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Height: 1.88m
Weight: 59kg
Birth date: 04/19/1987
Birth place: Nyagan, Russia
Resides: Bradenton, Florida
Plays: Right-handed
Sharapova is Australian Open New Queen
Maria Sharapova crowned herself as the Australian Open queen on Jan. 26, 2008. After five seasons, the Russian player celebrated her third Grand Slam4 title. (Wimbledon in 2004 and the U.S. Open in 2006.) She says, “No matter how many tough times or bad days I’m going to have, as long as I wake up in the morning and can’t wait to get that tennis racket5 out of my bag. I’ll always be looking forward to improving.”
Sharapova has signed on to be Sony Ericsson Mobile Communication’s “global brand ambassador”. The Russian player will appear in commercial ads and work on “a range of products and accessories”, Sony Ericsson bosses announced recently. The World No.5 said, “Even though most people know me as a tennis player, I have so many passions beyond the sport like fashion, music, film and design, which Sony Ericsson and I are going to be exploring together.”
Leaving Home
When she was 4 years old, a chance encounter6 changed her life. She met with the father of tennis champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov, and the man gave her a racket. From that moment, she started hitting tennis balls, and the game soon became a passion for her.
Two years later, she was performing at a tennis clinic7 when another tennis champion changed her life: Martina Navratilova was in the building and she was flabbergasted8 by the talent of the 6-year-old. Navratilova went to Maria’s father, Yuri, and recommended that he should find top-notch9 facilities and coaching for his daughter in the U.S.
When Maria was seven she moved with Yuri to Bradenton, Florida, to try out for Nick Bollettieri’s tennis academy. The school was famous for training greats like Andre Agassi and Monica Seles. During a tryout10, Maria impressed academy officials so much that they offered her admission.
Living and attending classes at the academy was a boost11 for Sharapova’s game, but a tough adjustment. Maria didn’t speak English when she arrived in Florida, which made it hard for her to make friends. Her father had to work several jobs to pay for tuition12 until Maria received a full scholarship at age nine.
Hardest of all, Maria’s mother, Yelena, could not join her family in the U.S. because she couldn’t get a visa. She stayed in Russia for two years until her paperwork was cleared13.“Those two years were so tough,” says Sharapova.“But my father made it work and did everything for me to develop my talent.”
Fame and Fortune
Sharapova turned pro on her 14th birthday, in 2001. Her game kept improving, and at age 16, she made the fourth round of Wimbledon. But the best was yet to come: The following year, the 13th-seeded teen beat two of the best players in the world, Lindsay Davenport and Serena Williams, on her way to winning the Wimbledon women’s singles title. She was the second-youngest champion in history.
Tennis fans and pros were wowed by Sharapova’s aggressive14 style of hitting the ball as hard as possible on nearly every point. “She’s kind of like me. She doesn’t back off,” said Serena Williams.
Sharapova’s win turned her into a megastar15. Photographers followed her. She signed big endorsement deals16 with sponsors17 such as Canon cameras and Motorola phones. Her name was one of the most popular searches on the Internet.
Growing Pains
In August 2005, Sharapova became the first Russian-born player to be ranked No.1 in women’s tennis. But nagging18 injuries and a two-inch growth spurt19 forced her to adjust her game. “She’s had to learn how to move differently and regain her mobility20,” says tennis broadcaster Mary Carillo. “She has better balance now than she had last year.”
Sharapova will never be the fastest player on the Tour, but her height allows her to reach balls that other players can’t. And she is always in attack mode, never afraid to go for risky winners. “You have to be willing to squeeze the trigger21 on your shot, and that’s something that Maria does better than just about anybody,” says Carillo.
With Sharapova’s talent and drive to succeed, there are surely more Grand Slam titles in her future. “It is very important to me that I am remembered as a great tennis player and a great champion,” she says. “This means so much to me and is why I work so hard.”
It’s also why this smash hit won’t be a one-hit wonder.
澳网新女王
2008年1月26日，玛丽亚·莎拉波娃加冕成为澳网公开赛新女王。加入职业网球5个赛季之后，这位俄罗斯选手庆祝了她的第三个大满贯——前两个分别为2004年温布尔登公开赛以及2006年美国公开赛。她说：“无论将来我要面对多少艰难和心酸，只要我早晨一醒来，就会迫不及待地从包中拿出球拍。我会一直勇往直前的。”
莎娃已签约索尼爱立信通讯公司为其“全球品牌形象大使”。索尼爱立信集团总裁最近声称：“这位俄罗斯籍运动员将出席一系列的产品及配件的广告宣传。”这位全球排名第5的巨星说：“尽管大多数人认为我只是一名网球运动员，但除了运动之外，我还热衷时尚、音乐、电影以及设计，而这些我将与索爱一起共同探索。”
离开故土
4岁时的一次邂逅改变了莎娃的一生。她遇见了网球冠军叶弗根尼·卡费尔尼科夫的父亲，正是这个人给了她一个球拍。自那以后，莎娃就开始练习打网球。不久之后，网球就成了她最钟爱的运动。
两年后，她在网球培训班打球时，碰到了另一位改变她人生的网球冠军：玛蒂娜·纳芙拉蒂诺娃，她恰巧也在那里，被这个6岁小女孩的网球天赋震惊了。于是，纳芙拉蒂诺娃找到了莎娃的父亲尤里，建议他去美国最顶尖的训练场培训他的女儿。
莎娃7岁时，父亲尤里带她搬到了佛罗里达的布雷登顿，尝试报考尼克·波利泰里网球学校。该学校因培训出安德鲁·阿加西和莫妮卡·塞莱斯等网坛巨星而闻名。选拔赛的时候，莎娃给学校教官留下了深刻印象，她被录取了。
在网球学校生活并接受训练，这对莎娃的球技有很大的提高，但也是一个非常艰辛的适应过程。刚到佛罗里达时，萨娃并不会说英语，这一点很妨碍她交友。而她的父亲也需要打很多份工来负担学费，直到莎娃9岁那年拿到了全额奖学金。
最棘手的是莎娃的母亲叶莲娜因无法拿到签证而不能到美国与全家团聚。她在俄罗斯多待了两年，所有的文件才办妥。莎娃说：“那两年非常艰难。但父亲挺过去了，他为了我的训练竭尽全力。”
名利双馨
2001年在她14岁生日时，莎娃转为职业网球手。她的球技仍在提升。16岁那年，她参加了温布尔登第4轮的比赛。但她的巅峰时刻还在后面。就在第二年，这位名列13的年轻种子选手打败了当时国际上最棒的两个选手：林德赛·达文波特和小威廉姆斯，一举夺得温布尔登女单冠军，成为历史上第二年轻的网球冠军。
所有的网球迷以及网球手都称赞莎娃的进攻型击球方式，几乎每一拍都力度十足。小威廉姆斯说：“她有点像我，绝不退缩。”
大获全胜的莎娃成了一位超级巨星：到处都有摄影师的跟随和赞助商的巨额合约，比如：佳能相机和摩托罗拉手机等等；她的名字也成了互联网上点击率最高的搜索对象之一。
成长的代价
2005年8月，莎娃成为名列女网第一的俄罗斯籍选手。但是因屡次受伤以及突然长高两英寸，她不得不调整打球战术。“她必须学会多方位移动，并保持身体的灵活，”网球解说员玛丽·卡莉洛说，“她现在的平衡能力已超过了去年。”
莎娃永远不会成为循环赛上最快的选手，但是她的身高优势足以使她接到球，这一点其他运动员只能望其项背。她一直处于进攻状态，从不畏惧冒险去挑战胜者。“在每一次进攻时，必须用心去加足马力，这就是莎娃比别人强的一面。”卡莉洛说。
莎娃资质过人、努力求胜，就注定了将来会有更多的大满贯在等着她。“对我而言，被公众认可为一个成功的网球手、一个伟大的冠军是非常重要的，”莎娃说，“这对我意义非凡，是我一直努力的原动力。”
这也说明，为什么这位超级巨星不会只是昙花一现。
1. smash hit 非常流行的人或物
smash adj. 出色的
2. billboard n. 告示牌，广告牌
3. toughness n. 坚韧，坚强
4. grand slam 大满贯（网球有四大满贯赛事，即澳大利亚网球公开赛、法国网球公开赛、温布尔登网球公开赛和美国网球公开赛。）
5. racket n. 球拍
6. encounter n. 突然的或意外的相遇
7. clinic n. 训练班
8. flabbergast v. 使（某人）目瞪口呆，大吃一惊
9. top-notch 一流的，顶好的
10. tryout n. 试训
11. boost n. 增强，提高
12. tuition n. 学费
13. clear v. 准予通过
14. aggressive adj. 攻击性的
15. megastar n. 超级巨星
16. sign big endorsement deals 签署合约 endorsement n. 赞同，支持
17. sponsor n. 赞助人
18. nagging adj. 令人心烦的
19. spurt n. 突然的加速
20. mobility n. 灵活性
21. squeeze the trigger 扣扳机
squeeze v. 挤，压
trigger n. 扳机