Who is Maria Sharapova | Professional Tennis Player | U.S. Open | Wimbledon | Grand Slam | Australian Open | Picture and Photo Shoots

Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (born April 19, 1987) is a Russian professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. At the end of 2006, she was the world's highest-paid female athlete. Sharapova has won two Grand Slam singles titles, the U.S Open, having defeated Justine Henin in the final of the 2006 U.S. Open, and two years earlier, she defeated Serena Williams in the final at Wimbledon.

Sharapova's parents moved from Homel, Belarus, to Siberia, Russia, in 1986, after the Chernobyl nuclear accident. She was born the following year in Nyagan, Russia. Sharapova's father, Yuri Sharapov, brought Maria to the United States to attend the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida when she was 7 years old. Her mother, Yelena, who could not come with them because of visa restrictions, followed a few years later. Sharapova has lived in the United States since then but retains her Russian citizenship.

Until recently, Sharapova lived most of the year near the IMG training facility in Bradenton with her pomeranian, Dolce, who is featured in one of her advertisements for Canon PowerShot. According to the announcers at her first round match at the 2007 U.S. Open, she has moved to Southern California. Sharapova is good friends with fellow Russian tennis player Maria Kirilenko, American tennis player Andy Roddick and actress Uma Thurman; and has called actress Camilla Belle her best friend. In August 2007, the media reported that Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine made disparaging comments about Maria after ending a relationship with her. However, a representative for Levine stated shortly afterwards that Adam never said these things and the two have only met one time at a birthday party. Wikipedia, Maria Sharapova.

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