Sharapova's (Future) Success
Maria Sharapova has barely been on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour for 4 years and already she’s won a Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, graced countless magazine covers and is the highest paid female athlete in the world according to Forbes magazine – all before she leaves her teenage years in March, 2007! She has also been remarkably consistent in the past few years winning 11 singles titles overall and 3 doubles titles. Sharapova rarely loses to lower-ranked players, but even when she’s had some surprising losses, she seems to be able to shake them off very quickly and move on to the next tournament, e.g. blowing a 5-1 third set lead to fellow Russian teen, Dinara Safina at the 2006 French Open. Since her 2004 Wimbledon title, Sharapova’s done well at the Slams by reaching the semis 5 times, the quarters once, round of 16 once and she lost in the third round at the 2004 U.S. Open following her Wimbledon victory. Sharapova was also ranked Number One in the world briefly in 2005. Many people may have expected Sharapova to have already won many more Grand Slams by now, but her strong Slam record indicates she’s been very close several times. In the past couple years, she has grown taller, suffered through a few injuries and definitely improved parts of her game and her movement around the court. All of which bodes well for her enthusiastic (and patient!) fans awaiting more Grand Slam titles in Sharapova’s future!
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