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Maria Sharapova (Russia) Biography

The World Number 14 is over the moon after her boyfriend Sasha Vujacic unexpectedly went down on one knee and proposed to her on 19th October 2010.

It was the first anniversary of their meeting at a mutual friend's house. He chose that date so that he would not feel so nervous and he popped the question at his Manhattan Beach home in California.

Vujacic, who has played basketball for the World Champion Los Angeles Lakers for six seasons, presented Sharapova with a $250,000 engagement ring. The couple kept quiet about their relationship until they were spotted together at a U2 Concert in February.

Speaking after the engagement was announced she said, "It was a very special, and obviously, a very memorable evening in my life. It's something I'll always remember, it was very sweet."

Sharapova, who designs handbags and shoes for the subsidiary of Nike, Cole Haan, says she intends to design her own shoes for the wedding (See her Maria Sharapova Collection). At the recent 14th Annual ACE Awards presented by the Accessories Council in New York she received the Brand Collaboration Award.

Named "The Sexiest Woman on the Tennis Circuit" Sharapova has recently signed an eight year contract with Nike worth $65 million, making her the World's most lucratively endorsed sportswoman. In August 2010 Forbes Magazine named Sharapova the World's highest paid athlete.

Her life now is very different to what it was when she started in tennis. At the age of 7-years-old she attended a clinic in Moscow run by Martina Navratilova. The Champion recommended professional training at the Nick Bolletieri Academy in Florida.

Money was tight for the family and her father Yuri was forced to borrow the money for them both to travel to America. Neither could speak any English and her mother Yelena was unable to join them for two years due to visa restrictions.

With only $700 dollars to his name Yuri took various low-paying jobs, including dish-washing, to fund her lessons until she was old enough to be admitted to the Academy.

In 1995 Sharapova was signed up by IMG who agreed to pay the annual tuition fee of $35,000 for her to stay at the Academy, allowing her to enrol at the age of 9-years-old.

Like many of the new breed of Russian players she has been the face of many fashion houses and has undertaken a number of modelling assignments including Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.

Since February 2007 she has been a United Nations Development Project Goodwill Ambassador, concerned specifically with the Chernobyl Recovery and Development Programme.

Maria Sharapova Tennis Career Highlights

Maria Sharapova has conquered the world of tennis adding a fresh feel to the game. She has style, beauty, and an incredible capacity to work hard and has an extremely promising career ahead of her.

At a very early age, Maria Sharapova and tennis forged an amazing relationship seeing her to victory at the Wimbledon Championships at just seventeen. The Russian tennis player has also used her incredible talent to progress outside of tennis through commercial avenues. Sharapova has consequently becoming the world's highest paid athlete, making up to $100 million every year.

With such a talented and versatile player on and off the court research institutes and health clinics, take care of Maria Sharapova 24 hours a day. Maria decided to take care of herself by incorporating yoga into her life.

Her tennis career so far has seen her win the Wimbledon title in 2004. The 2006 US Open and the Australian Open in 2008. However, unfortunately injury has affected her further title progress in 2008 following with her having to withdraw from the 2009 Australian Open. "I have been working very hard over the past few weeks and my shoulder is doing great, but there is way more preparation and training needed to compete to win my fourth grand slam and I have just run out of time." Nevertheless, in 2009 Maria aims to put these set back behind her eyeing up another major title victory. On and off the court Maria is seen as a fashion and style icon through what she wears with grace and power and through her own creativity in contributing and designing her own Maria Sharapova Collection see her latest Online Sales, clothing and tennis outfits for the major tennis tournaments. Sharapova has consequently blossomed into a successfully model, in which she enjoys modeling the latest high fashion and sportswear designs.

In January 2008, Maria Sharapova became Sony Ericsson's New Brand Ambassador. Signing a four-year deal that would see her aiding in the design and look of Sony Ericsson's future mobile and cell phone handsets, accessories and including brand promotions. Maria commented that; “It is really exciting to be working with a cool brand like Sony Ericsson which has such a strong reputation in the entertainment industry,” “Even though most people know me as a tennis player, I have so many passions beyond the sport like fashion, music, film and design; which Sony Ericsson and I are going to be exploring together through our partnership.

In August 2009 Maria Sharapova made an appearance at New York's Rockefeller Center and revealed her new line of bags and shoes designed by Cole Haan. "It's my hope that other young women will embrace the spirit of the collection; it's fun, chic, fashionable and most importantly, able to take you from day to night,"

Now currently looking forward to her US Open comeback since her eight month shoulder injury and wining the title in 2006. "I'm just thrilled to be playing again. I missed the event last year. I was really disappointed, because I was missing that and the Olympics – it was a pretty, pretty tough season for me to be out, um, you know, it was in the midst of so many great tournaments that I could have been a part of, so to be here a year later and to be healthy and to be participating again in the tournament is wonderful,"

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Maria Sharapova Collaborates With Cole Haan - Rating: VVVVV's

Cole Haan is featuring tennis superstar Maria Sharapova in its new 2009 spring fashion ad campaign. This is the first time the Nike fashion subsidiary has used a Nike athlete as its face. This campaign will debut in the week of February 9th in the March issue of Condé Nast’s Vanity Fair magazine. The Ads will also appear in subsequent issues of Condé Nast’s Vogue and Lucky, Hearst Magazines’ Harper’s Bazaar, Time Inc.’s InStyle and American Express Publishing’s Travel + Leisure. A catalog of the collection will be polybagged and included with the April issue of Hachette Filipacchi Media’s Elle. Online the campaign will have a presence on NYTimes.com, NYmag.com and Style.com.

Maria Sharapova discussed her enthusiasm for the collaboration by saying; “Cole Haan Sporting proves that fashion and technology can work together to change the way women think about and wear sport-inspired product,” - “I look forward to working with Cole Haan to bring new innovations to this leading fashion brand with such a rich history.”

Video Information: 3-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova talks about her history and partnership with the Prince brand and the company's quest to keep innovating and deliver the best high-performance products to players around the globe - teasing their new EXO3 line of racquets debuting in mid-January 2009 in the United States to start and designed to return more energy back into the ball for players.

Maria Sharapova Models for Women Health Magazine Video - Rating: VVVV's

Video Information: Maria models for a new photo shoot for Women Health Magazine which she will feature in the 2009 January February Issue.

Video Information: Maria Sharapova, Russian tennis star landed in New York showing off her sexy new image and fashion look in the December issue of GQ magazine.

Maria Sharapova Tiffany Bracelet Contest Video - Rating: VVVV's

Video Information: Maria has designed a Tiffany charm bracelet and one lucky person has a chance to win it. 

During Maria's opening of the Tiffany's The Americana at Brand in Glendale store in December, Maria took part in a video to promote the contest.

Maria Sharapova Nike Shoes Designs - Rating: VVVV's

Maria Sharapova Fashion Red Dress Video - Rating: VVVVV's

Video Information: Maria Sharapova photo shoot at Rockefeller Center in NYC, promoting her latest fashion effort with Nike. Sharapova will wear the seamless red dress with Swarovski crystals at the U.S. Open August 27 to September 8.

Maria Sharapova Late Show 2008 Video - Rating: VVVVV's

Video Information: Maria Sharapova rejoins David Letterman in 2008 to catchup and play some tennis with Dave and Billy Crystal in the streets.

Maria Sharapova Late Show Video - Rating: VVVVV's

Video Information: After her 2006 US Open win, Maria Sharapova stops by to chat with David Letterman.

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