Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (Russian: Мари́я Ю́рьевна Шара́пова, IPA: [mɐˈrʲijə ˈjʉrʲjɪvnə

ʂɐˈrapəvə] ( listen); born April 19, 1987) is a Russian professional tennis player. A United States
resident since 1994,[3] Sharapova has competed on the WTA tour since 2001. She has been
ranked world No. 1 in singles by the WTA on five separate occasions, for a total of 21 weeks. She is
one of ten women, and the only Russian, to hold the career Grand Slam. She is also an Olympic
medalist, having earned silver for Russia in women's singles at the 2012 Summer Olympics in
London.
Sharapova became the world No. 1 for the first time on August 22, 2005, at the age of 18, and last
held the ranking for the fifth time for four weeks from June 11, 2012, to July 8, 2012.[4][5] Her 36
singles titles and five Grand Slam titles—two at the French Open and one each at the Australian
Open, Wimbledon, and US Open—rank third among active players, behind Serena and Venus
Williams. She won the year-ending WTA Finals in her debut in 2004. She has also won three
doubles titles.
Despite an injury-prone career, Sharapova has achieved a rare level of longevity in the women's
game. She won at least one singles title a year from 2003 until 2015, a streak only bested by Steffi
Graf, Martina Navratilova, and Chris Evert. Several tennis pundits and former players have called
Sharapova one of tennis's best competitors, with John McEnroe calling her one of the best the sport
has ever seen.[6]