterrey, Mexico. She won the match 6–1, 7–5. It was also announced that Maria would start endorsing the
Head YOUTEK IG Instinct Racquet range. This ended her career long use of
Prince racquets.
In Sharapova's first ever official Australian Open warm-up tournament at the
2011 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, she was seeded 1st. She lost to the Hungarian veteran and eventual champion
Gréta Arn 2–6, 5–7 in the quarterfinals. After the ASB Classic, Sharapova decided to take a hiatus from Joyce's coaching, despite having worked together for a number of years, including during her successful years where she became a multiple Grand Slam champion.
Sharapova participated in the first Grand Slam of the season at the
Australian Open, where she was the 14th seed, but lost to
Andrea Petkovic, 2–6, 3–6 in the fourth round.
Sharapova's next appearance was at the
2011 Fed Cup tie against France, which she lost to
Virginie Razzano, 3–6, 4–6. She then withdrew from the
2011 Open GDF Suez in Paris because of viral illness.
[64] She also had to pull out of the
2011 Dubai Tennis Championships and
2011 Qatar Ladies Open due to an ear infection.
Sharapova returned to the tour in March by taking part in the
2011 BNP Paribas Open, where she was seeded 16th. She defeated former world No. 1
Dinara Safina, 6–2, 6–0, in the fourth round en route to the semifinal, where she lost to world no. 1
Caroline Wozniacki, 1–6, 2–6. With this result, Sharapova returned to the top 10 for the first time since February 2009.
At the
2011 Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Sharapova upset fourth seed
Samantha Stosur in the fourth round. She then defeated 26th seed
Alexandra Dulgheru 3–6, 7–6
6, 7–6
5 in the quarterfinals in a match that lasted 3 hours and 28 minutes, the longest match of her career. In the semifinals, Sharapova took her
Australian Open reprisal on Germany's
Andrea Petkovic by defeating her 3–6, 6–0, 6–2. In the final, she was defeated by
Victoria Azarenka, 1–6, 4–6, despite a late comeback in the second set.
During the clay-court season, Sharapova participated in
2011 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where she lost to
Dominika Cibulková 5–7, 4–6, in the third round and the
2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, where she was seeded seventh. She defeated top seed
Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals and sixth seed
Samantha Stosur, 6–2, 6–4, in the final to take home the title, marking her biggest clay-court victory to date.
At the
2011 French Open, Sharapova was seeded seventh. She defeated French wildcard
Caroline Garcia in the second round, despite trailing 3–6, 1–4, before winning the last 11 games of the match. In the quarterfinals, she defeated 15th seed
Andrea Petkovic, 6–0, 6–3, marking her first Grand Slam semifinal since her comeback from the career-threatening shoulder injury. She then lost to sixth seed and eventual champion
Li Na, 4–6, 5–7, in the semifinals, ending her clay season with a win-loss record of 12–2. This marks her most successful clay season to date.
At the
2011 Wimbledon Championships, Sharapova had not dropped a set entering the final, before losing to eighth seed
Petra Kvitová in straight sets, 3–6, 4–6. This marked her first final in over three years at a Grand Slam event.
Sharapova started her summer hard court season at the
2011 Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, USA. In a highly anticipated match, Sharapova lost to the eventual champion
Serena Williams 1–6, 3–6, in the quarterfinals. In her next event at
2011 Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada, Sharapova lost to
Galina Voskoboeva in the third round, marking her 100th career loss.
Sharapova then contested at the
2011 Western & Southern Open in
Cincinnati, Ohio. As the fourth seed, she received a bye into the second round. On the way to her fourth final of the year, she beat
Anastasia Rodionova, 6–1, 6–3, 14th seed
Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–2, 6–3, 10th seed
Samantha Stosur, 6–3, 6–2, and 2nd seed
Vera Zvonareva 2–6, 6–3, 6–3. In the final, she defeated fellow former world no. 1
Jelena Jankovic, 4–6, 7–6, 6–3, in 2 hours and 49 minutes, making it the longest WTA tour final of the year.
She subsequently moved up to world no. 4, her highest ranking since August 2008 and the highest since her comeback from her shoulder injury.
Sharapova entered the
US Open in fine form, where she was seeded third. She beat British up-and-comer
Heather Watson, 3–6, 7–5, 6–3, and
Anastasiya Yakimova, 6–1, 6–1, to reach the third round. She was then upset by
Flavia Pennetta, 3–6, 6–3, 4–6. However, because of the fall of
Kim Clijsters and
Vera Zvonareva in the rankings, Sharapova climbed to world no. 2.
Sharapova's next tournament was the
2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan. As second seed, she received a bye into the second round, where she beat
Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6–2, 7–5. She then beat 13th seed
Julia Goerges 7–6, 7–6, before retiring against
Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinal, 3–4, after slipping on the baseline, suffering an ankle injury. This also forced her to withdraw from the
2011 China Open the following week. Sharapova then flew to Istanbul to prepare for the
2011 WTA Tour Championships, her first time qualifying since 2007. During the WTA Tour Championships, Sharapova withdrew during the round-robin stage after defeats against
Samantha Stosur, 1–6, 5–7, and
Li Na, 6–7, 4–6, due to the ankle injury she had suffered in Tokyo.
Sharapova ended the year as number 4 in the world, her first top-10 finish since 2008 and first top-5 finish since 2007.
2012: Return to no. 1 and Career Grandslam
Sharapova withdrew from the
2012 Brisbane International because of her ongoing ankle injury. Her first tournament of the season was the
2012 Australian Open, where she was seeded fourth. Sharapova advanced to the fourth round conceding just five games, defeating
Gisela Dulko,
Jamie Hampton, and the 30th seed
Angelique Kerber en route. In the fourth round, Sharapova defeated the fourteenth seed
Sabine Lisicki in three sets, 3–6, 6–2, 6–3, to reach her first hardcourt Grand Slam quarterfinal in four years. She then defeated compatriot
Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets, 6–2, 6–3, to reach the semifinals. There she defeated the world no. 2
Petra Kvitová, 6–2, 3–6, 6–4, to reach her third Australian Open final, and her sixth grand slam singles final overall. She lost to
Victoria Azarenka in the final 3–6, 0–6. As a result her ranking improved to world no. 3.
In February, Sharapova aided
Russia to a 3–2 victory over
Spain during the
2012 Fed Cup quarterfinal with a 6–2, 6–1 win over
Silvia Soler-Espinosa. She then played in the
Paris, where she lost in the quarterfinal to eventual champion
Angelique Kerber 4–6, 4–6. As a result her ranking improved to World No. 2.
At the
Indian Wells, Sharapova faced
Gisela Dulko in the first round and won 6–2, 6–0. Sharapova defeated
Simona Halep and
Roberta Vinci en route to reaching the quarterfinals. After battling for over three hours, she defeated compatriot
Maria Kirilenko, 3–6 7–5 6–2, to set up a semifinal meeting with
Ana Ivanovic. Sharapova won the first set 6–4 and advanced to the final after Ivanovic retired due to a hip injury. In the final, she played world no. 1
Victoria Azarenka in a rematch of the Australian Open final, but lost again 2–6, 3–6.
Sharapova's next tournament was the
2012 Sony Ericsson Open, where she was seeded 2nd. She received a bye to the second round where she faced
Shahar Peer and won in three sets 4–6, 6–3, 6–3. Her next opponent was
Sloane Stephens, where Sharapova won in straight sets 6–4, 6–2. In the fourth round she won in straight sets, 6–4, 7–6, against countrywoman
Ekaterina Makarova and advanced to the quarterfinals where she faced
Li Na, whom she beat 6–3, 6–0. Her semifinal opponent was fellow former world no. 1
Caroline Wozniacki. After an inconsistent first set, Sharapova won the match 4–6, 6–2, 6–4. In the final, Maria lost in straight sets to 5th seeded
Agnieszka Radwanska 7–5, 6–4. This was her third loss of the year in finals out of four tournaments played so far.
In the
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Sharapova was seeded second. She had a bye in the first round, and advanced to the third round after
Alize Cornet retired in the second set. In the quarterfinal, she defeated No. 5
Samantha Stosur 6–7(5), 7–6(5), 7–5 after saving a match point in the second set, and advanced to the final with a 6–4, 7–6(3) win over No. 3
Petra Kvitova. She won her first title of the year in Stuttgart after defeating world number one
Victoria Azarenka 6–1, 6–4. In doing so, Sharapova defeated three current Grand Slam title holders to win the tournament. It was also her first win against
Victoria Azarenka in five finals, and the third of such this season.
Sharapova then played in the
2012 Mutua Madrid Open, a premier mandatory event. She eased through the first round in straight sets against
Irina-Camelia Begu 6–0, 6–3. In the next round she faced
Klara Zakopalova and also won in straight sets with 6–4, 6–3. In the third round Sharapova's opponent
Lucie Safarova was unable to compete and withdrew from the tournament, earning Sharapova a walkover into the quarterfinals. She was then beaten by eventual champion
Serena Williams in straight sets 6–1, 6–3.
As the defending champion and number two seed at the
Italian Open, Sharapova had a bye in the first round. She battled through the first round against 20 year-old
Christina McHale and prevailed 7–5, 7–5. She then faced thirteenth seed
Ana Ivanovic and won 7–6(4), 6–3 in 1 hour 47 minutes to advance to the quarterfinals. Sharapova then defeated former world no. 1
Venus Williams 6–4, 6–3, meaning that Sharapova has reached the quarterfinals or better in all nine tournaments she has played this year. In the semifinals, Sharapova avenged her defeat to
Angelique Kerber in Paris earlier in the year by beating her 6–3, 6–4 to advance to the final for the second year in a row. In the final, Maria saved match point for a 2 hour 52 minute, 4–6, 6–4, 7–6(5) win over
Li Na for her 26th career title. This marked the fourth time Sharapova had successfully defended a title.
Sharapova was seeded 2nd in the
French Open where she defeated
Sara Errani in both competitors' first French Open final. By reaching the final, she regained the world no. 1 ranking. Coincidentally, the last time Sharapova was No. 1 was right before the
2008 French Open, due to the sudden retirement of then No. 1
Justine Henin, a four times Roland Garros champion. Sharapova became only the 10th woman to complete a career grand slam with the French Open 2012 victory.
She is the 6th woman in the open era to achieve the career grand slam, joining
Steffi Graf,
Martina Navratilova,
Margaret Court,
Chris Evert, and
Serena Williams.
Personal Life
Sharapova has lived in the United States since moving there at the age of seven. She has a residence in
Manhattan Beach, California and in
Netanya, Israel. Sharapova is engaged to Slovenian professional basketball player
Sasha Vujačić, who plays for the
Anadolu Efes S.K. in
Istanbul, Turkey. The two have been dating since 2009. In 2011, Sharapova was named in
Forbes Celebrity 100. This lists her as one of the top 100 most powerful celebrities of the year. Sharapova has made varying remarks on how long she intends to maintain her tennis career. Following the retirement of 25-year-old
Justine Henin in 2008, Sharapova said, "If I was 25 and I'd won so many Grand Slams, I'd quit too." In an interview after the
2008 Australian Open, she balked at the idea of playing for another ten years, saying that she hoped to have a "nice husband and a few kids" by then. However in an interview before her
2012 Australian Open semifinal, Sharapova changed her stance, saying she intended to continue playing tennis for as long as she enjoyed playing the game. Sharapova stated "I'm sure when I was 17 years old and someone said, you'll be playing for another eight years, it would be like, you're not going to see me at a press conference at 25 years old. But years go on. I missed a year in my career—I didn't play that year. I've said this, just before the tournament, a few weeks before, I woke up and I was just so happy to be going back on the court. I felt so fresh, full of energy, just with a really good perspective. Times change, obviously. I see myself playing this sport for many more years because it's something that gives me the most pleasure in my life. I think it helps when you know you're good at something, and you can always improve it. It obviously helps with the encouragement."
At the
2004 US Open, Sharapova, along with several other Russian female tennis players, wore a black ribbon in observance of the tragedy after the
Beslan school hostage crisis, which took place only days before. In 2005, she donated around US$50,000 to those affected by the crisis. On February 14, 2007, Sharapova was appointed a
Goodwill Ambassador for the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and donated US$210,000 to
UNDP Chernobyl-recovery projects. She stated at the time that she was planning to travel back to the area after Wimbledon in 2008, though it didn't happen, as she had to travel back to the US because of shoulder injury. She fulfilled the trip in late June – early July 2010. Sharapova has helped to promote the
2014 Winter Olympics in
Sochi, Russia. In addition, with
Angela Haynes,
Maria Kirilenko,
Nicole Vaidišová,
Rennae Stubbs, Governor
Jeb Bush and
Jennifer Capriati, Sharapova participated in an exhibition in Tampa in December 2004, raising money for the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund. In July 2008, Sharapova sent a message on DVD to the memorial service of Emily Bailes, who had performed the coin toss ahead of the
2004 Wimbledon final that Sharapova had gone on to win.
Endorsements
Sharapova's tennis success and appearance have enabled her to secure commercial endorsements that greatly exceed the value of her tournament winnings. In March 2006, Forbes magazine listed her as the highest-paid female athlete in the world, with annual earnings of over US $18 million, the majority of which was from endorsements and sponsorships. She has topped that list every year since, even after her 2007 shoulder injury. In April 2005,
People named her one of the 50 most beautiful celebrities in the world. In 2006,
Maxim ranked Sharapova the hottest athlete in the world for the fourth consecutive year. She posed in a six-page bikini photoshoot spread in the 2006
Valentine's Day issue of the
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, alongside 25 supermodels. In a poll run by Britain's
FHM magazine, she was voted the seventh most eligible bachelorette, based on both "wealth and looks."
Immediately after her win at the 2004 Wimbledon Championship, mobile phone company
Motorola signed Sharapova to endorse their mobile phone line. Additionally, she appeared in commercials for
Land Rover and
Canon, as well as approved of namesake items by watch brand
Tag Heuer and jeweller
Tiffany. Tiffany also provides Sharapova with earrings from the "Tiffany for Maria Sharapova" collection at the four major events, that are also retailed globally. She also starred in an award winning campaign for the sports clothing brand Nike, "
Pretty", in the summer of 2006. She signed a sponsorship deal in January 2007 with Gatorade and Tropicana. In 2007, Sharapova was featured in a number of Canon USA's commercials for the PowerShot. Sharapova has also been depicted in many tennis-related video games. Some of the titles include the
Top Spin series,
Virtua Tennis series, and
Grand Slam Tennis series. During the layoff due to her shoulder surgery, sensing the fleeting nature of a professional athlete's career, Sharapova decided to focus on developing her name as a brand, beginning with meeting with her sponsors more extensively to further her brand. In January 2010, it was announced that Sharapova had renewed her contract with Nike, signing an 8 year deal for $70 million. This is the most lucrative deal ever for a sportswoman, dwarfing the previous record, which was Venus Williams' $43 million deal with Reebok.
Following in the footsteps of tennis players who started clothing lines such as
Fred Perry and
René Lacoste, Sharapova launched her own tennis apparel line, the "Nike Maria Sharapova Collection", in 2010. The collection includes dresses that she designed for all the major tournaments, in collaboration with Nike and
Cole Haan. She had previously found that the outfits given to her by Nike did not suit her frame and were worn by too many other players. She comes up with design ideas and sketches in a process that begins 18 months before the event and receives royalties from the sale of the collection, of which the corresponding dresses are coordinated to be available simultaneously with the corresponding major tournament. The collection is worn by other WTA players, including
Sofia Arvidsson,
Kai-Chen Chang,
Andrea Hlavackova,
Madison Keys,
Anastasia Pivovarova as well as junior players such as Indy De Vroome. Sharapova had earlier collaborated with Nike on the "little black dress" that she wore for her night matches at the 2006 US Open. The dress featured a round crystal studded collar and was inspired by
Audrey Hepburn. The dress was well publicized and received but was not mass produced.Additionally, she designs shoes and handbags for Cole Haan, for which her signature ballerina flats are one of the biggest sellers of the entire brand.
Sharapova used the Prince Triple Threat Hornet for part of 2003 and then used several different Prince racquets until the
US Open. She gave the racquet she used in the
2004 Wimbledon final to
Regis Philbin when taping
Live with Regis and Kelly. Sharapova began using the Prince Shark OS at that tournament and had a major part in the production of the Shark racquet. She then switched to the Prince O3 White racquet in January 2006. She switched to the Prince O3 Speedport Black in July 2008. After being with Prince for ten years, Sharapova began endorsing Head racquets in 2011 and uses the Head YOUTEK IG Instinct.
In 2011,
Forbes listed Sharapova as no. 29 in their list of 50 top-paid athletes, the only woman on the list. In 2012, she was listed as no. 15, and was joined in the top 20 by
Li Na at no. 16 and
Serena Williams at no. 17.
Done...