Maria Yuryevna Sharápova (born April 19, 1987) is a
Russian professional tennis player. The Chernobyl
nuclear accident in 1986 compelled Sharapova's
parents, Yuri and Yelena, ethnic Russians, to move
from Gomel, Belarus, to the town of Nyagan in
Siberia, Russia to live with Yelena's father. Maria
was born the following year.
Sharapova's father brought her to the United States
when she was seven years old, to attend the Nick
Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Her mother, Yelena, could not come with them because
of visa restrictions, and followed two years later.
Sharapova has lived in the United States since then,
but retains her Russian citizenship. She has a home
in Manhattan Beach, California and in early 2008,
purchased a penthouse apartment in Netanya, Israel.
Sharapova has won three Grand Slam singles titles.
In 2004, she beat Serena Williams to take the
Wimbledon title at the age of 17. Two years later,
she defeated Justine Henin in the final of the 2006
U.S. Open. At the 2008 Australian Open, she beat Ana
Ivanović in the final.
Sharapova has been labeled as a power baseliner by
tennis critics and fans. She is noted for having an
excellent double-handed backhand and serves,
particularly for the power and placement of these
shots. She is also noted for having a good forehand.
Likewise, critics claim that for her height,
Sharapova has decent agility on-court. Being an
offensive player, Sharapova is usually able to
overpower her opponents or keep them on the run with
sharp angles from the baseline. Because of this
agressive play, she excels on the fast-playing grass
and hard courts, but is not as dangerous on clay
(indeed, as of January 2008, she is yet to reach a
WTA final on the surface). This is because she is
not among the strongest of defensive players. She
can lose precision on her groundstrokes when she is
put on the run herself, a weakness that the best
all-around players will exploit. Sharapova is also
not a natural volleyer. Instead, she typically uses
a powerful "swinging" volley for net approaches.
Sharapova usually serves for placement, but uses
enough power on her first and second serve that
attacking that stroke is very difficult for her
opponents. She has been trying to develop her
"all-power" game, while also adding in slice, drop
shots and drop volleys.
Due to shoulder injuries, Sharapova adopted a new
service action with a shorter backswing after
Wimbledon 2007. Her first and second serve became
less effective during the majority of the 2007
season. Previously, she had an elongated backswing
to generate power on her serve. However, as a
trade-off, the swing also placed incredible strain
on her shoulder, leading to Sharapova's shoulder
injury at the beginning of the 2007 season. With her
shoulder injury apparently healed, Sharapova has
since returned to her elongated service motion, and
her serve has been more effective in 2008.
Sharapova is ambidextrous and played left-handed
until she was ten years old, before deciding to play
right-handed. Although she almost always employs a
right-handed forehand and double-handed backhand,
she has one of the most accurate double-handed
backhand shots and is known to occasionally hit
left-handed shots as a result of her early
left-handed training. She has also been criticised
for her on-court "grunting," reaching 101 decibels
(the volume of a police siren) during a match at
Wimbledon 2005.
Sharapova has won every Grand Slam singles title
except the French Open. She believes that winning
the French Open will be a big challenge because her
aggressive game does not suit a clay surface. She
has never won a WTA tour singles title on that
surface.
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kirti :
Posted 18 days ago
u'r just genious u'r motivating star for all youngster's.
Avash :
Posted 21 days ago
hi maria, i luv u .... ur da best
love :
Posted 40 days ago
hey nmaria can i have a photo from you you are beautiful and your msn adrees my number is IbI_9@hotmail.de
Ajeet Kumar :
Posted 52 days ago
dear maria wii you please marry me .i wanna have a wild sex with you
anubhav :
Posted 64 days ago
i luv u a lot maria i want to marry u and want to have a wild sex with u
ankit :
Posted 67 days ago
u r very sexy and good luking u r the best
Sabran :
Posted 67 days ago
u r so beauty.if i meet u.that may be my life's unforgettable day and my last day
bharat :
Posted 76 days ago
maria is so beautiful.
Mike25Movilla :
Posted 80 days ago
I love you Maria... You're the best!!!!
shreya :
Posted 82 days ago
hi maria.this is shreya from india.i am ur biggest fan.i love ur gameand the way u present urself.heres wishing u success 4 ur future!
avdal :
Posted 83 days ago
maria u are very beautiful like an angel . I am from (Kurdistan) north of Iraq .u don't know how much i like u. may u be happy,healthy and get many many awards.
avdal :
Posted 83 days ago
maria u are very beautiful like an angel . I am from (Kurdistan) north of Iraq .u don't know how much i like u. may u be happy,healthy and get many many awards.
adith :
Posted 101 days ago
hi..maria I'm really U'r big fan just wann ask U..when you Visit my country for vacation maybe? Indonesia..! I'll be wait
atul kashyap :
Posted 101 days ago
hi maria. congrats for ur victory. hope u will keep ur momentum going.
Shahid :
Posted 102 days ago
Hi Maria, My name is Shahid and I am from Pakistan, I like your game so much, I congratulate on your success of Australian Open, May you win many many more.
rakesh :
Posted 113 days ago
maria u r very beautiful player in the tennis world
reko jr :
Posted 120 days ago
maria u are very beautiful like an angel .u don't know how much i like u. may u be happy,healthy and get many many awards.
vinay kumar :
Posted 121 days ago
hi ! maria, you r my dream girl.i like u & love u. maria ! can u love me? i live many many far to u. maria are u meet with me one time in my life.i love u maria.
faisal :
Posted 181 days ago
hi ! maria, you r my dream girl.i like u & love u. maria ! can u love me? i live many many far to u. maria are u meet with me one time in my life.i love u maria.
SSRII :
Posted 201 days ago
hopes i can be the lucky one to meet and be the friend of you...
karthik :
Posted 202 days ago
u r so smart that i want to marry u i want u to give ur personal mail id and phone number u are so sexy that i want u to make u mother wilthin 10 months
