Maria Sharapova -
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (Russian: Мари́я Ю́рьевна Шара́пова; IPA: [mɐˈrʲijə ˈjʉrʲjɪvnə ʂɐˈrapəvə] (
listen); born 19 April 1987) is a Russian professional tennis player, who as of October 6, 2014 is ranked world No. 2 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). A United States resident since 1994,[4]Sharapova has competed on the WTA tour since 2001. She has been ranked world No. 1 in singles by the WTA on five separate occasions, for a total of 21 weeks. She became the world No. 1 for the first time on August 22, 2005 at the age of 18, and last held the ranking for the fifth time for four weeks from June 11, 2012 to July 8, 2012.[5][6] She is the reigning champion in singles at the French Open.
listen); born 19 April 1987) is a Russian professional tennis player, who as of October 6, 2014 is ranked world No. 2 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). A United States resident since 1994,[4]Sharapova has competed on the WTA tour since 2001. She has been ranked world No. 1 in singles by the WTA on five separate occasions, for a total of 21 weeks. She became the world No. 1 for the first time on August 22, 2005 at the age of 18, and last held the ranking for the fifth time for four weeks from June 11, 2012 to July 8, 2012.[5][6] She is the reigning champion in singles at the French Open.
Sharapova’s 34 singles titles and five Grand Slam titles — two at the French Open and one at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open — rank third amongst active players, behind Serena and Venus Williams. She won the year-ending WTA Finals in her debut in 2004. In 2012 she won an Olympic silver medal for Russia at the London Games. She has also won three doubles titles.
Despite an injury-prone career, Sharapova has achieved a rare level of longevity in the women’s game. She has won at least one singles title a year from 2003 until 2015, a streak only bested by Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilovaand Chris Evert. With her victory at the 2012 French Open, Sharapova became only the sixth woman in theOpen Era (tenth all-time) to complete a career Grand Slam. Sharapova’s trademark is her unyielding fighting spirit and will to win. Several tennis pundits and former players have called Sharapova one of tennis’s best competitors, with John McEnroe calling her one of the best the sport has ever seen.[7]
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, being 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,[8] and in March 2012 was named one of the "100 Greatest of All Time" by Tennis Channel.
Early life
Maria Sharapova was born on 19 April 1987 in Nyagan, Russian SFSR. Her parents, Yuri and Elena, are from Gomel, Belarussian SSR. Concerned about the regional effects of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident, they left their homeland shortly before Sharapova was born, moving from Gomel to Nyagan.[9]
Introduction to tennis
In 1989, when Sharapova was two, the family moved to Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia. There her father Yuri befriended Aleksandr Kafelnikov, whose son Yevgenywould go on to win two Grand Slam singles titles and become Russia's first world No. 1 ranked tennis player. Aleksandr gave Sharapova her first tennis racquet in 1991 when she was four, whereupon she began practicing regularly with her father at a local park.[10] Maria took her first tennis lessons with veteran Russian coach Yuri Yutkin, who was instantly impressed when he saw her play, noting her "exceptional hand-eye coordination".[11]
Start of professional training
In 1993, at the age of six, Sharapova attended a tennis clinic in Moscow run by Martina Navratilova, who recommended professional training at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida, which had previously trained players such as Andre Agassi, Monica Seles, and Anna Kournikova.[10] With money tight, Yuri Sharapov borrowed the sum that would enable him and his daughter, neither of whom could speak English, to travel to the United States of America, which they finally did in 1994.[11] Visa restrictions prevented Sharapova's mother from joining them for two years.[9] Arriving in Florida with savings of US$700,[11] Sharapova's father took various low-paying jobs, including dishwashing, to fund her lessons until she was old enough to be admitted to the academy. Before she entered the IMG business, she trained with Rick Macci, in the Rick Macci Tennis Academy. She then was offered a deal from IMG which forced her to change academies. Originally, she did train with Rick Macci, but after the deal with IMG, she could not see Rick Macci anymore. In 1995, she was signed by IMG, who agreed to pay the annual tuition fee of $35,000 for Sharapova to stay at the Academy, allowing her to finally enroll at the age of 9.[10]
Tennis career
Junior and early career
Sharapova first hit the tennis scene in November 2000, when she won the Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships in the girls' 16 division at the age of just 13.[12] She was then given a special distinction, the Rising Star Award, which is awarded only to players of exceptional promise.[13] Sharapova made her professional debut in 2001 on her 14th birthday on April 19, and played her first WTA tournament at the Pacific Life Open in 2002, winning a match before losing toMonica Seles. Due to restrictions on how many professional events she could play, Sharapova went to hone her game in junior tournaments, where she reached the finals of the girls' singles events at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2002. She was the youngest girl ever to reach the final of the Australian Open junior championship at 14 years and 9 months.[14]
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A web designer from India. And then you write some more information about yourself like this to fill out the space that is left.
0 comments:
Post a Comment