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Maria Sharapova |
If you are a beautiful 6’2” blonde goddess that can serve tennis balls at over 100 miles an hour, you’ll eventually get noticed -- even if you are from Siberia. After attending one of those creepy Florida tennis factories that continually pumps out young players, Maria Sharapova turned pro in 2002, and climbed steadily in world rankings and onto the radar of every heterosexual male in the world. She finally broke through at Wimbledon in 2004.
Maria had a grand slam year in 2005, even if she didn’t win any Grand Slam events. On the court, she took home three WTA titles in exotic sounding places like Qatar and Tokyo, good for $2 million in prize money and a No. 4 world ranking. But her off-court success was the real story. Endorsements from companies like Canon and TAG Heuer earned her $18 million and made her the highest paid woman in sports. Seriously.
The back injury that hampered Sharapova for much of last season is gone, and she’s expected to be back in top form for the 2006 season. She’ll certainly be in the center court of popular culture, too. Expect to see her extremely photogenic face hawking everything from toothpaste to Hondas. And if she manages to sneak in a couple of more high-profile wins, she’ll probably be popping up even more. Which is a very good thing.