Maria Sharapova, whose full name is Maria Yuryevna Sharapova, was born on April 19, 1987, in Nyagan, in the Russian SFSR of the former Soviet Union. She is a retired Russian professional tennis player and entrepreneur. Standing 1.88 metres tall, she won five Grand Slam singles titles: the Wimbledon Championships in 2004, the US Open in 2006, the Australian Open in 2008, and the French Open in 2012 and 2014. She first reached the top of the WTA world rankings on August 22, 2005, and accumulated 36 WTA singles titles during her career. She retired from professional tennis on February 26, 2020, and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2025.

Early Life and Family

Maria Sharapova was born to Yuri Sharapov and Yelena Sharapova. Her parents had lived in Gomel, in present-day Belarus, before leaving the region following the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster. They moved to Siberia, where Maria was born the following year.

When she was three years old, her family settled in Sochi, a city on Russia's Black Sea coast. Her father played tennis recreationally and introduced her to the sport at an early age.

In 1991, Aleksandr Kafelnikov, father of Russian tennis player Yevgeny Kafelnikov, gave the four-year-old Maria her first tennis racket. She began practising regularly with her father and later received lessons from coach Yuri Yutkin.

Moving to the United States and Tennis Training

In 1993, at the age of six, Maria Sharapova attended a tennis clinic in Moscow where former world No. 1 Martina Navratilova observed her playing. Navratilova recommended that her family seek professional training at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

In 1994, her father took her to the United States. They arrived in Florida with approximately $700 and limited English-language skills. Her mother was unable to obtain a visa at the same time and remained in Russia for approximately two years before reuniting with them.

Yuri Sharapov worked various jobs to support his daughter's training. Maria initially trained under Rick Macci before entering the tennis academy associated with Nick Bollettieri. In 1995, the sports management company IMG agreed to cover her training expenses.

She continued her education through distance-learning arrangements while attending training sessions and tournaments. Although she spent much of her childhood and professional life in the United States, she retained Russian citizenship.

Junior Tennis and Professional Debut

Maria Sharapova began competing in professional tennis tournaments in 2001, while still playing junior events. She developed an attacking baseline style built around powerful groundstrokes and a two-handed backhand.

In junior Grand Slam competition, she reached the girls' singles finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2002.

She won her first WTA singles title at the Japan Open in Tokyo in 2003 and followed it with another title in Quebec City. At the end of the season, she received the WTA Newcomer of the Year award.

2004 Wimbledon Championship

In 2004, at the age of seventeen, Maria Sharapova won her first Grand Slam singles championship at Wimbledon. She became the first Russian woman to win the Wimbledon women's singles title.

In the quarterfinals, she defeated Ai Sugiyama 5–7, 7–5, 6–1. She then beat Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals 2–6, 7–6, 6–1.

In the final, she faced defending champion Serena Williams, who had won Wimbledon in 2002 and 2003. Sharapova won 6–1, 6–4, securing the title in straight sets.

Her victory made her the third-youngest Wimbledon women's singles champion, after Lottie Dod and Martina Hingis. It also established her among the leading players on the women's professional tour.

Later that year, she won the WTA Tour Championships by defeating Serena Williams 4–6, 6–2, 6–4 in the final. She recovered from a 0–4 deficit in the deciding set.

Between June 2004 and the Wimbledon semifinals in 2005, Sharapova won 22 consecutive matches on grass courts, including tournament victories in Birmingham and Wimbledon.

World No. 1 Ranking and the 2005 Season

Maria Sharapova reached the semifinals of the 2005 Australian Open, where she lost to Serena Williams 2–6, 7–5, 8–6 after holding match points.

On August 22, 2005, she became world No. 1 in the WTA singles rankings for the first time. She was the first Russian woman to hold the top position. She initially remained No. 1 for one week before Lindsay Davenport returned to the top of the rankings.

During the season, Sharapova reached the semifinals at Wimbledon and the US Open. She lost to Venus Williams at Wimbledon and Kim Clijsters at the US Open.

She also reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, losing to Justine Henin. During a sequence of Grand Slam tournaments, she was repeatedly eliminated by players who went on to win the respective championship.

2006 US Open Championship

Maria Sharapova won her second Grand Slam singles title at the US Open in September 2006.

In the semifinals, she defeated world No. 1 Amélie Mauresmo 6–0, 4–6, 6–0. In the final, she beat Justine Henin 6–4, 6–4.

The US Open victory was her third tournament title of the 2006 season and her thirteenth career WTA singles title.

During these years, Sharapova also appeared on the covers of magazines including Sports Illustrated, Vogue, ESPN The Magazine, and Forbes. She signed commercial agreements with companies including Nike, Canon, and Tiffany & Co..

In 2005, she received the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year award for her results during the preceding season.

2008 Australian Open and Shoulder Injury

In January 2008, Maria Sharapova won the Australian Open without losing a set.

She defeated Justine Henin, then ranked world No. 1, 6–4, 6–0 in the quarterfinals and Jelena Janković 6–3, 6–1 in the semifinals.

In the final, she defeated Ana Ivanović 7–5, 6–3, becoming Australian Open champion for the first time.

Following Henin's retirement in May 2008, Sharapova returned to world No. 1. However, persistent problems with her right shoulder disrupted the remainder of her season.

She underwent shoulder surgery in October 2008. The injury and rehabilitation period caused her ranking to decline, and by April 2009 she had fallen outside the world's top fifty.

Return to Competition in 2009 and 2010

Maria Sharapova returned to singles competition in May 2009. At the French Open that year, she reached the quarterfinals despite having played relatively few matches since her surgery.

At the beginning of 2010, she was eliminated in the first round of the Australian Open by Maria Kirilenko, who won 7–6, 3–6, 6–4.

Before the French Open, Sharapova competed at the Internationaux de Strasbourg tournament in France. She defeated Kristina Barrois in the final and won her twenty-second WTA singles title.

She also won the Memphis tournament in 2010, continuing her recovery from the shoulder injury.

2012 French Open and Career Grand Slam

In 2011, Maria Sharapova returned to the Wimbledon final, losing to Petra Kvitová. She finished that season among the world's leading players.

On June 9, 2012, Sharapova defeated Italian player Sara Errani 6–3, 6–2 in the final of the French Open at Roland Garros.

With that victory, she completed the career Grand Slam by winning all four major singles championships at least once. She was the sixth woman in the Open Era to accomplish the achievement.

Sharapova also returned to world No. 1 during the 2012 season.

At the 2012 London Olympic Games, she represented Russia in the women's singles tournament and reached the final. She lost to Serena Williams and received the silver medal.

2014 French Open and Fifth Grand Slam Title

In June 2014, Maria Sharapova won her fifth and final Grand Slam singles title at Roland Garros.

She defeated Romanian player Simona Halep in the final, winning 6–4, 6–7, 6–4 after a match lasting more than three hours.

This was her second French Open title, following her victory in 2012. She reached another Australian Open final in 2015 but lost to Serena Williams.

Sharapova also won the Italian Open in 2015, her final tournament title before the interruption caused by her anti-doping suspension.

Playing Style and Public Profile

Maria Sharapova played right-handed, using a two-handed backhand and powerful forehand groundstrokes. Her game relied on aggressive baseline hitting and taking control of rallies early.

Her vocal exhalations during rallies became a subject of discussion in professional tennis. Measurements reported in the media occasionally exceeded 100 decibels, and spectators and opponents raised concerns about the noise during matches.

Standing 1.88 metres tall, she used her reach to generate pace on serves and groundstrokes. She earned particular recognition for her attacking game on hard courts and grass before developing into a two-time French Open champion on clay.

Her commercial activities included advertising campaigns and sponsorship agreements. In several years during her career, Forbes ranked her among the world's highest-paid female athletes.

2016 Meldonium Case and Suspension

On March 7, 2016, Maria Sharapova announced that a sample collected during the January 2016 Australian Open had tested positive for meldonium, a substance added to the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list on January 1, 2016.

Sharapova stated that she had taken a medication containing meldonium for several years and had not recognized that the substance had become prohibited.

On June 8, 2016, the International Tennis Federation announced a two-year suspension following the anti-doping violation. The ruling also disqualified her results at the 2016 Australian Open.

Sharapova appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). On October 4, 2016, CAS reduced the suspension to fifteen months, effective from January 26, 2016.

The tribunal found that she had committed an anti-doping rule violation but that the violation was not intentional. The reduced suspension allowed her to return to competition in April 2017.

Return to Tennis and Retirement

Maria Sharapova returned to the professional tour in April 2017 at the Stuttgart tournament in Germany.

On October 15, 2017, she won the Tianjin Open in China by defeating Aryna Sabalenka 7–5, 7–6 in the final. It was her thirty-sixth and last WTA singles title.

She continued competing during 2018 and 2019, but recurring shoulder problems affected her schedule and results. She underwent further medical treatment and surgery.

On February 26, 2020, at the age of thirty-two, she announced her retirement from professional tennis through essays published by Vogue and Vanity Fair.

Her career record included five Grand Slam singles titles, 36 WTA singles titles, 21 weeks as world No. 1, and approximately $38.8 million in official prize money.

Business Activities and Writing

In 2012, Maria Sharapova launched Sugarpova, a confectionery and lifestyle brand. She subsequently became involved in investment and business projects outside tennis.

In 2017, she published her autobiography Unstoppable: My Life So Far, describing her childhood, training in the United States, Grand Slam victories, injuries, and professional rivalries.

She also worked with charitable initiatives, including the Maria Sharapova Foundation and the United Nations Development Programme, supporting projects associated with education and communities affected by the Chernobyl disaster.

Personal Life

Maria Sharapova was linked in media reports to singer Adam Levine and American tennis player Andy Roddick during the mid-2000s, although details of those reported relationships were not consistently confirmed publicly.

In October 2010, she became engaged to Slovenian professional basketball player Saša Vujačić. The couple separated in 2012 and did not marry.

She subsequently had a relationship with Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov between approximately 2013 and 2015. Contrary to some reports, they were not formally engaged.

In 2018, she began a relationship with British businessman Alexander Gilkes, co-founder of the online art-auction company Paddle8. They announced their engagement in December 2020.

On July 1, 2022, Sharapova gave birth to their son, Theodore.

International Tennis Hall of Fame

On August 23, 2025, Maria Sharapova was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, alongside American doubles players Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.

Her former rival Serena Williams introduced her at the ceremony. Williams and Sharapova had faced each other 22 times during their professional careers, with Williams winning 20 of those matches.

Grand Slam Singles Titles

• 2004 – Wimbledon – Defeated Serena Williams 6–1, 6–4
• 2006 – US Open – Defeated Justine Henin 6–4, 6–4
• 2008 – Australian Open – Defeated Ana Ivanović 7–5, 6–3
• 2012 – French Open – Defeated Sara Errani 6–3, 6–2
• 2014 – French Open – Defeated Simona Halep 6–4, 6–7, 6–4

Selected Awards and Achievements

• 2003 – WTA Newcomer of the Year
• 2004 – Wimbledon singles champion
• 2004 – WTA Tour Championships winner
• 2005 – Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year
• 2005 – First reached WTA world No. 1
• 2006 – US Open singles champion
• 2008 – Australian Open singles champion
• 2012 – French Open singles champion and career Grand Slam completed
• 2012 – Olympic silver medal, women's singles, London
• 2014 – French Open singles champion
• 2017 – Tianjin Open champion, final WTA singles title
• 2025 – International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee

Source: Biyografiler.com