Maria Sharapova: How a poor girl from Russia aced fame and fortune through tennis

Maria Yuryevna Sharapova was born in Russia on April 19, 1987 and is currently ranked world No 7 by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

A United States resident since 1994, she 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 10 women, and the only Russian, to hold the career Grand Slam. She is also an Olympic medallist, having earned silver for Russia in women’s singles at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

She moved to Florida in 1996 to train at Nick Bollettieri’s Tennis Academy in Bradenton. Sharapova’s father Yuri, armed with just $700, moved to the US with her. Her mother Yelena had to stay in Russia due to visa restrictions and Maria turned professional in 2001.