Maria Sharapova | Biography, Grand Slam, Suspension, & Facts

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class="topic-left-rail md-article-drawer position-relative d-flex border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Maria-Sharapova">Maria Sharapova</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <span class="toc-extra-link selected link-gray-900 mt-15"> Introduction </span> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Maria-Sharapova/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/Maria-Sharapova">Quick Facts & Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Maria-Sharapova/images-videos">Images</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/47/196747-050-40B7BF2B/Maria-Sharapova-women-singles-event-US-Open-2006.jpg" data-href="/media/1/1010546/227471" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/47/196747-004-E8AE06AE/Maria-Sharapova-women-singles-event-US-Open-2006.jpg" alt="Maria Sharapova" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/50/196750-050-F121EBEA/Maria-Sharapova-US-Open-2017.jpg" data-href="/media/1/1010546/227472" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/50/196750-004-36E6D542/Maria-Sharapova-US-Open-2017.jpg" alt="Maria Sharapova" height="50" /> </a> </div> <button disabled class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Previous"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span> </button> <button disabled class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Next"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span> </button> </div> </div> <div class="mb-30 tlr-related-quizzes"> <div class="text-gray-900 p-5 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-10 mb-10"> Quizzes </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/quiz/great-moments-in-sports-quiz"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/74/234474-131-7CBD1A96/Serena-Williams-womens-single-trophy-Australian-Open-Januray-28-2017.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Serena Williams poses with the Daphne Akhurst Trophy after winning the Women's Singles final against Venus Williams of the United States on day 13 of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 28, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (tennis, sports)" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/quiz/great-moments-in-sports-quiz" >Great Moments in Sports Quiz</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/quiz/sports-quiz"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/47/148847-131-607DD61C/Cricket-bat-ball.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Cricket bat and ball. cricket sport of cricket.Homepage blog 2011, arts and entertainment, history and society, sports and games athletics" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/quiz/sports-quiz" >Sports Quiz</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/quiz/i-am-the-greatest-athlete"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/55/235355-131-5EA8CFD4/Usain-Bolt-Jamaica-gold-medal-breaking-world-record-200m-Beijing-Summer-Olympics-August-20-2008.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Usain Bolt of Jamaica reacts after breaking the world record with a time of 19.30 to win the gold medal as Churandy Martina (left) of Netherlands Antilles and Brian Dzingai of Zimbabwe come in after him in the Men's 200m Final at the National Stadium during Day 12 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 20, 2008 in Beijing, China. 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(England, sports)" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/story/how-is-tennis-scored" >How Is Tennis Scored?</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/story/olympics-racket-sports"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/18/190818-131-3AD7A2A2/man-tennis.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="young man playing tennis" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/story/olympics-racket-sports" >Olympics: Racket Sports</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/list/10-unusual-sports"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/86/239086-131-80CE73A7/Red-Bull-Soapbox-Race-Zagreb-Croatia.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Car with a pickle design in the Zagreb Red Bull Soapbox Race, Zagreb, Croatia, September 14, 2019. 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They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2025-01-29T00:00:00CST" >Jan 29, 2025</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Maria-Sharapova/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm 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clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Born: </dt> <dd>April 19, 1987, Nyagan, Russia (age 37)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Awards And Honors: </dt> <dd><a href="/sports/Wimbledon-Championships">Wimbledon Championships</a></dd> <dd><a href="/sports/French-Open">French Open</a></dd> <dd><a href="/sports/US-Open-tennis">U.S. Open</a></dd> <dd><a href="/sports/Australian-Open">Australian Open</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Maria-Sharapova"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><div class="bg-gray-50 p-15 rounded module-spacing recent-news d-flex flex-column float-false"> <div> <h2 class="font-weight-bold font-14 m-0 d-inline"> News <span class="text-gray-600">•</span> </h2> <div class="recent-news-item first-recent-news-item d-inline"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/1010546/2879e0d8bdbed1ccd9a48960417e531c" rel="nofollow">The US Open tennis tournament is adding a 15th day by moving to a Sunday start in 2025</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Jan. 29, 2025, 2:52 PM ET (AP) <button class="btn btn-link d-inline p-0 font-12 js-toggle-recent-news"> <span class="text-gray-500">...</span><span>(Show more)</span> </button> </span> </div> </div> <div class="rest-of-recent-news-items"> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/1010546/7b80c1eec07156adb2846e80d5739f5d" rel="nofollow">Australian Open: Iga Swiatek vs. Madison Keys and Jannik Sinner vs. Ben Shelton semifinals are set</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Jan. 22, 2025, 7:02 AM ET (AP) </span> </div> <button class="js-toggle-recent-news d-flex btn btn-unstyled font-14 pr-10 rounded-sm mt-10" aria-label="Toggle additional news items"> Show less <em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_less"></em> </button> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref1206093"></span>Maria Sharapova</strong> (born April 19, 1987, Nyagan, Russia) is a Russian <a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/tennis" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">tennis</a> player who was one of the game’s leading <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="contenders" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contenders" data-type="MW">contenders</a> in the early 21st century, the winner of five Grand Slam titles.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Sharapova began playing tennis as a young child, and in 1993 she caught the attention of Czech-born American tennis star <span id="ref1214640"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Martina-Navratilova" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Martina Navratilova</a>. Following a suggestion by Navratilova, Sharapova and her father moved (1994) to Florida, where she quickly earned a scholarship to a tennis academy. In 2001, at the age of 14, she turned pro. At the time, women’s tennis was shifting to a power game, which suited Sharapova’s dominating style of play and her size; she eventually reached a height of 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 metres). In 2003 she competed in every Grand Slam event, with her best finish coming at <a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/Wimbledon-Championships" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Wimbledon</a>, where she reached the fourth round. That year she won her first Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) titles, at Tokyo and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Quebec" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Quebec City</a>. In 2004 she defeated <span id="ref1278466"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Serena-Williams" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Serena Williams</a> in the final at Wimbledon to win her first Grand Slam. The following year Sharapova was ranked number one for the first time in her career, reaching the semifinals at the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/Australian-Open" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Australian Open</a>, Wimbledon, and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/US-Open-tennis" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">U.S. Open</a>. In 2006 she won the latter event, and in 2008 she claimed her third Grand Slam, at the Australian Open.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Later that year, however, Sharapova was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff, an injury that eventually required surgery. She returned to the court in mid-2009, and over the next two seasons she claimed several WTA titles, though a Grand Slam championship <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="eluded" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/eluded" data-type="EB">eluded</a> her; Sharapova’s best result occurred in 2011, when she lost the Wimbledon finals. She returned to form in 2012, however, winning the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/French-Open" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">French Open</a> to become just the seventh female player in the Open era to complete a career Grand Slam. That year she also captured a silver medal at the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/London-2012-Olympic-Games" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">London Olympic Games</a>. After a solid start in 2013—highlighted by an appearance in the French Open final, which she lost to Williams—a shoulder injury forced Sharapova to miss the last six months of the season. She returned to competitive play in 2014, and later that year she won the French Open, her fifth Grand Slam.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/great-moments-in-sports-quiz" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/74/234474-131-7CBD1A96/Serena-Williams-womens-single-trophy-Australian-Open-Januray-28-2017.jpg" alt="Serena Williams poses with the Daphne Akhurst Trophy after winning the Women's Singles final against Venus Williams of the United States on day 13 of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 28, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (tennis, sports)" class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">Great Moments in Sports Quiz</div> </div> </a><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="227472" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/50/196750-050-F121EBEA/Maria-Sharapova-US-Open-2017.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/1010546/227472"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/50/196750-050-F121EBEA/Maria-Sharapova-US-Open-2017.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/50/196750-050-F121EBEA/Maria-Sharapova-US-Open-2017.jpg?w=300" alt="Maria Sharapova" data-width="677" data-height="800" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/50/196750-050-F121EBEA/Maria-Sharapova-US-Open-2017.jpg" data-href="/media/1/1010546/227472">Maria Sharapova</a><span>Maria Sharapova at the U.S. Open, 2017.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph"> In March 2016 Sharapova revealed that she had taken <span id="ref1233366"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/meldonium" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">meldonium</a> (marketed as Mildronate)—a heart medication that had recently been added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances—during the Australian Open earlier in the year. Three months later she was suspended from tennis for two years by the International Tennis Federation for her meldonium-induced failure of a drug test. (Her <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="suspension" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/suspension" data-type="EB">suspension</a> was reduced to 15 months upon appeal.) Sharapova returned to the WTA tour in April 2017. However, she struggled to regain her form and continued to be plagued by injuries. In 2020 she announced her retirement. Her memoir, <em>Unstoppable: My Life So Far</em> (written with Rich Cohen), was published in 2017.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/editor/Amy-Tikkanen/6393">Amy Tikkanen</a></span> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":1010546,"pageLength":478,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.133.9"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.133.9' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"BIO_MEDIUM","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Maria Sharapova | Biography, Grand Slam, Suspension, & Facts | Britannica