Ten things you don't know about Maria Sharapova

August 16, 2011

1. Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova, the No. 4 seed in this week's Western & Southern Open, hopes to someday meet U2 frontman Bono and do charity work with him.




2. At 6 feet 2, Sharapova is the same height as Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga. At 130 pounds, Sharapova weighs exactly half of the 260-pound Maualuga.


3. In her 11-year professional career, Sharapova has won $16 million in prize money. That is Reds-killing pitcher Roy Oswalt's base salary this season with the Philadelphia Phillies.


4. Known for grunting when her racket strikes the ball, Sharapova had a grunt measured at 101.2 decibels at Wimbledon in 2005. That is louder than a lawn mower and vacuum cleaner.




5. Sharapova's parents, Yuri and Yelena, gave their daughter her first racket when she was 4. The family couldn't afford a child-sized racket, so Yuri sawed-off the end of his wooden racket and gave it to Maria.


6. After the family moved from Russia to Florida in the early 1990s, the Sharapovas were so poor that they could not afford a car. Yuri would transport Maria to tennis lessons on his bicycle.


7. In January 2010, Sharapova signed a $70 million endorsement deal with Nike. It's the largest endorsement contract ever signed by a female athlete.




8. She shares an April 19 birthday with fellow Nike endorsers Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins and Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers.


9. As a teenager, Sharapova was stopped for speeding twice by the Florida Highway Patrol. Both times, she did not receive a ticket, and the law-enforcement officers asked for her autograph.


10. Sharapova is engaged to Sasha Vujacic of the New Jersey Nets, whose assistant coach, John Loyer, worked as an assistant for Bob Huggins at the University of Cincinnati from 1989-99.

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