Martina Sharapova

Career

Maria Sharapova at Indian Wells in 2005

Maria Sharapova at Indian Wells in 2006

• Sharapova has a 2-5 record in Grand Slam semifinals.
• Sharapova has a combined 3-8 record against the other top players in the world (1-3 against third ranked Mauresmo and 2-5 against top ranked Henin-Hardenne). Sharapova is 2-4 against Clijsters and 4-1 against Davenport, both of whom were formerly top ranked.

Legal action

Awards

• WTA (World Tennis Association)Newcomer of the Year
• Hottest female athlete of the year (Maxim)

• WTA Player of the Year
• WTA Most Improved Player of the Year
• WTA Player Service
• Hottest female athlete of the year (Maxim)

• ESPY Best Female Tennis Player
• Named the country's Best female player for the year by Russia's tennis federation
• Awarded the honorary Master of Sports of Russia title.
• Hottest female athlete of the year (Maxim)
• Prix de Citron Roland Garros

• Hottest female athlete of the year (Maxim)
• Named the country's Best female player for the year by Russia's tennis federation

Personal life

Endorsements

• Following her Wimbledon victory in 2004, Sharapova signed a one-year deal with automobile manufacturer, Honda, but the deal was only in Japan.
• Land Rover - In April 2006 Sharapova signed a three-year deal to endorse their vehicles. One source with knowledge of the deal said it was worth approximately US $2 million a year. Sharapova gets a free Land Rover Range Rover Sport in Florida and a chauffeured Land Rover Discovery wherever She wants.
• Motorola - a fee, plus a mobile phone and all her mobile phone bills paid, plus a share of the income of downloads from HelloMoto/Maria. Was criticized by some members of the American press for holding a RAZR to her ear at roughly the same time her father was seen talking on a similar phone, as this may have violated the USTA's no sideline-coaching rule.^[6]
• Gatorade - energy drink
• TAG Heuer - In December 2004, She signed a deal with Swiss Sports watch TAG Heuer to become their latest "sport and glamour" ambassador.
• Nike Inc. - Sharapova has been known to wear somewhat eccentric or revealing outfits from Nike on court, Best exemplified by a Breakfast at Tiffany's-inspired dress at the 2006 U.S. Open, which many mocked for its use of sequins and seemingly futuristic neckline. She also has been featured in several Nike marketing campaigns, including one advertisement in 2006 that had her walking and riding through the streets of New York City and Arthur Ashe Stadium while everyone around her sings "I Feel Pretty" until She returns a serve with her trademark loud grunt.
• Prince Sports, Inc. - Sharapova has committed to a "lifetime" of sponsoring the only tennis racket brand She's used as a pro. The endorsement deal that will last until the end of her playing career and beyond.
• Canon Inc. - Sharapova promotes both their office and camera products.

Racquet

Trivia

• In April 2005, Sharapova was listed by People Magazine as among the 50 most beautiful celebrities in the world.
• In 2006, Maxim magazine named Sharapova the hottest athlete in the world for the fourth consecutive year.
• In February 2006, Sharapova was featured in a six-page bikini photoshoot spread in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue annual magazine that debuted on Valentine's Day, along with 25 scantily-clad supermodels. Sharapova joined the ranks of other athletes who have previously appeared in the publication.
• In June 2006, Sharapova appeared in a commercial for ESPN's This is SportsCenter campaign. In the commercial, She is walking past Stuart Scott's desk when he stops her. He offers her a can of tennis balls he received from a supplier. She says that the can is filled with paper "worms" and that she doesn't want it. Scott acts offended, causing Sharapova to feel bad. She obliges to take the can, opens it, and paper worms fly into her face. She angrily walks away and throws the can back at Scott after he asks for it back. This commercial also featured Roger Federer who suffers the same fate before Sharapova. This was her second commercial for ESPN. The first one involved anchor John Anderson giving Sharapova a seat, which he was saving for Stuart Scott, even though he declined to give the seat to another anchor. This was an obvious reference to Sharapova's looks, as She is seen as One of the most beautiful athletes in the world.
• Never one to stay quiet on court, perhaps One of the most controversial aspects of Sharapova's game is her trademark on-court "grunting" or "screaming." Quite possibly the loudest female screamer since Monica Seles, a London tabloid is reported to have claimed that "her persistent shrieks topped out at 102 decibels" (as loud as a police siren).^[9] Sharapova claims that this is just part of her game and that only the British press give her a hard time about it. Elena Dementieva, Sharapova's opponent in a 2006 Wimbledon quarterfinal, complained about the distraction it causes.^[10] Later in US Open, Tatiana Golovin said: "Shrieking is not going to make the tennis ball come to me faster."^[11]
• Sharapova says that what She enjoys most about being a professional tennis player is the traveling and getting to meet new People and see new cultures.^[12]
• Sharapova is good friends with fellow Russian tennis player Maria Kirilenko, although Sharapova does not get along with the other female Russian tennis players.^[13]
• Sharapova is affectionately called "Masha".^[14]
• Sharapova gave the racquet She used in the Wimbledon final to Regis Philbin when taping Live with Regis and Kelly.
• Sharapova is the only Russian female player with more than one Grand Slam singles title.^{[citation needed]}
• Sharapova's favorite fashion designer is Marc Jacobs. She is sometimes seen in Marc Jacobs fashion shows.^{[citation needed]}
• Sharapova is the first and only Russian to be World no.1.
• The Japanese have honored Sharapova by making The Sharapowan.

Quotes

• I believe, at the end of the day, personally, my life is not about a banana. (when asked at the press conference after the 2006 U.S. Open final about her father's illegal signaling and feeding her during the match).^[15]
• I’ve been playing against older and stronger competition my whole life. It has made me a better tennis player and able to play against this kind of level despite their strength and experience.^[16]
• When I was working my way to the top of tennis, I didn't say I was number two, I said I wanted to be number one.^[17]

Grand Slam singles finals

Wins (2)

'''Year	'''Championship	'''Opponent in Final	'''Score in Final
2004	Wimbledon	Serena Williams	6-1, 6-4
2006	U.S. Open	Justine Henin-Hardenne	6-4, 6-4

WTA Tour Championships singles finals

Wins (1)

'''Year	'''Venue	'''Opponent in Final	'''Score in Final
2004	Los Angeles	Serena Williams	4-6, 6-2, 6-4

Tier I singles finals

Wins (4)

'''Year	'''Championship	'''Opponent in Final	'''Score in Final
2005	Tokyo	Lindsay Davenport	6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5)
2006	Indian Wells	Elena Dementieva	6-1, 6-2
2006	San Diego	Kim Clijsters	7-5, 7-5
2006	Zurich	Daniela Hantuchova	6-1, 4-6, 6-3

Runner-up (3)

'''Year	'''Championship	'''Opponent in Final	'''Score in Final
2004	Zurich	Alicia Molik	4-6, 6-2, 6-3
2005	Miami	Kim Clijsters	7-5, 6-3
2006	Miami	Svetlana Kuznetsova	6-4, 6-3

WTA Tour titles (18)

singles (15)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	April 21, 2002	Gunma, Japan	clay	Aiko Nakamura	6-4 6-1
2.	August 4, 2002	Vancouver, Canada	hard	Laura Granville	0-6 6-3 6-1
3.	September 15, 2002	Peachtree City, USA	hard	Kelly McCain	6-0 6-1
4.	May 11, 2003	Sea Island, USA	Green clay	Christina Wheeler	6-4 6-3
5.	September 29, 2003	Tokyo, Japan	hard	Aniko Kapros	2-6, 6-2, 7-6(5)
6.	October 27, 2003	Quebec City, Canada	hard	Milagros Sequera	6-2 retired
7.	June 7, 2004	Birmingham, United Kingdom	grass	Tatiana Golovin	4-6, 6-2, 6-1
8.	June 21, 2004	Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom	grass	Serena Williams	6-1, 6-4
9.	September 27, 2004	Seoul, South Korea	hard	Marta Domachowska	6-1, 6-1
10.	October 4, 2004	Tokyo, Japan	hard	Mashona Washington	6-0, 6-1
11.	November 8, 2004	WTA Championships, Los Angeles, USA	hard	Serena Williams	4-6, 6-2, 6-4
12.	February 6, 2005	Tokyo, Japan	Carpet	Lindsay Davenport	6-1, 3-6, 7-6(5)
13.	February 21, 2005	Doha, Qatar	hard	Alicia Molik	4-6, 6-1, 6-4
14.	June 6, 2005	Birmingham, United Kingdom	grass	Jelena Jankovic	6-2, 4-6, 6-1
15.	March 18, 2006	Indian Wells, USA	hard	Elena Dementieva	6-1, 6-2
16.	August 6, 2006	San Diego, USA	hard	Kim Clijsters	7-5, 7-5
17.	September 9, 2006	U.S. Open, New York City, USA	hard	Justine Henin-Hardenne	6-4, 6-4
18.	October 22, 2006	Zurich, Switzerland	hard	Daniela Hantuchova	6-1, 4-6, 6-3
19.	October 29, 2006	Linz, Austria	hard	Nadia Petrova	7-5, 6-2

singles Runner-ups (4)

• 2004: Zurich (lost to Alicia Molik 4-6, 6-2, 6-3)
• 2005: Miami (lost to Kim Clijsters 7-5, 6-3)
• 2006: Dubai (lost to Justine Henin-Hardenne 7-5, 6-2)
• 2006: Miami (lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-3)

Doubles Titles (3)

• 2003: Japan Open (Partner: Tamarine Tanasugarn) 7-6, 6-0
• 2003: Luxembourg (Partner: Tamarine Tanasugarn) 6-1, 6-4
• 2004: Birmingham (Partner: Maria Kirilenko) 6-2, 6-1

Doubles Runner-ups (1)

• 2004: Memphis (Partner: Vera Zvonareva) 6-4, 7-6

Performance timeline