Tennis Player Maria Sharapova’s Net Worth in 2023, Bio, and Career

Maria Sharapova’s Net Worth

Maria Yuryevna Sharapova remains one of the highest-paid female athletes in the world whose net is  $180 million. She is a Russian citizen and competes for Russia on the world stage, although she has been a permanent U.S. resident since 1994. To date, She has spent a total of 21 weeks at the top of the world rankings across five distinct stints at the top. Throughout her legendary tennis career, She has been lauded for her unbreakable mental fortitude. To know more about Tennis Player Maria Sharapova’s Net Worth: Bio, and Career keep reading.

Maria Sharapova’s Bio and Career

Russian tennis star Maria Yuryevna Sharapova was born on April 19, 1987, in the city of Nyagan, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. Her upbringing came from a Byelorussian family. After Maria was born, the family fled their village due to Chernobyl.

When she was three, her family relocated to Sochi, Russia. The following year, her father, Aleksandr Kafelnikov, who was Russia’s first No. 1 tennis player, gave her a racquet.

She and her dad did their drills outdoors. In the beginning, Sharapova worked with Yuri Yutkin. He was immediately struck by the Russian girl’s exceptional hand-eye coordination.

In Moscow, she started playing tennis when she was 6. Ultimately, it was suggested that they work with Nick Bollettieri at the IMG Academy in Florida. Her father took out a loan to pay for the trip, and Maria Sharapova was signed by IMG when she was just 9 years old.

At the tender age of 13, Maria Sharapova triumphed in the girls’ 16 division of the Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships. To recognize up-and-coming players like her, she was honored with the Rising Star Award. Indirectly, this would boost her wealth in 2022.

Professional Career

At the age of 14 years in 2001, Sharapova made her professional tennis debut. In 2002, she competed in her first WTA tournament, the Pacific Life Open, where she went 1-and-0. She was unable to compete in as many professional tournaments as she would have liked, so she prepared for years by playing in the junior circuit, where she advanced to the finals of the Australian Open and Wimbledon girls’ singles competitions. She made history by becoming the youngest female player to ever compete in the Australian Open junior championship final at the age of 14 years and 9 months.

By the end of 2003, she had played a full season and had broken into the top 50. She played in her first major tournaments, the Australian Open and the French Open, but she did not win either. Despite this, she took many by surprise when she upset world No. 11 Jelena Dokic at Wimbledon on a wild card.

At the Japan Open Tennis Championships, she took home her first WTA title. At the end of her rookie year on the WTA circuit, she was named the organization’s Newcomer of the Year.

After that, the following year, Maria Sharapova made a big impression. She won her first Grand Slam semifinal against Ai Sugiyama at the 2004 Wimbledon Championships, where she was seeded thirteenth. She then advanced to the final round by beating Lindsay Davenport. In the final, She shocked the tennis world by defeating world No. 1 and defending champion Serena Williams to win her first Grand Slam singles title and become the third-youngest woman to ever win Wimbledon.

Maria Sharapova made history in 2005 by becoming the first Asian and Russian woman to be ranked No. 1 in women’s singles. But her reign was brief, and Davenport quickly reclaimed the crown. Nevertheless, she rose to the top and stayed there for six weeks before slipping after competing in a few competitions while injured.

Her life from 2006 till 2010 was full of ups and downs. She was ranked No. 1 in the world for a short period of time after winning several major titles, including the US Open and Australian Open. Unfortunately, she also sustained a series of injuries during that time, some of which required surgery and contributed to her difficulties upon her return.

For the first time in her career, Maria Sharapova won the French Open in 2012. It was during this competition that the Russian Olympic Committee requested her to make history as the first Russian female athlete to bear the flag at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

She then qualified as a third seed in the women’s singles competition at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. She beat fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko in the semifinals to advance to the Olympic final. She played poorly against Serena Williams, winning only one game and ultimately having to settle for second place.

She tested positive for the prohibited chemical meldonium in 2016, leading to a suspension from competitive tennis by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The International Tennis Federation had first suspended her for two years, but then reduced the punishment to fifteen months.

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