Factbox on Russia’s Maria Sharapova who announced her retirement from tennis on Wednesday at the age of 32:
Born: April 19, 1987 in Nyagan, Russia
Current world singles ranking: 373
Singles Career High Ranking: 1 (Aug. 22, 2005)
GRAND SLAM TITLES: Five: Wimbledon (2004); U.S. Open (2006); Australian Open (2008); French Open (2012, 2014)
MAKING HER NAME
* Born in Siberia, moves to Black Sea coastal resort of Sochi aged two.
* Moves to Florida in 1996 to train at Nick Bollettieri’s Tennis Academy in Bradenton. Sharapova’s father Yuri, armed with just $700, moves to U.S. with her. Her mother Yelena has to stay in Russia due to visa restrictions.
* Turns professional in 2001.
TENNIS CAREER
* Wins first tour title in Tokyo in 2003. Finishes inside top 50 for first time.
* Becomes first Russian woman to win Wimbledon in 2004 aged 17, beating holder Serena Williams 6-1 6-4 in the final.
* In August 2005 becomes first Russian woman to reach the top of the world rankings.
* Wins her second Grand Slam by defeating second seed Justine Henin 6-4 6-4 in the 2006 U.S. Open final.
* Beats Ana Ivanovic of Serbia 7-5 6-3 in 2008 to win her third major title, and first Australian Open.
* Regains number one ranking by beating Petra Kvitova in the French Open semi-finals in 2012 before defeating Sara Errani 6-3 6-2 in the final to complete her Grand Slam collection.
* Wins a silver medal in her Olympic debut at the 2012 Games in London, losing the final against Serena 6-0 6-1.
* Loses the 2013 French Open final to Serena and misses the last six months of the season with a shoulder injury.
* Wins fifth Grand Slam title at 2014 French Open.
OTHER NOTES
* Has shoulder surgery in 2008 followed by a nine-month injury layoff.
* Misses second half of 2013 season with a shoulder injury.
* Was the seventh highest-paid female athlete in the world in 2019, according to Forbes.
FAILED TEST
* In March 2016 Sharapova told a news conference in Los Angeles she had tested positive at the Australian Open for meldonium, which is used to treat diabetes and low magnesium and had been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) since Jan. 1.
*Sharapova was provisionally banned by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and then suspended for two years, backdated to Jan. 26.
* Sharapova’s ban was reduced to 15 months on appeal and she returned to tennis in April 2017.
* Sharapova claimed her first title since her doping ban and the final one of her career later that year when she won the Tianjin Open in October.
* She reached the last-16 of the Australian Open at the start of 2019, but missed the French Open that year.
* The Russian was eliminated in the first round of the final three Grand Slams of her career — Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2019 and the 2020 Australian Open, which was her last competitive appearance.
*Sharapova announced her retirement in an article for magazine Vanity Fair.
