Actress Pictures

On June 7, 2007, a professional tennis player, Maria Sharapova lost her first French Open semifinal to 19-year-old Ana Ivanovic, who ascended to a 6-2, 6-1 within just 65 minutes. After defeating Schnyder and Anna Chakvetadzke, Maria was defeated by the Ivanovic.

However, the shoulder injury, which caused so much trouble to her French Open build-up, is still a concern. In an interview Maria said that Ana plays pretty similar to Chakvetadze and hits the ball pretty flat and big.

Sharapova has won Grand Slam singles twice. In the final of the 2006 U.S. Open, Maria defeated Justine Henin. In 2004, Maria Sharapova won the Wimbledon Championships after defeating Serena Williams.

The 20-year-old, Sharapova became the first Russian to win Wimbledon Championship. Sharapova reached the semifinals of the 2005 Australian Open, where she held three match points against Serena Williams before losing 2-6, 7-5, 8-6.

Sharapova began climbing the ranks in the World Tennis Association (WTA), earning her first tournament title in Japan in 2003. In 2005, Maria failed to win Wimbledon Championship.

Off the court, Sharapova is famous for her good looks and was paid for several commercial endorsements. In August 2005, she was ranked #1 by the WTA for the first time in her professional career.

Maria was the world’s highest-paid female athlete by the end of the year 2006.
In her spare time, Sharapova enjoys dancing, watching movies, reading, listening Russian music and eating Russian food. In 2006, Maria won the Zurich Open.

In 2005, Sharapova was ranked among the 50 most beautiful celebrities in the world by People Magazine. In 2006, Maxim magazine named Sharapova the hottest athlete in the world.

Sharapova became a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme on February 14, 2007 and also donated US$100,000 to UNDP.