Maria Sharapova

Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (Russian: Maria_sharapova.ogg Мари́я Ю́рьевна Шара́пова​ , Mariya Yur’evna Shara'pova [pronounced Sha-RA-po-va]; born April 19, 1987) is a formerly World No. 1 Russian professional tennis player and three time Grand Slam champion. In 2004 at the age of 17, she won Wimbledon, defeating Serena Williams in the final. She has since won the 2006 US Open, defeating Justine Henin in the final, and the 2008 Australian Open, defeating Ana Ivanović in the final. Sharapova has represented Russia in Fed Cup, although her appearances have been controversial.

She has been featured in a number of modeling assignments, including a feature in Sports Illustrated. Sharapova was the most searched-for athlete on Yahoo! in both 2005 and 2008. In July 2008, as a result of her success both on and off court, she was the world's highest-paid female athlete earning $26 million. Sharapova is on track to repeat this feat again in 2009; despite playing few matches due to injury Sharapova made $22 million between June 2008 and June 2009.

Starting in 2007, Sharapova began to suffer from a right shoulder injury. She underwent surgery and as a result did not play a professional singles match from August 2008 to May 2009. Because of her inability to play because of injury, she was unable to defend her ranking points. As a result, she was ranked #102 on May 18, 2009. She is currently ranked World No. 60 as of June 21, 2009.