“I’m not the next anyone. I’m the first Maria Sharapova” – Interesting facts about tennis star Maria Sharapova

Commitment and dedication are what define Maria Sharapova. Right from the time she was a toddler she was amazed by the tennis ball and committed herself to learning the game. Both her parents enjoyed playing tennis and decided to coach their daughter as well. However, they couldn’t afford a child racquet and had to cut the handle of an adult sized one. Her father initially coached her in the local park, and the two would practice all day by hitting the ball towards the side of their house.

Sharapova went on to become one of the richest female athletes of all time, but she has always been sure to give back to society as well. Here are a few very interesting facts about Maria Sharapova that you probably haven’t come across yet:

1. At the age of four, Sharapova started to play tennis in Sochi after she was given her first tennis racket by Aleksandr Kafelnikov, whose son went to become Russia's first No.1 ranked men's singles tennis player.
2. Maria Sharapova’s says that her dream mixed tennis doubles partners would be Prince William, Vladmir Putin, and soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo.
3. She has launched a successful candy line named Sugarpova.
4. She has her own perfume with her own name.
5. At the age of six, Tennis legend Martina Navratilova saw a young Sharapova playing at a tennis clinic in Moscow and told Maria's father that his daughter was gifted.
6. Her professional debut happened on her 14^th birthday in 2001. She was the most searched athlete on Yahoo between 2005 and 2008.
7. Sharapova became the third youngest women to win Wimbledon at the age of 17 in 2004. Later in 2005 she claimed the world's no. 1 ranking for women's singles.
8. When she and her father moved to US, they couldn't speak English and had only $700 that was borrowed from Maria's grandparents.
9. In 2002, she became the youngest person in history to reach the finals of Australian Open junior tournament.
10. Her opponents feel subdued by her shouting on court. They feel it should be banned. Maria makes a distinctive shout when she hits the ball and the maximum power of Maria’s shouts on the court is 105 decibels.
11. Her wide range of sponsors include Land Rover, Canon, Sony Ercisson, Nike, Cole Haan, Parlux, Prince Sports, Tiffany & Co, and TAG Heuer.
12. Off court, Maria Sharapova is a model and has done numerous modelling campaigns.
13. When she was just 11, she signed her first deal with Nike.
14. From 2005 to 2011, Sharapova made it to the Forbes Celebrity 100 list.
15. Sharapova has donated $100,000 to Chernobyl-related projects.
16. According to Forbes, she has been named world’s highest paid female athlete in the world for 11 years in a row.
17. Hip- hop and R&B are her favourite kinds of music.