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Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova and 50 interesting facts about this young woman.
1. Maria signed her first deal with Nike in 1997 when she was just 11.
2. Her parents fled their home in Gomel following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
3. Finds British accents "sexy" and counts London among her favorite cities.
4. Her hobbies are singing, dancing, watching movies and sleeping.
5. Revealed that her dream mixed tennis doubles partners would be Prince William, Vladimir Putin and soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo.
6. Was voted FHM's 7th most eligible bachelorette, finishing higher than Paris Hilton and Keira Knightley.
7. Maria is a model off-court and was featured in number of modeling campaigns.
8. Signed endorsements deals with Porshe, Nike, Tiffany & Co.
9. Launched a successful candy line named Sugarpova.
10. Her favorite color is yellow and pink.
11. She enjoys Russian and Thai food.
12. When she can she enjoys drinks like Orangina, Virgin Strawberry Daiquiris.
13. Was in relationship with basketball player Sasha Vujacic.
14. Couple engaged in 2010 but called it off later.
15. Maria is now in relationship with Grigor Dimitrov.
16. Her middle name is Yuryevna.
17. Nicknames: Sibirskaya Sirena which means The Siberian Siren.
18. Her net worth is $90M.
19. She was the most searched athlete on Yahoo in 2005 and 2008.
20. Is a UN Goodwill Ambassador.
21. At of 14 she played her first professional tournament in April 2001.
22. Has donated heavily to Chernobyl-related projects.
23. Is the top earner in female sports.
24. Suffered shoulder injury.
25. Has her own perfume with her own name.
26. Vera Wang is her most favorite designer.
27. Enjoys Hip-hop and R&B music.
28. Has extensive list of sponsors include Canon, Land Rover, Cole Haan, Nike, Parlux, Prince Sports, Tiffany & Co, Sony Ericsson and TAG Heuer.
29. When Martina Navratilova saw a young Sharapova playing at a tennis clinic in Moscow she told Maria's father that his daughter was gifted.
30. Her father is friend with the father of Yevgeny Kafelnikov, one of Russia's most successful male players.
31. Her favorite singers are Madonna, and Adele.
32. Her favorite destination is Paris, Le Marais.
33. Yevgeny Kafelnikov's Father presented the four-year-old Maria with a cut-down racket.
34. In 1994 Maria and her father emigrated to Miami to pursue her potential.
35. Among her favorite books are Sherlock Holmes, Pippi Longstocking.
36. Her favorite fragrance is Stella McCartney and Maria Sharapova Perfume.
37. When her father and Maria moved to US they couldn't speak English and had only $700 in pocket which they borrowed from Maria's grandparents.
38. She was too young to enroll in a tennis academy so Yuri worked odd jobs and coached Maria himself on public courts.
39. Her mother's visa to US was denied until 1996 when she finally was allowed to join the family.
40. Got a full-time scholarship to the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, which has also produced stars such as Andre Agassi, Boris Becker and the Williams sisters.
41. At 15, she became the youngest person ever to reach the finals of Australian Open junior tournament in 2002.
42. She is a first Russian woman to win Wimbledon Grand Slam.
43. She likes to eat Italian bread and for the dessert it can be anything.
44. After practicing with her father, Sharapova took her first tennis lessons with veteran Russian coach Yuri Yutkin.
45. Launched her own tennis apparel line, the Nike Maria Sharapova Collection.
46. No. 1 player in the world in 2005 and 2012.
47. Won the silver medal at the Olympics in London in 2012.
48. Maria makes a characteristic shout when she hits the ball and the maximum power of Maria's shouts on the court is 105 decibels.
49. Her rivals feel suppressed by her shouting and believe that it should be banned.
50. Her father behaves very noisily when he attend' Maria's game.
