Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ( (help-info); born April 19, 1987) is a Russian professional tennis player who as of May 6, 2013 is ranked World No. 2 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and is the top Russian player and the only one in the top-10 (out of 8 Russians in the top-100). A United States resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 29 WTA singles titles, including four Grand Slam singles titles. She has also won the year-end WTA Tour Championships in 2004. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked Sharapova World No. 1 in singles on five separate occasions, for a total of 21 weeks. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on August 22, 2005, and regained the ranking for the fifth time on June 11, 2012. She has been in seven Grand Slam finals with a record of 4-3. 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. The world no. 1 ranking followed in 2005, along with subsequent major titles at the 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open, before she was forced out of the game for ten months by a recurring shoulder injury, which ultimately required surgery in October 2008. Sharapova returned to the game in May 2009, returning to the top 10 in March 2011 and capturing her fourth Grand Slam title at the 2012 French Open. By doing so, she became the sixth woman in the Open Era to complete the career Grand Slam. In the same year, she won an Olympic silver medal in the London 2012 Olympics. 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. 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. This book is your ultimate resource for Maria Sharapova. Here you will find the most up-to-date information, photos, and much more.
In easy to read chapters, with extensive references and links to get you to know all there is to know about Maria Sharapova's Early life, Career and Personal life right away. A quick look inside: Contents, Maria Sharapova, 100 Greatest of All Time, Alicia Molik, Amélie Mauresmo, Ana Ivanovic, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Anastasia Rodionova, Andrea Petkovic, Anna Chakvetadze, Anna Kournikova, Bank of the West Classic, Bell Challenge, Beslan school hostage crisis, Best Female Tennis Player ESPY Award, Bradenton, Florida, Caroline Wozniacki, Clay court, Cole Haan, Daniela Hantuchová, Dinara Safina, Dominika Cibulková, Drop shot, Ekaterina Makarova, Elena Dementieva, Evgeniya Rodina, Flavia Pennetta, Francesca Schiavone, French Open, Generali Ladies Linz, Gomel, Grand Slam (tennis), Grunting (tennis), Gréta Arn, Hana Mandlíková, Head (company)...and more pages!
Contains selected content from the highest rated entries, typeset, printed and shipped, combining the advantages of up-to-date and in-depth knowledge with the convenience of printed books. A portion of the proceeds of each book will be donated to the Wikimedia Foundation to support their mission.
