Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova is a female professional tennis player who was born in Nyagan, Russia, but moved to Florida, United States, at the age of six with her father to train at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy.

As a junior she reached the final of the Australian Open and Wimbledon but it was when she turned professional that she enjoyed the most success. She has gone on to become only the sixth player in the Open Era to complete the Career Grand Slam, as she has won the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open.

At the age of just 13, Sharapova won the Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championship for girls, which was open to 16-year-olds and below. That helped her to secure the Rising Star Award in recognition of her promise in the future.

Her first tournament success as a professional came in 2003 when she won the Japan Open Tennis Championship. Not long after that, she also captured the Bell Challenge and was soon rising rapidly up the rankings as well as capturing the attention of tennis pundits across the world.

Sharapova announced herself as a serious threat in the women's game at Wimbledon back in 2004. At the age of 17, she went all the way to lift the trophy on grass and claimed the first Grand Slam of her career. A hugely popular figure among the London crowd, she was the underdog going into her tie with Serena Williams in the final but she failed to be overwhelmed by the occasion to become the third youngest winner of the competition.

The Russian-born player had to wait two years for her next Slam. This time it was on the hard courts at Flushing Meadows in the US Open. She went into the tournament as the third seed and had been in good form prior to the start. In the final she got past Justine Henin to prevail in New York.

One of the most impressive displays of her career came in the Australian Open when she went on to win the tournament in Melbourne without dropping a set. 
The career Grand Slam was finally completed in 2012 when Sharapova bounced back from a serious shoulder injury that had seen her struggle badly for form. The win in Paris on clay saw her return to the number one ranking in the world once again.

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