Maria Sharapova is a former Russian professional tennis player whose on court career combined major titles, commercial success, comebacks, and controversy. She won five Grand Slam singles titles and completed the career Grand Slam with her 2012 French Open victory. She first broke through as a 17 year old when she won Wimbledon in 2004.
Sharapova turned professional in 2001 and retired from the sport in 2020, announcing the decision in an essay published in Vanity Fair and Vogue. She spent 21 weeks ranked world number one and collected 36 WTA Tour singles titles across her career, according to WTA records. Her career prize money total is recorded as US$38,777,962 by the WTA.
Her career included notable peaks and setbacks. She won the 2006 US Open and the 2008 Australian Open. Recurring shoulder problems required surgery and lengthy comebacks. In 2012 she added a second French Open title and won an Olympic silver medal the same year at London.
Sharapova tested positive for the banned substance meldonium in 2016 and disclosed the failed test publicly. The International Tennis Federation provisionally suspended her and later imposed a two year ban. The Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced that sanction to 15 months, finding no evidence of intentional doping but assigning some degree of fault. Sharapova returned to the WTA Tour in April 2017 at Stuttgart.
Business Ventures Reputation And Legacy
Off court Sharapova developed a high value commercial profile and entrepreneurial portfolio. Forbes ranked her among the highest paid female athletes and estimated lifetime earnings of US$285 million. She launched Sugarpova in 2012 and invested in consumer and wellness brands, including Supergoop and Therabody, and later joined Moncler’s board, according to her public biography.
Sharapova also served as a United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador focused on Chernobyl recovery before the UNDP suspended that role after the 2016 drug test announcement. She has been an active presence in fashion and media and appeared in documentary and film cameos while continuing to draw sponsorship and endorsement interest during much of her career.
Her personal background remained part of her public identity. Born in Nyagan and raised partly in the United States, she trained at the IMG Academy as a child. She was engaged to Alexander Gilkes and the couple later announced the birth of a son, as recorded in her biography. In 2025 she was listed as an inductee into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, a formal recognition of her place in modern tennis history.
