Maria Sharapova Biography

Maria Sharapova

Tennis champion Maria Sharapova became the first Russian woman to win Wimbledon and hold the world's No. 1 ranking.

full name:	Maria Yuryevna Sharapova
bio:	Sharapova started hitting tennis balls at age four. At age nine she began training at Nick Bollettieri’s Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida, USA - a big commitment and sacrifice as she was away from her family and country at such a young age. This sacrifice is now paying dividends with success on and off the tennis court. In early 2016 she failed a drug test, and later admitted to testing positive for meldonium which she had been taking for years but was only recently added to the banned substances list.
also known as:	Masha
family:	Yuri and Yelena Sharapov
born:	April 19, 1987 in Nyagan, Russia (Siberian Region)
physical attributes:	Height: 6'2 Weight: 130 lbs. (59 kg) Plays right-handed
sport:	Tennis
rep. country:	Russia
lives:	Bradenton, Florida, USA
coach:	her father Yuri Sharapov and Robert Lansdorp
achievements:	BEST GRAND SLAM PERFORMANCES Australian Open: winner 2008 Roland Garros: winner 2012 US Open: winner 2006 Wimbledon: winner 2004
what you may not know:	At six years of age she participated in a tennis exhibition in Moscow that featured Martina Navratilova. Her off-court interests include fashion, singing, dancing and movies (favorites are Mona Lisa Smile, Something's Gotta Give and Love Actually). She enjoys reading books in the Sherlock Holmes and Pippi Longstocking series. She prefers Russian and Thai cuisine Her favorite dessert is French crepes with Nutella. Her favorite drinks are orangina and virgin strawberry daiquiris She signed with IMG Models in November 2003