Maria Yuryevna Sharpova was born on April 19, 1987. She is 22 years old and a professional tennis player. Her parent’s names are Yuri and Yelena. Yuri works in a construction company. Yelena and Yuri were very good at sports. 

Maria found out about tennis after her 4^th birthday. At the age 6, she attended a tennis clinic in Moscow run by Martina Navratilova. Maria’s parents bought her a racket when she was just a baby. They taught her how to swing and hit a tennis ball.

She was born in Nyagan, a town in western Siberia, Russia. Maria is an only child. Maria plays right handed in tennis. At 6’2’, she’s considered a very tall woman.

She currently lives in Bradenton, Florida, USA. Maria collected $1 million and a Porsche Cayenne for her season-ending victory in the 2004 Women’s Tennis Association Championship. She donated the car to a charity for the victims of the Beslan school tragedy. In the summer of 2005, Maria appeared in Forbes magazines. In YM magazine Maria was named one of the "coolest girls" in America.

by Calista, Charlotte & Loren, fourth grade, 2009