While our stars are busy enjoying their lives during the off season (which means falling in love, breaking up, buying tournaments, posing for magazine covers, etc). Let’s take a look at some photos of famous Russian stars and their “significant others.” Since this is based on mostly gossip, I have to say I don’t really know if these couples are still together as of my writing:-)

Maria Sharapova and Charlie Ebersol. When talking about Russian stars, she comes first.  Along with posing for magazines, making headlines for being threatened by a crazy tennis player, Maria Sharapova also managed to find a boyfriend while waiting for her shoulder to heal).

Igor Andreev and Maria Kirilenko. (Wikipedia still says Andreev is dating Russian fashionista Masha K.) Don’t they look like the blond version of this famous tennis couple

Mikhail Youzhny and Julia Thomas. So he can also be nice and tender?

Nikolay Davydenko and his wife Irina. (I hope Irina has more color and personality than her famous husband).

Marat Safin and Russian pop singer Nastya Osipova. (Our favorite playboy’s latest girlfriend didn’t score high among his  fan base:-)

…and Anna Kournikova and Enrique Iglesias.

Are there any other couples out there that I don’t know of?

A former US university football player has been charged with threatening Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova. We often hear and see the glamorous side of the celebrities. However, being famous also means you have to deal all kinds of sickos that are out there. ESPN has the story.

Maria Sharapova in Spanish GQ in December. See more photos at Craig Hickman’s tennis blog.

Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova at the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists event at Skylight Studios on Monday, Nov. 17, 2008 in New York. And here is her casual look a day before. (AP)

Life happens when you are not on the court ALL the time. Blogs are reporting that Maria Sharapova dates  Charlie Ebersol, the son of NBC sports chairman Dick Ebersol and actress Susan Saint James. According to New York Daily News, Sharapova joked that “my boyfriend will probably outbid you” before putting herself up for auction at the Bryan Brothers’ All-Star Tennis Smash charity event last weekend. However, one lucky guy won a date with the Russian tennis star - for  $10,000. Charlie first received media attention when he and his father survived a 2004 charter plane crash that took the lives of two crew members and Charlie’s younger brother. Since then, Charlie has become a film producer, collaborating with Ashton Kutcher on the documentary Ithuteng (Never Stop Learning). The film debutes on HBO on Dec. 3.

Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova has announced a scholarship program for the students from the Chernobyl-affected areas of Belarus. The program with the total funding of $210,000 is a joint initiative of the Maria Sharapova Foundation and UN Development Program. The scholarships will be granted to 12 talented Belorussian students, and will cover their education costs for four years. “I’ve always dreamed of making my own contribution to restoring the region I have a personal connection with,” said Maria Sharapova, whose parents lived in Gomel. “Providing young people with an opportunity to get higher education is part of the efforts meant to create a better future for the affected region”.

Tennis stars are making headlines and … money not only on court  but also (read mostly) off court.

•  Maria Sharapova joins Cole Haan Sporting line. (On the Baseline)
• American Sam Querrey signed two deals while at U.S. Open, with Olympus and Zappos.com. Querrey joins fellow tennis player John Isner as the only professional tennis players with endorsement deals with Olympus. (Olympus)
• Russian Anna Chakvetadze reportedly is planning to sign an apparel deal with Fila.  (Sports Business Journal)
• Adidas plans to launch a tennis racket next year and wants Novak Djokovic to be the endorser. (Sports Business Journal)

Russia’s tennis boss Shamil Tarpischev has announced his team  for the upcoming Fed Cup final tie against Spain. Though traditionally Russia has the best selection pool when it comes to Fed Cup, it seems Russia’s captain had to be satisfied with a second-string team. World number 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova will lead the team comprised of world number 10 and Beijing bronze medalist Vera Zvonareva, 56th-ranked Ekaterina Makarova and number 71 Elena Vesnina.

Elena Dementieva, and Dinara Safina are somewhat exhausted after their recent sucesses in Olympics and US Open, Anna Chakvetadze can’t find her form after the horrific robbery attack, and Maria Sharapova is out with a shoulder injury.

“This is the best team we could assemble at the moment. Dementieva and Safina have a real chance to become world number one so we have to give them a break,” Tarpischev said.

Maria Sharapova manages somehow to stay in the spotlight even though she is skipping this year’s US Open due to a shoulder injury. Shape has a story on how the tennis pro stays active off the court.

Want to get Maria’s bling? Enter to win a diamond-studded Canon PowerShot.

Russians dominate.

WTA Top 10 Rankings (August 25, 2008)

1. Ana Ivanovic - Serbia - 3612

2. Jelena Jankovic - Serbia - 3515

3. Serena Williams - United States - 3341

4. Svetlana Kuznetsova - Russia - 3181

5. Maria Sharapova - Russia - 3131

6. Elena Dementieva - Russia - 3070

7. Dinara Safina - Russia - 3047

8. Venus Williams - United States - 2586

9. Anna Chakvetadze - Russia - 2230

10. Vera Zvonareva - Russia - 2117