Hundreds of young players like Maria fell by the wayside but the family’s big break came in 1995 when the agency IMG, spotting her potential, agreed to pay the £25,000-a-year tennis academy fees. Maria won her first junior tournament at 13, beating girls up to three years her senior.
She made her professional debut on her 14th birthday in 2001 and reached the final of Junior Wimbledon the following year. In 2003 she won her first event on the senior women’s tour, in Japan.
By the time she lined up at Wimbledon the next year she was ranked 15th in the world but nobody expected her to reach the final, let alone triumph over top seed Serena Williams. Maria was still just 17 and that huge upset set the tone for a bitter rivalry between the pair.
The victory also heralded the start of “Maria mania” as people clamoured to learn more about the Russian – who went on to win the US, French (twice) and Australian Open titles.
The ice queen from Siberia was hot property and her first Grand Slam win unleashed her earnings potential as Sharapova set about turning herself into a brand.
At one stage she was even apparently willing to change her name to Sugarpova for a tournament to promote her own range of sweets.
Had she been a useless tennis player the Russian, who is 6ft 2in tall, could probably have made her living on the catwalk alone.
She says candidly: “Beauty sells. I have to realise that’s a part of why people want me. It’s fine. I’m not going to make myself ugly.” On court Sharapova, whose piercing shrieks are not to everyone’s taste, has won 15 fewer major titles than Serena Williams and earned about half the prize money – roughly £23million.
But her offcourt earnings dwarf those of her US rival, reflecting Sharapova’s status as one of the most marketable names and faces in world sport.
She is currently ranked 7th in the world but prior to the drugs test her diminishing status in the game in no way refl ected her ability to make money.
She is among a rare breed of athletes who have transcended their sport, explaining why her admission has made headlines.
Nike had a £50million, eight-year deal with Sharapova, which has now been suspended. Other contracts were bringing in about £8million a year but she’s already been dropped by Porsche and watch-maker Tag Heuer.
She was engaged to Slovenian basketball player Sasha Vujacic but ended it in 2012, blaming the pressure of their careers for the split.
She then dated Bulgarian tennis star Grigor Dimitrov for two years but the pair split last year. It did nothing to improve matters with Serena Williams, who was with Dimitrov before Maria came along.
Williams made a few catty remarks about Sharapova, who hit back by publicly revealing details about Serena’s new man.
One commentator likened it to the feud between male tennis stars John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors “but this time in skirts”. Sharapova says she’s proud of her roots in Siberia but has homes in Florida and California, jointly worth £6million.
In tennis terms she’s now approaching the veteran stage but recently said she had no plans to retire, although she’d like to devote more time to her confectionery brand.
With her sponsors distancing themselves and a ban from playing the sport she loves now likely she could get her wish. Maria Sharapova will need all her legendary toughness to emerge from this crisis.
