INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION Maria Sharapova surprised many tennis fans by gaining a spot to play in the 2017 US Open tournament She had been suspended for more than a year following a positive test for the banned heart medication meldonium In the months after returning from the suspension she was still not ranked among the top 100 players in the world Sharapova had won the US Open before She had been ranked number one in the world yet she would still have to prove to the world that she belonged at the tournament Her first opponent of the tournament was Simona Halep who was seeded second in the tournament and ranked second in the world Sharapova won the first set of the match by a score of 6 4 Halep took the second set 6 4 Sharapova played the third set with the dominating style that she had used throughout her career winning by a score of 6 3 The win proved that she still belonged Maria Sharapova has demonstrated that kind of intensity since her early childhood in Russia where she first picked up a secondhand racket and started hitting tennis balls Her skill determination and ability to focus took her to Florida where she trained at a famous tennis academy She grew into one of the greatest players of the 21st century winning some of the sport’s most acclaimed tournaments and competing in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London United Kingdom Sharapova has also been highly successful off the court She has earned millions of dollars through endorsement deals with well-known companies and launched her own business Sharapova has also been generous to several charities giving to worthy causes throughout her career 4
Maria Sharapova plays against Simona Halep on the first day of the 2017 US Open It was Sharapova’s first appearance in a Grand Slam tournament in over a year Introduction 5
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
Getting into the Game Maria’s family and others who lived near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant had to abandon their homes after the 1986 nuclear disaster Many had to leave their belongings behind 7
