Maria Sharapova: Tennis Grand Slam Champion

Maria Sharapova: Tennis Grand Slam Champion — page 3
CHAPTER ONE Getting into the Game Maria Sharapova was born on April 19 1987 in Nyagan an industrial city in the Western Siberia region of Russia which was part of the Soviet Union at the time Her father Yuri and her mother Yelena were originally from a city called Gomel in present-day Belarus which was also part of the Soviet Union They had left Gomel in 1986 soon after a major disaster occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in nearby Ukraine Like many residents of the area they fled because they were afraid of exposure to radiation from the accident They chose to go to Nyagan because Yelena’s parents lived there QUICK FACT Maria’s real first name in Russian is Masha Her family still calls her by that name 6 Nyagan was a harsh place to live The city was cold and had become grimy because of its many oil refineries and factories Yuri worked in the region’s oil fields and Yelena stayed at home with young Maria Maria’s grandparents also helped take care of her