Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova is a former professional tennis player known for winning five Grand Slam titles and being one of the highest-paid female athletes in the world. Sharapova was born in Nyagan, Russia, and moved to the United States at age 7 to train at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida. She did not attend college but later completed a business program at Harvard Business School after retiring from tennis.

Sharapova turned pro in 2001 and rose to fame in 2004 after winning Wimbledon at age 17, defeating Serena Williams in the final. She became world No. 1 later that year. Throughout her career, she’s won five Grand Slam titles and an Olympic silver medal at the 2012 London Games.

In addition to her tennis success, Sharapova has become a global brand ambassador, signed endorsements with major companies and launched her candy line, Sugarpova. She was suspended by the International Tennis Federation in 2016 for testing positive for meldonium and returned to competition in 2017 before officially retiring in 2020.

Sharapova had a high-profile engagement to Slovenian basketball player Sasha Vujačić, which ended in 2012. She briefly moved on with Grigor Dimitrov before she began dating British businessman Alexander Gilkes in 2018. The couple got engaged in 2020 and welcomed their first child in 2022.