Date of Birth: April 19, 1987Birthplace: Nyagan, Russia (Siberian Region)
Residence: Bradenton, Florida, USA
WTA Ranking: 4
Nationality: Russian
Height: 6'2
Weight: 130 lbs. (59 kg)
Plays: Right-handed
Clothing: Nike
Racquet: Prince
Endorsements: Speedminton, Motorola, Parlux Fragrances, Canon, TAG Heuer, Honda Japan & Colgate-Palmolive
Favorite Movie: Pearl Harbor
Favorite Food: Russian
Favorite Book: Sherlock Holmes and Pippi Longstocking series
Loves fashion, singing, jazz dancing and watching movies.
On April 19, 1987, Maria Sharapova was born to parents Yuri and Yelena Sharapova, in western Siberia. When Maria was two years old, her family moved from her birthplace in Nyagan and settled in Sochi—this was yet another move for her parents, who had moved to Ngygen from Belarus the year before Maria was born in order to escape radiation from Chernobyl. Sochi was home to Russian tennis great Yevgeny Kafelnikov at the time—and would soon be the home of another tennis star.
When Sharapova was four years old, she began to develop an interest in tennis; Kafelnikov’s father, who was a friend of the family, gave young Maria one of his son’s old tennis racquets, and she began to fall in love with the game. She was naturally drawn to the fundamentals of tennis even as a child, and possessed a desire to be the best. Every day, she practiced her tennis skills by hitting tennis balls against the side of the house.
