Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova; born April 19, 1987) is a Russian professional tennis player. A United States resident since 1994, 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 is one of ten women, and the only Russian, to hold the career Grand Slam. She is also an Olympic medalist, having earned silver for Russia in women's singles...
NationalityRussian
ProfessionTennis Player
Date of Birth19 April 1987
CityNyagan, Russia
CountryRussian Federation
I hit a ball for a living, but I have that passion to keep learning.
Through my travels, I find inspiration in street style and how young women create their individual looks and identity.
The more matches I play, the more confident I get.
I don't follow other players or the tournaments they play. I have my own schedule and do my own thing. I never really think, 'Oh, I want to be or play like so-and-so.' I just like being myself.
I heard endless conversations between my parents when I was going to sleep about how we would survive, how we would continue. All of them were about trying to make me better.
I think that's why I play tennis, because of the challenge, because of the competition, .. That's why we love to play tiebreaker in the third set. It makes it more exciting, and the bigger support in the stand, and more fans involved in it. I really enjoyed the competition and took a lot of hard work to make myself No. 1 at 18 years old.
Sometimes when you're putting the work in it just seems so, so hard, and you never know when that work's going to pay off.
No matter what you study, the thing that you know best is what you grew up with.
I'm always on the go. I love doing things until I hit rock bottom. Then I need my 12 hours of sleep, and I'm on the go again.
You control your own wins and losses.
I can't please everyone. That's not in my J.D., you know, not in my job description.
My main goal is to stay healthy because when you're injured you realise how lucky you are to have your health.
I want my tennis to speak for everything.
I love what I do and I love being an athlete, but I also love all the things that have come with it.