Maria sharapova what kind of sport. Maria Sharapova, biography, news, photos. From childhood with a racket

This beauty is the most famous and titled tennis player of the Russian Federation. The biography of Maria Sharapova knew many falls, but every time, in spite of everything, the athlete did not give up and walked towards the goal with her head held high. It was thanks to her hard work and perseverance that she was able to reach today's heights.

Biography

The future champion was born in distant Siberia. Her parents, Yuri Viktorovich and Elena Petrovna, moved to the Russian town of Nyagan from Gomel, in Belarus. They decided to take this step in order to provide their unborn child with clean air and safety, because Gomel is located only one hundred kilometers from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

In April 1987, the Sharapovs had a daughter, Masha. Soon the family was waiting for a new move. This time in Sochi, where Sharapova's grandmother lived.

Maria's father was always fond of tennis and even played well at the amateur level. It was Yuri Viktorovich who instilled in his daughter a love for this sport. He was very friendly with Yevgeny Kafelnikov's father, so Masha was familiar with many famous tennis players from early childhood. It was Eugene who gave the girl the first adult racket.

In 1993 Martina Navratilova came to Moscow for a demonstration game. Yuri Sharapov took his daughter there. Martina, noticing talent and extraordinary potential in the six-year-old girl, advised her father to go to America, to the Nick Bollettieri Academy.

Despite their modest financial situation, Yuri and Maria went to the United States. The girl was separated from her mother for almost two years. Studying at the academy cost a lot of money, according to the short biography of Maria Sharapova. The family was just learning to speak English, so Yuri Sharapov undertook any rough work, if only his daughter had the opportunity to grow and develop. And Masha lived in a hostel and left all her strength on the court.

Carier start

Sharapova became a real fighter and did not give up even to her older rivals in the academy. In an adult tournament, Maria made her debut at the age of fourteen. But in the first round she left the competition in Sarasota.

But the next year was marked by three significant victories. These were small tournaments, but they were hosted by the International Tennis Federation.

Robert Lansdorp was chosen as coach by Maria Sharapova. An English biography notes that he raised athletes such as Tracy Austin and Lindsay Davenport. Yuri Sharapov considered him the best American specialist in educating tennis champions. Lansdorp set Maria up to win and helped develop an already talented girl.

Nick Bollettieri recalls that Sharapova at the academy never wasted time. Coming onto the court, she immediately began to fight with her rival, without wasting time on a long warm-up and unnecessary pauses. Perhaps, thanks to the fighting qualities of the athlete, the biography of Maria Sharapova changed so dramatically already in 2003.

First successes

In 2002, Sharapova was ranked 186 in the world ranking. And already in 2003 it moved to 32nd place. This rapid rise is associated with the beginning of her performances at major tournaments. She qualified for the Australian Championship, then won the tournament in America and made her way to the main competition at Roland Garros.

2003 was truly unforgettable for Maria. Her favorite turf has brought her many victories. In Birmingham, the athlete left behind such titled persons as Natalie Deshi and Elena Dementieva. Further success accompanied her in Tokyo and Quebec, and Maria entered the top sixteen tennis players at Wimbledon.

At the end of that year, Sharapova was named the best young athlete of the Women's Tennis Association.

Grand Slam tournaments

Maria Sharapova is a tennis player whose biography and life changed completely in 2004. It was then that she proved to herself, and to her father, and to the whole world that her sufferings and labors were not in vain. In the Wimbledon final, Maria beat no one in two sets, but the formidable Serena Williams.

It was a real sensation. The stadium was sincerely happy for the Russian girl, and the standing ovation did not stop for a long time. Maria became the first Russian woman to conquer the tournament in foggy Albion. And this was only the beginning of her wonderful sports career.

To date, the biography of Maria Sharapova has five victories at the Grand Slam tournaments. She is one of the athletes who have conquered all the main tennis pedestals in different years.

In 2006, she celebrated the championship at the US Open, where in the final her rival was the Belgian Justine Henin-Ardenne.

In 2008, she defeated Serbian Anu Ivanovic in the hardest fight at the Australian Open.

In 2012 and 2014, Masha won the Roland Garros, beating the Italian Sara Errani and the Romanian Simona Halep.

In addition to these most important sporting achievements, the biography of Maria Sharapova was replenished with a 2012 Olympic silver medal. In her career - 34 victories in tournaments of the Women's Tennis Association in singles, as well as 3 in doubles. She has 4 victories at the tournaments of the International Tennis Federation.

In 2008, Sharapova, as part of the Russian national team, won the Federation Cup.

Offensive defeat

Of course, not everything went smoothly in the athlete's career. There were injuries and defeats. But at the initial stage, losses do not seem offensive, they only strengthen the sports spirit and give strength for further struggle.

When Maria Sharapova taught her fans to win and triumph, unexpected defeats brought a lot of disappointment.

The most offensive is probably the final of the London Olympics in 2012. Sharapova's rival Serena Williams has become a truly insurmountable obstacle to the gold medal. Without much difficulty in two sets (6: 0, 6: 1), she beat the Russian woman, depriving her of her dream of becoming an Olympic champion.

Serena Williams has become a truly unsurpassed rival for Sharapova. At Wimbledon 2015, they met in the semifinals and the American came out the winner again.

In 2010, something completely unexpected happened. Maria flew out of the first round of the Australian Open, losing to her compatriot Maria Kirilenko.

Maria Sharapova, whose short biography does not fully describe the history of this strong-spirited girl, does not stop there. Each new season she conquers tennis peaks and pleases her fans.

Personal life

For a long time, Maria met with basketball player from Slovenia Sasha Vuyachich. In 2010, their engagement was even announced. But then the young people began to be seen together less and less, and in 2012 it became known to the public that the couple had broken up.

Maria Sharapova, a biography whose personal life does not always become a subject of the public domain, admitted that she was in love again, which happened quite recently. In the spring of 2013, it became known that Grigor Dimitrov, a young tennis player from Bulgaria, became Maria's boyfriend. Interestingly, before meeting Maria, the Bulgarian was in a love relationship with Masha's implacable rival, Serena Williams.

Social activity

Maria Sharapova is the owner of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland. The girl was awarded this honor for her social activities. She founded funds to help the development of the regions of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus affected by the Chernobyl accident. In addition, Sharapova is funding a program to support students from these areas. The guys receive a special increased scholarship.

Maria Sharapova also had the honor of being the UN Goodwill Ambassador.

1. Height - 188 cm, weight - 59 kg.
2. Because of the manner of play and appearance, the athlete was nicknamed "the screaming Cinderella".
3. Loves to read. Prefers books in the original language. Among the Russian classics he worships Chekhov.
4. Wears size 43 shoes.
5. Several times, "Forbes" was noted as the highest paid and most influential athlete.

Her trademark screams on the tennis court infuriated rivals and delighted men. This is how Maria “shouted” to the champion of the famous Wimbledon tournament, the winner of the prestigious Grand Slam competition. And she can also be safely called the most charming sportswoman on the planet, whose appearance on the court is always admirable. In addition, Masha is considered one of the enviable brides: her fortune, according to some estimates, is more than $ 90 million. But the Russian beauty has not yet found a worthy chosen one for herself. In our opinion, this should be a real man, ready to follow Masha into fire and water. And although there were enough star boyfriends around the girl, her choice was not always successful. The men to whom she gave her love did not always know how to appreciate her serious and deep feelings.

Juan Carlos Ferrero

Photo @juankiferri

Masha's feelings for this attractive Spaniard can be called to some extent teenage love. The sixteen-year-old girl was just crazy about the famous tennis player and, as if glued, followed on his heels. She did not miss a single game with Juan. Masha did not take her admiring girls' eyes off him at all the parties where he appeared. However, the Spaniard reacted to the girl like granite to the wind. Juan remained indifferent to young Masha. The girl's despair knew no bounds: she suffered deeply from unrequited feelings, and everything fell out of her hands. Soon Juan married a school friend, finally burying Maria's dreams of mutual love. The black news so struck the girl that any mention of his name aroused hatred in Sharapova and a mental desire to grind Juan into powder.

Andy Roddick

This American tennis player turned out to be Maria Sharapova's first serious love. True, the relationship between young people was of some kind of conspiratorial nature. Masha and Andy met in secret, without publicity. The American wore her purchases made in stores, invited her to the casino, rooted for the Russian beauty when she played on the court. At first, Sharapova did not understand why Roddick was so careful and in his love at times, to put it mildly, more like a spy escaping surveillance. And everything was explained simply: at that time Masha was 18 years old. And according to American law, the connection of an adult man with her was considered not only a violation of generally accepted morality. Andy himself once confessed to Maria: “I don’t want to be branded as a child molester. And who will call you, I do not even want to think. We will deny everything. " And when Masha turned 19, the adult girl suddenly realized that her feelings for Andy had noticeably faded away, there was no longer the former forbidden romantic sparkle.

Adam Levine

The connection of Maria Sharapova with the lead singer of the famous group Maroon 5 can be called without obliquity an accidental mistake of youth. The relationship between them lasted no more than six months, but this period was enough for Masha to experience great disappointment and a sense of shame. Adam was not at all the person she wanted him to be. It seems that for a musician, a relationship with a Russian beauty was needed for his own PR, some kind of self-affirmation. Indeed, not every self-respecting man "dares" to tell everywhere about the intimate details associated with meetings with Sharapova. However, no matter how hard Adam tried, he did not damage Masha's reputation. But then he constantly caught the sidelong glances of fans of the talent and beauty of the Russian tennis player.

Charlie Ebersol

The son of a famous American TV mogul was handsome, wealthy and well-mannered. Why not a long-awaited prince for our Masha! Yes, and Sharapova's dad, "famous" for his extravagant antics, both on and off the court, was both hands for the choice of his daughter. The loving father was impatient to see his daughter married to Charlie and to arrange her personal life well. And at first it seemed that the relationship between Ebersol and Sharapova was tied into a kind of romantic knot. The sweet couple were spotted together at a charity auction during an exhibition tournament, where they chatted merrily and behaved like the closest people. And everything would be fine if Charlie hadn’t taken it into his head to introduce Masha to basketball player Sasha Vuyachich. The athlete was subdued by the Russian girl and did everything possible to beat her off from a friend ...

Sasha Vuyachich

Contrary to the opinion prevailing among some men that women are mercantile and very calculating, Masha immediately succumbed to the feeling that surged through her. For the first time, it seemed to the girl that she had found a worthy chosen one. And from the side, the burning tall brunette Sasha and the blonde Masha really looked very impressive. The romance between them developed rapidly: they walked everywhere in an embrace, as if demonstrating that an event threatening an engagement or a wedding was not far off. And so it happened: on October 21, 2010, a Slovene proposed to Masha, presenting a ring worth a quarter of a million dollars. And everyone froze in joyful anticipation that ahead was a luxurious wedding on some fabulous island. But the feast for the whole world did not work out. For reasons known only to Maria, the relationship with Sasha was interrupted. They parted as good friends.

Maria Sharapova is a famous Russian tennis player, highly paid athlete and winner of many sports awards. In this article we will tell you the most interesting facts from the life of a celebrity.

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/people/ [email protected]

Biography of Maria Sharapova

1. Born on 19.04. 1987 in the city of Nyagan. She started playing tennis at the age of 4 when the family moved to live in Sochi. From the age of 6, she began to go in for sports professionally. Close friends of the family saw extraordinary abilities in the girl and immediately recommended that she be sent to the American Tennis Academy. In 1995, the Sharapov family moved to permanent residence in the United States, where the future star began to attend a tennis academy in Florida. The girl worked hard and devoted all her free time exclusively to sports. Her father was her support, support and best friend throughout this time.

Career of Maria Sharapova

2. The first participation in full-fledged tournaments took place in 2001. In 2002 and 2003 the girl received her first awards, was recognized as the best beginner player. In 2005, the young star received the title of one of the best tennis players in the world. In 2006, the girl set her own record of 19 fights, in which she won. Real fame came in 2012, when the athlete won the silver medal at the Summer Olympics.

3. In 2016, the girl was disqualified after the detection of doping in the body. After Maria held a press conference, she made a statement that she had been taking the drug since she was 10 and did not know that it was on the prohibited list. The girl noted that she did not plan to quit sports, she explained what had happened by her own mistake and completely took all the blame on herself.

4. The star is engaged in her own business, cooperates with many well-known brands, launched a confectionery production, organized her own charitable foundation and participates in several UN programs.

Personal life of Maria Sharapova

5. A bright and charming athlete has won the hearts of millions of men around the world. However, in her personal life, not everything goes smoothly. As a teenager, the girl fell in love with the Spanish tennis player Ferrero, who was much older than her and did not reciprocate. The young athlete literally chased her lover, attended his games, waited in hotels, wrote messages, and also went to events that Ferrero attended.

6. In 2004, the tennis player met with the deputy of "Fair Russia" Anton Belyakov. The relationship did not last long, after which the athlete filed a statement with law enforcement, accusing her lover of sexual violence and harm to health. The man said that this was slander, aimed solely at destroying his career.

7. In 2005, the tennis player meets Andy Roddick. The novel did not last long. Young people broke up after the first joint vacation. After that, the girl began to meet with the vocalist of the group "Maroon 5", who dedicated one of his lyric songs to her. After some time, the couple ended the relationship, and Maria's former lover told the press extremely unpleasant details of the partners' intimate life.

8. After that, the tennis star met for a short time with a young and promising American producer. In 2009, Maria began to meet with the Slavic athlete Sasha Vuyachich. A year later, the couple announced their engagement, but it did not come to a wedding.

9. The girl's father always accompanies his daughter at sporting events and often causes mixed reactions from fans. The man has a peculiar manner of supporting Maria. Most often, he expresses his emotions quite violently, reinforcing this with obscene language. Because of this behavior, all sorts of conflicts often occur. Few approve of the peculiar parental approach, but Maria herself believes that her father has the right to express feelings as he pleases.

10. Maria quite vividly expresses her own emotions. According to official measurements, her scream during the game reaches 105 dB. This figure is comparable to the noise from an aircraft engine.

11. At the age of 17, the girl beat the strongest tennis player of the time, Serena Williams, with a stunning 6: 1 score.

12. She became the first woman, whom it was decided to entrust to carry the Russian flag at the opening of the Olympic Games. Maria is a patriot and devotes every victory exclusively to Russia.

13. There are many rumors about the tennis player's mother. The most widespread versions: she is not alive; she is in a psychiatric hospital. However, according to the official version, Maria simply limited communication with her mother and grandmother for personal reasons. The star does not comment on this situation.

14. The girl was awarded two medals: "For Services to the Fatherland", "For Contribution to the Development of Physical Culture and Sports and Sports Achievements."

15. The advantage of a tennis player over her rivals is that she has the same good command of her right and left hands. After a serious injury, the girl had to undergo shoulder surgery and part with sports for a year. The tennis player was forced to completely change the technique and style of serving.

16. In 2010, the girl was recognized as the highest paid athlete in the world. She is the only Russian woman recognized as one of the most influential celebrities on the planet.

Masha is a frequent guest on the gossip, but her personal life did not seem to be discussed. I am a longtime fan of Masha, so I followed most of the novels online. In general terms - Masha does not like to share her personal life and has confirmed only two novels, with Vuyachich and Dimitrov. About the rest of the guys - silence. Learning about Masha and Sasha, she ran to the gossip)

The first guy the press found out about was American tennis player Andy Roddick. Their romance took place in 2005.

Both were young, so the relationship didn't last long. But the guys remained in excellent relations.

In 2007, Masha literally and figuratively lit up with Novak Djokovic, who at that time broke up with his Elena.

The first Grand Slam final for Novak, Masha supports him from the stands.

Masha also maintained a wonderful relationship with Nole. He supported her in doping history. In general, Novak is a person of a wide soul, very charismatic, he earned more than $ 100 million in prize money alone, not to mention advertising, is engaged in charity work in his native Serbia. Marusya missed the good guy.

In 2008 she met with American producer Charlie Ebersol. This is the son of some influential sports producer, in 2014 he was credited with an affair with Britney Spears.

The reason for the disagreement was the schedules of the athletes. Sasha moved to play in Turkey, and Masha lives in LA. So by the spring of 2012, they broke up.

At the end of 2012, ON appeared in Masha's life. Metrosexual, tennis player, Bulgarian, damn attractive lover of older ladies, ladies' man and curly Grisha.

Grigor was credited with an affair with Serena Williams, which complicated everything. Maria Yuryevna and Serena Richardovna did not have official disagreements, but everyone knew that they disliked each other. Serena won a lot more tournaments, but Masha earned more money from advertising and this, they say, annoyed the American. And then there's Grisha. After Masha started dating Grisha, Serena told a magazine about a guy with a black heart who is dating another tennis player.

Masha never went into her pocket for a word and reminded Serena that she was dating a guy who actually had an official wife and children.

Patrick Muratoglu is Serena's coach and former bf.

Now the relationship between Masha and Serena is nowhere worse) On April 19, on Masha's 30th birthday, Serena "accidentally" merged a photo with a pregnancy. On the first day of sales of Masha's autobiography, Serena announced the birth of her daughter, although Olympia was born a week ago. In short, a typical female team)

And Megan is also a fan of Serena

Many are waiting for Serena at the wedding of Harry and Megan ... and Misha is Megan's friend and ex-Sasha Gilks. Fun)))

Taak we stopped at Grisha. They parted with Masha in 2015. There were rumors about Grisha's betrayal with the Bulgarian model.

After Masha, Grisha had an affair with Nicole Scherzinger

Masha did not really follow the guy. The poor man in cotton panties, looking from Zara, was swimming

Nicole bought swimming trunks from Versace for her beloved)

Masha saw the former Nicole Lewis Hamilton a couple of times. Without any romance, they have a common sponsor.

Masha is also on good terms with Grigor. Here is a photo from 2017. Wherever Nicole looks

Grisha offers some views, but Masha is unshakable)

In 2016, Maria began a short-term affair with a Spanish handsome model, former Kylie Minogue Andreas Velencoso.

Certainly not Gandhi, but good. The relationship didn't last long.

Masha definitely has a type - a corny southerner, dark hair and eyes. Only Roddick was knocked out. I liked Gilkes, like many gossips, but I was surprised at her choice. Masha is 188 tall and loves heels. Sasha looks at 180-183. All her guys were at least a couple of cm taller.

From the general I can single out a love for art, Masha loves to go to museums, theaters, exhibitions. Even her Instagram is aesthetically pleasing to the eye)

I approve of Maria's choice, she has more titles and personal happiness)

PS: there were rumors about Masha's romance with Adam Levine and the Russian deputy, this is a jaundiced lie.

Maria Sharapova was born on April 19 1987 years in the small Siberian town of Nyagan, where her parents moved from Gomel, fleeing the consequences of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. She started playing tennis at 4.5 years old, by that time her family had already lived in Sochi. The first coach of Maria was Yuri Yudkin. He noticed little Masha, with an adult racket in her hands, during the training sessions of her dad, a great tennis lover, Yuri Sharapov. It is curious that Masha's father was friends with Evgeny Kafelnikov's father, and it was Evgeny who gave her the first racket. "What struck me right away. At 4.5 years old she was a child with great mental development. Masha absorbed everything that I said and showed her. She grabbed everything on the fly. She mastered those blows that are still not clear to everyone. At 7 already knew how to perform a twisted serve and was a little master.You can't imagine that in life she is a kind, soft, smiling girl, but as soon as she picks up a racket, she is a beast! We must win! During the three years of our work, she never once told me: I'm tired. " - recalls Yu.V. Yudkin.
At the age of six, Maria Sharapova had a chance to play with Martina Navratilova, when she gave a master class in Moscow. Navratilova, seeing the talent in a very young tennis player, strongly advised her father to send Masha to the Nick Bollettieri tennis academy, which is located in Florida. Maria's wise father, who always tried in every possible way to develop his daughter's tennis talent and, by the way, now travels with her to most tournaments, heeded the advice of the great tennis player and soon moved with Masha to America. The Russian Tennis Federation also helped in the move. Maria's mother, Elena, was able to move to America only two years later, when she received permission to leave. Yuri Sharapov reviewed all the coaches in America and chose the best for his daughter - this is Robert Lansdorp. He raised the likes of Pete Sampras, Lindsay Davenport and Tracey Austin.
"Tennis is what turns her on. Forget everything that is not tennis - posing for magazines and all that. Yes, she does it too, but I assure you, compared to tennis, she doesn't care. what she does on the court is above all for her. Just look once how she trains. She never stands in the middle of the court and never spends too much time on the warm-up. No, she always immediately goes out on the court and says: "Well, let's start Damn it! "She's a real fighter, and anyone in the academy who spars with her quickly starts to look like a guinea pig." - says Nick Bollettieri.

At adult tournaments held under the auspices of the International Tennis Federation, Masha made her debut in 2001 -m - in Sarasota, where, however, she lost in the first round. But a year later in Columbus, not even being in the ranking of the Women's Tennis Association, she won at the start her rival, who was then among the 300 best in the world.
In the season- 2002 she had three titles won at ITF tournaments: in Japanese Gunma, Canadian Vancouver and American Peachtree City. And in 2003 year, Maria Sharapova regularly began to try her hand at major competitions. Qualified at the Australian Open in January, in February it was already on the 153rd place in the WTA computer. In May, she won another ITF tournament in Sea Island (USA) - and again, now at Roland Garros, made her way through the qualification to the main draw of the Grand Slam tournament.
Then a series of tournaments began on the grass - a surface on which Sharapova is able to play especially well. And in Birmingham, Maria really "shot" - she beat three "seeded" at once - French Natalie Deshi (5), Swiss Marie-Gayane Mikaelyan (11) and Elena Dementieva (1), after which in the semifinals in a tie-break in the third Sete lost to the Japanese woman Shinobu Asagoya. And then, having received a personal invitation from the organizers, Maria successfully performed at the Wimbledon tournament, entering the top sixteen. In the second half of 2003, Masha came to her first serious successes, she was able to win two WTA tournaments - in Tokyo and Quebec City. And finish the year 32nd in the WTA rankings. 16-year-old Maria Sharapova was named the best rookie of the year by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA).

Since then, Maria's career has been on the rise. At the beginning 2004 of the year Masha burst into the top 20 strongest tennis players in the world. Reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. This was followed by an unbeaten run on the grass. First, Maria won the tournament in Birmingham in singles and doubles, and three weeks later she made her dream come true. On July 3, 2004, Maria won Wimbledon, confidently, beautifully and boldly defeating the two-time winner of this tournament, the formidable American Serena Williams, in the women's singles final!
The final match of Wimbledon against Serena Williams Maria Sharapova began, not betraying the natural excitement in such cases. The Russian woman won the first point on her serve, then another, then made a break and took the lead 4: 1. Continuing to act practically without mistakes, Maria brought the game to a rout - 6: 1. In the second game Williams Jr. managed to establish a reception and get ahead - 4: 2. It seemed that the more experienced American tennis player was about to make the final turning point in the meeting. And in this situation Masha showed a fantastic game. She quickly leveled the score, withstood the colossal tension in the protracted ninth game, and finally put the winning point - 6: 1, 6: 4.
So Masha turned from a promising, promising and talented player into a new bright star of world tennis. Maria Sharapova's success on the courts of the All England Lawn Tennis Club was not only her personal achievement, but also another great victory for Russian women's tennis. After all, for the first time a Russian tennis player managed to win the Wimbledon tournament! This victory allowed Masha to become the 8th racket in the world.
After such a fantastic take-off, a natural decline followed. And at the US Open Masha could not show her best game, losing in the third round to Mary Pierce.
However, Maria's brilliant performance at the end of the season instilled hope in the hearts of admirers of Maria Sharapova's talent. Having won the hard tournaments in Seoul and Tokyo, Maria got a ticket to the final tournament of the year in Los Angeles. Having beaten three Russians, Kuznetsova, Zvonareva and Myskina, Maria reached the final of this prestigious tournament. As at Wimbledon, Masha had to fight Serena Williams for the main prize, it was the fifth match in six days. In the hardest fight, with a score of 4: 6 6: 2 6: 4 Maria Sharapova again defeated the former first racket of the world and won the title of World Champion in 2004!
The International Tennis Journalists Association (ITWA) named Maria Sharapova the best tennis player of 2004. Thus, Maria finished the 2004 season on a positive note, becoming the fourth racket in the world at the end of the year and the second racket of Russia.

V 2005 The ascent to the tennis throne continued. At the Australian Open, Maria reached the semifinals and lost only to the future winner, Serena Uiyalms, who managed to play 3 match points against the Russian. After Melbourne, Masha became the first racket in Russia. The Toray Pan Pacific Open, the first category tournament in Tokyo, was the 8th tournament won by Maria Sharapova. Moreover, in the final, the first racket of the world, Lindsay Davenport, was defeated. The Doha title and very successful performances in the American first category tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami (semi-finals and finals) allowed Maria to rise in the rankings. On April 4, Maria for the first time took the lead in the WTA Championship Race and on April 11, a week before her 18th birthday, Masha became the second racket of the world! And at the annual awards ceremony for ATP and WTA players held in Miami, Maria Sharapova excelled in three nominations: "Best tennis player of 2004 according to the WTA Tour", "Most Progressive Player" and "Audience Award". Russian President Vladimir Putin, congratulating the tennis player on her majority, noted that millions of Russian fans are proud of her achievements and wish the athlete new bright victories.
Maria Sharapova performed the 2005 soil season more successfully than in the previous year. But again it was not possible to replenish the list of titles with a clay tournament.
Everyone was looking forward to the grass tournaments. In Birmingham, Sharapova confirmed the title and won the 10th tournament of her career. Unfortunately, Maria failed to win a second victory at Wimbledon. She reached the semifinals and lost to American Venus Williams. Thus, interrupting the unbeaten run on the grass from 22 matches, and losing the title of the reigning champion. An interesting pattern - Masha again lost at the Grand Slam tournament to the future winner.
Maria Sharapova is becoming more and more famous. Forbes magazine included Maria among the "100 most influential world celebrities", and Masha was the only Russian woman on this list. In Los Angeles, Masha received the 2004 ESPY Awards, a prestigious US award. The Russian woman was named the best tennis player of the year by ESPN.
The excellent results of Maria Sharapova over the past 52 weeks made it possible to talk about the first place in the WTA rankings. Speaking in Los Angeles at the JPMorgan Chase Open, Maria was one step away from the title of the first racket of the world. It was enough to beat Daniel Hantuhova in the quarterfinals to overtake Lindsay Davenport in the ranking. However, this match did not take place. Due to a pectoral muscle injury (received last year at a tournament in Zurich) and a cold, Maria was forced to withdraw from the tournament. But only a week passed, and in the new official WTA rating list for August 22, Maria Sharapova was in first place! Maria's results in WTA tournaments over the past 52 weeks turned out to be the best among all tennis players in the world: in 17 tournaments played after the US Open-2004, Sharapova won 6 tournaments, 2 times reached the finals, 6 times - to the semifinals and 3 times - to the quarterfinals. Masha became the 15th tennis player (since 1975) who managed to lead the women's rating, as well as the first Russian woman in this honorary list.
A week later, Lindsay Davenport, having won the tournament in New Haven, overtook Maria. Nevertheless, for the first time in a Grand Slam tournament, the US Open, Masha was seeded at number one. At the US Open, Masha reached the semifinals, again losing to the future champion - Kim Klaysters, in a stubborn match - 2: 6 7: 6 (4) 3: 6. Maria Sharapova, the only one of the top three in the ranking, who reached the semifinals of USO-2005, secured a 365-point lead over the rest of the tennis players and returned to the first line of the WTA rankings on September 12.
Maria's injuries continued to bother her. In the semifinals of the Beijing tournament, Masha had to give up the fight against her friend, Maria Kirilenko.
In the rank of the first racket of the world, Masha flew to Moscow to play for the first time in the Kremlin Cup. This visit aroused great interest among journalists and the public. At the first press conference, Shamil Tarpishchev presented Maria Sharapova with the "Russian Cup" in the nomination "Best Russian tennis player 2004-2005" and a certificate of awarding the title "Honored Master of Sports of the Russian Federation". Unfortunately, Masha did not manage to please her fans with the game. In the first dramatic match, when Masha was losing to Anna-Lena Gronefeld, her opponent was injured and refused to fight. The second match against Dinara Safina began more successfully, but in the end Maria lost in three sets.
On October 24, Masha again dropped in the rankings, having spent a total of 7 weeks on the first line. Due to a disturbing injury, she missed the tournament in Philadelphia and only at the last moment decided to play in the final tournament in Los Angeles. Unexpectedly for many, Masha beat the first racket of the world Lindsay Davenport and Patti Schnyder, showing good tennis, and advanced from the group to the semifinals. The match against Amelie Moresmo was the last this year. “I couldn’t serve well, especially in the second set,” Maria will say after the match. well. " Moresmo eventually won the tournament.
Like the previous year, Maria Sharapova finished 2005 in 4th place in the WTA rankings. And during her Japanese tour, during which she played several demonstration matches, in December, Masha said: "In the new season, leadership in the WTA rankings will be a priority for me."

New 2006 the year begins alarmingly for Maria and her fans. An exacerbated shoulder injury at the end of last season casts doubt on her participation in the year's first Grand Slam tournament. However, Maria decides to play at the Australian Open in Melbourne and, despite the lack of competitive practice, reaches the semifinals, where Justine Henin-Hardenne is inferior in a persistent three-set match. Then Maria successfully plays in tournaments in Tokyo and Dubai, reaching the semifinals and finals, and is gaining very good shape to Indian Wells.
The prestigious Pacific Life Open Category I tournament becomes Sharapova's first title won in 2006 and 11th in her career. On the way to the final, Maria takes revenge for the defeat in Tokyo from the famous Martina Hingis, and in the final match she defeats Elena Dementieva. And immediately after that, he repeats his last year's result at a major tournament in Miami - he reaches the final. But the excellent play of her rival, Svetlana Kuznetsova, in the final match and Maria's accumulated fatigue do not allow her to win the second title in a row and she is two sets behind.
Excellent performance at the Spring Tournaments in the USA is complemented by her successes outside the courts - Maria receives the US Weekly award for the most stylishly dressed athlete.
Unfortunately, injuries again interfere with Maria's performance schedule during the clay season - problems with her leg force her to miss almost all tournaments up to Roland Garros. Again, the suboptimal physical condition and the lack of practice on this difficult surface for Masha do not allow her to perform successfully in France. In a dramatic match of the 4th round, she is inferior to Dinara Safina, leading 5: 1 in the decisive set.
The long-awaited herbal season, with which Maria always pins special hopes, does not start so optimistically. At the tournament in Birmingham, Masha unexpectedly lost to Jamie Jackson in the semifinals, unable to confirm her title. And on his favorite courts at Wimbledon, like a year ago, he stops at the semifinal stage, where in a three-set match he is inferior to the future winner of the tournament and the first racket of the world Amelie Moresmo.
A month after Wimbledon, Maria takes part in the I category Acura Classic in San Diego. Here Masha beats Vera Zvonareva, Marie Pierce, Patti Schnyder and reaches the final, where for the first time in her career she defeats the Belgian Kim Kleisters (with a score of 7: 5 7: 5) and wins her 12th title! Next week, Sharapova performs again - this time on the courts of Los Angeles, in a category II tournament, and reaches the semifinals. The high level of play demonstrated on the American hard and the important victories won make many experts call Maria one of the main favorites of the upcoming US Open.
Masha prepares specifically for her performance at the US Open, the last Grand Slam tournament in 2006. Being in excellent physical and psychological shape, first of all, due to the absence of health problems and good playing practice, she confidently starts the tournament in New York and easily beats her rivals in the first four rounds. The quarterfinal match with Tatyana Golovin is held in a more stubborn struggle - both sets end with tiebreaks, but in both cases Maria is stronger - 7: 6 (4) 7: 6 (0). In the semifinals, Maria again meets with Amelie Mauresmo and this time wins a brilliant victory over the Frenchwoman with a score of 6: 0 4: 6 6: 0, without losing a game in the first and third sets to the first racket of the world. Then this match will be called by many as one of the best matches of the year in the WTA tour.
On September 10, 2006, something happened that Maria and her fans had been waiting for two years - Sharapova wins the second Grand Slam tournament of her career - US Open. In two sets, demonstrating excellent tennis and champion confidence, Maria beats Henin-Ardennes - 6: 4, 6: 4! “This is absolutely incredible. I fell to my knees and thought about everything that was invested in this tournament! This is the merit of all my work since childhood, which became possible thanks to my amazing family,” the 19-year-old champion will say after the victory.
In the rank of the current winner of the last Grand Slam tournament, Maria Sharapova arrives in Moscow to participate in the Kremlin Cup. It is in Moscow that Masha plans to return to competitions after winning the US Open. But, unfortunately, again it is not possible to please the Russian fans with beautiful victories. After completing only one lap, Maria is forced to withdraw from the tournament due to an annoying foot injury.
Masha flies from Russia to Zurich for the 1st category tournament. It seems that her acting is far from perfect: Maria makes many unforced mistakes and Masha's fatigue is noticeable with the naked eye. But she continues to win match after match and, finally, having beaten Daniela Hantuhova in the final in a difficult fight, she wins the tournament in Zurich! Immediately after that, Masha won the second tournament in a row - Generali Ladies Linz. 15th career title!
Having shown good results throughout the year, Maria comes to the final tournament of the Sony Ericsson Championships, taking 2nd place in the WTA rankings. And she still has a chance to finish the year on the first line. Masha's winning streak is 16 matches in a row by this moment. In her group, Maria confidently beats all tennis players in two sets (Dementyeva, Klaysters and Kuznetsova) and brings her personal record to 19 unbeaten matches. In the semifinals, Masha will play against the Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne, the second tennis player who claims to be the first at the end of the year. Alas, in the semifinals of the Championship Masha could not show her best game, made a large number of mistakes and lost 2: 6, 6: 7 (5). Henin-Ardennes after this victory became the first racket of the world, and Maria Sharapova for the first time took second place in the final ranking.

After the successful completion of the 2006 season 2007 turned out to be one of the most difficult for Maria in her career. The main reason for some decline in the game and the results was the injury to the right shoulder, received by the athlete at the very beginning of the year. Shoulder problems led to the failure of one of the main and most successful components of Maria Sharapova's game - the serve, which affected the athlete's performance for most of the season.
The first official tournament of the season - the Australian Open - was quite successful for Maria. After the most difficult match of the 1st round against the Frenchwoman Camille Peng, which the tennis players were forced to play in 40-degree heat, Maria, nevertheless, managed to reach the final of the first Grand Slam tournament of the season. On the way to her so far the best result in the tournament - the final - Maria confidently beat the actively progressing Anna Chakvetadze and one of the most difficult rivals - Kim Klaysters. In the final, the Russian woman almost did not manage to oppose the former first racket Serena Williams, who returned to the Tour, having won only 3 games in the decisive match of the tournament. Nevertheless, reaching the final of the Grand Slam tournament allowed Maria to earn enough points to take the place of the first racket of the world for the 3rd time in her career and stay in this position for 7 weeks.
Immediately after the tournament in Australia, Maria took part in the Tokyo I category tournament, showing her not her best game. Having won two 3-set matches, Maria was forced to refuse to continue the fight in the semifinal match with Ana Ivanovich due to a hip injury.
Maria was able to return to full-fledged training only at the end of February. The Russian woman continued her performances in the Tour at the prestigious Category I tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami. The winner of the Indian Wells tournament and the finalist of the tournament in Miami last year failed to confirm her status there. Continuing shoulder problems did not allow Maria to consistently and with sufficient speed to serve and hit from the right, as a result of which she managed to reach only the 1/8 finals in both tournaments. In Indian Wells, Maria was defeated by Vera Zvonareva; in Miami, having beaten the eldest of the Williams sisters in a long and extremely tense match in the 3rd round, she could not provide adequate resistance to Serena Williams, with whom the grid brought her at the next stage of the tournament.
After two American tournaments, Maria was again forced to take a break from training and performances. Due to injury, having missed most of the tournaments ahead of Roland Garros on clay, Maria, however, decided to come to the III category tournament in Istanbul. Reaching the semifinals, Maria lost in it to the Frenchwoman Aravan Rezai in 2 sets.
Insufficient practice on clay and imperfect form, however, did not prevent Maria from showing her best result at Roland Garros 2007 - the semifinals. Having quite confidently spent the first 3 laps, in the 4th round match against Patti Schnyder, Maria had to show her famous "fighting character". This match, which ended in a 9: 7 victory for Maria in the 3rd set, became one of the most intense of the season. "Returning to the match with Schnyder ... In my opinion, I have not been so proud of my performance for a long time. Not only because I won, but also because I continued to fight and did not allow anything to distract me ...", Maria wrote on her blog after the tournament. on their website.
For a short grass season, Maria has traditionally taken part in two tournaments in England. At the preparatory for Wimbledon tournament of the III category in Birmingham, Maria managed to reach the final, in which the 2-time champion lost to Elena Yankovich. The performance at Wimbledon was not the best for Sharapova. After being defeated in Round 4 by Venus Williams, Maria was the worst in the tournament since 2003.
Maria and her fans pinned special hopes on a series of American hard competitions and the following last Grand Slam tournament - the US Open, in which Maria celebrated her victory a year ago. Indeed, the beginning of the American series brought Maria the first and long-awaited title in the 2007 season at the Category I tournament in San Diego, where she managed to confirm her status as last year's champion. After consistently defeating young and promising tennis players - Tatyana Golovin, Sanya Mirza and Anna Chakvetadze, in the final Maria again met with the Swiss Patti Schnyder. However, this time, unlike the match on the clay surface of Roland Garros, Maria had a more tangible advantage and ended the meeting 6-0 in the 3rd set.
At the "home" tournament II category in Los Angeles, which started immediately after the end of the tournament in San Diego, Maria was able to reach the semifinals, but was forced to give up the fight due to a foot injury. Continuing health problems prevented the 2006 US champion from fully preparing to defend her title. On the courts of New York, Maria showed the worst result for herself at the Grand Slam tournaments in recent years. In the 3rd round match, she lost to a tenacious and uncomfortable opponent - Agnieszka Radwanska from Poland in 3 sets.
Again, a shoulder injury made itself felt, from which Maria was never able to get rid of during the season. On the recommendation of the doctors, the athlete was again forced to take a break from full-fledged training and temporarily abandon the specific loads on the right shoulder, which arise mainly when performing the serve. This became the reason for refusing to participate in the final match of the Federation Cup, which the Russian team played in Moscow against the Italian national team. Nevertheless, Maria decided to fly to Moscow for a week to take part in the training process with the national team.