Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (Russian: ; IPA: [mr ij jr jvn rap

tennis player, who as of October 6, 2014 is ranked world No. 2 by the Women's T
ennis Association (WTA). A United States resident since 1994,[4] Sharapova has c
ompeted on the WTA tour since 2001.The WTA has ranked her world No. 1 in singles
on five separate occasions, for a total of 21 weeks. She became the world No. 1
for the first time on August 22, 2005 at the age of 18, and last held the ranki
ng for the fifth time for four weeks from June 11, 2012 to July 8, 2012.[5][6] S
he is the reigning champion in singles at the French Open.
Sharapovas 34 singles titles and five Grand Slam titles two at the French Open an
d one at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open rank third amongst activ
e players, behind Serena and Venus Williams. She won the year-ending WTA Finals
in her debut in 2004. In 2012 she won an Olympic silver medal for Russia at the
London Games. She has also won three doubles titles.
Despite an injury-prone career, Sharapova has achieved a rare level of longevity
in the womens game. She has won at least one singles title a year from 2003 unti
l 2015, a streak only bested by Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert
. With her victory at the 2012 French Open, Sharapova became only the sixth woma
n in the Open Era (tenth all-time) to complete a career Grand Slam. Sharapovas tr
ademark is her unyielding fighting spirit and will to win. Several tennis pundit
s and former players have called Sharapova one of tenniss best competitors, with
John McEnroe calling her one of the best the sport has ever seen.[7]
Sharapova has been featured in a number of modeling assignments, including a fea
ture in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She has been featured in many adv
ertisements, including for Nike, Prince, and Canon, and is the face of several f
ashion houses, most notably Cole Haan. Since February 2007, she has been a Unite
d Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador, concerned specifically with
the Chernobyl Recovery and Development Programme. In June 2011, she was named o
ne of the "30 Legends of Women s Tennis: Past, Present and Future" by Time,[8] a
nd in March 2012 was named one of the "100 Greatest of All Time" by Tennis Chann
el.