Jane Jackson
Sports Illustrated

Maria Sharapova was born in Russia on April 19, 1987. Her parents were originally living in Belarus when they moved north to Russia in the early 80s to escape the effects of Chernobyl.

At the age of three, she moved with her family to the resort town of Sochi, where she began to play tennis at the age of four, using a racket given to her by the famous tennis player Yevgeny Kafelnikov's father. At the age of five, Sharapova was spotted by Martina Navratilova, who urged her parents to get her serious coaching in the United States.

In 2004, Sharapova became the third youngest Wimbledon women's champion and second youngest in the open era by defeating defending two-time champion Serena Williams in straight sets (6-1, 6-4). She also became the first Russian ever to win that tounament.

"Tennis gets me worked up. It's exhilarating! I forget about everything while playing and I don't care at all about what is going on out of court".

Maria Sharapova is a tennis champion. She wants to beat her competition.
How does she do this? Here are her tips.

1) You must analyze your competition. It is best to prey on an opponent’s weakness. This saves a lot of energy. If my competition has a weak backhand I will take advantage of this.
2) You have to make your presence felt. The press says I make a lot of noise when I play. This is my main strategy. I make noises to let my competition know that I am fully in the game.
3) You have got to impose your style. I do not wait for my opponent to impose her game.
4) You have to be first. To make it your game, move quickly to impose your tempo.
5) You should go into the competition with the objective of winning and nothing else.

Maria Sharapova, affectionately called "Masha",will be on tour this year. Catch her at either Wimbledon, the US open, or the French open.

Jane Jackson
Sports Illustrated.