Bleacher Reporter has an article discussing why Russia’s Maria Sharapova is so popular with fans.  Sharapova has been consistently ranked as one of the most searched atheletes online. The article gives four major explanations with which I mostly agree. I have added the fifth reason  to explain mostly her popularity with sponsors:

1) Sex appeal. No comment here. Whether we agree or don’t, like or don’t like. Sex sells. Period.)

2) Successful tennis career. With three grand slams, 24 WTA titles and $16 million in prize-money, Sharapova continues to be a top-5 player. She is no Anna Kournikova. Her next mission is to win the Olympic Gold this year.

3) High-profile personal life. She is engaged to NBA player Sasha Vujacic for about two years already. However, Maria has managed to keep her personal life private. Good for her.

4) Nice personality.  She was likable when she won the Wimbledon in her late teens, and she’s still likable now, especially after taking a career break to recover from injuries.

5) Intelligent businesswoman. Not many talk about her intelligence, but make no mistakes. Maria is smart. At age 24, she remains the top-earning female athlete in the world. She renewed her Nike deal in 2010. The new eight-year contract is worth up to $70 million. She receives royalties from her own tennis line and a line of bags and shoes through Cole Haan. She has endorsements with Canon, Prince, Tiffany, Tag Heuer and Land Rover. Of course she has agents and business advisors, but I have seen  many interviews and appearances of her, where she exactly says what she is supposed to say. Nothing more, nothing less. When Nike signs an eight-year multi-million dollar contract, they must have some trust in the person who is going to represent them. She is not going to surprise us with Tiger-Woods-style lifestyle, or she is not going to have Serena-style outbursts on the court. Maybe it is somewhat dull, but I would call it simply “smart.”

In this interview Maria Sharapova talks about how she feels going up against Petra Kvitova in the next semi-final match.

Q.  How do you feel going up against Kvitova in the next match?MARIA SHARAPOVA:  It will certainly be tough.  I’ve lost to her the last couple of times ? obviously the big one in Wimbledon where she played really well.  I think she’s the one to beat right now, playing the best tennis in her career.  Coming off of so many wins last year, I’m looking forward to the matchup.  I don’t like losing so many times in a row.  So I’ll certainly be going out there and trying to play my best.

 Q.  Out of that Wimbledon final, what do you take from that?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Yeah, she played quite deep and hard, served extremely well.  The chances that I had, she just came up with better shots in that match.  She was certainly the better player.  Yeah, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow and see how that goes.

 Read the full interview here.

Masha is out of the U.S. Open. Below is her post-match interview after losing to Flavia Pennetta, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. in the third round.

Q.  How are you?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Good.

Q.  Where was your A Game today?  What happened?  Seemed hitting you were in the back court, you were hitting double faults.  Did you lose your concentration or your focus?  What was going on with you?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Um, yeah, I made way too many unforced errors.  I fought back to get myself back in the match in the third set.  I think the first three, four games on every game I had a chance to win that game, whether it was a breakpoint or it was a game point on my serve, and I didn’t win those games. When you’re done 1 4 and you get yourself back in a position where can you win again and start making errors, it’s just too inconsistent to win the match against her.

Q.  Did you feel like you could rely on your forehand in this match at any point?  Did you ever feel comfortable with it?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Um, I didn’t feel comfortable with most of my game today. Read more »

(Reuters) - Maria Sharapova may not have won a grand slam title since 2008, but the Russian tennis player remains unchallenged as the world’s highest paid woman in professional sports.

For the seventh straight year, Sharapova topped the annual list provided by Forbes magazine, despite failing to add to her three grand slam titles, although she did make the Wimbledon final in July.

Sharapova’s earnings, mostly off-court endorsements, were estimated at $25 million, twice as much as her nearest rival, Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, the current women’s world number one.

American racing driver Danica Patrick was third with $12 million followed by tennis players Venus Williams, Belgium’s Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams. Read more »

P. Kvitova - semi-final

Thursday, 30 June 2011

P. Kvitova bt. V. Azarenka 6 1, 3 6, 6 2Q. What were you most proud of your performance today?

PETRA KVITOVA: Well, I think it was nervous match, for sure. I’m happy how I played because it was tougher mental, for sure. Yeah, it was good.

Q. Is this the best of your tennis life so far?

PETRA KVITOVA: I think so. Yeah, of course it’s something unbelievable be in the final in the Wimbledon.

Q. When do you remember first thinking about Wimbledon, and what were your thoughts as a child perhaps?

PETRA KVITOVA: Well, what I remember is that Martina Navratilova won here. This is my first memories. Read more »

Maria Sharapova bt. S. Lisicki 6 4, 6 3Q. How does it feel to be back in the Wimbledon final?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: It’s a great feeling. It’s been many years, but it’s a really great feeling.

Today wasn’t my best match of The Championships so I was real happy to get through in two sets. But, yeah, it’s pretty amazing to be back on that stage.

Q. Your start wasn’t very good.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: No.

Q. How much confidence does it give you to be able to come back from that? Looking into the final, do you feel like you have one hand on the trophy after coming back so strong?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, she started really well. The first three games she played very well, and I did quite the opposite. Uhm, you know, she served a lot better, and I was giving her way too many free points on my serve.

And then, you know, I told myself to take it one point at a time and really focus. You know, I felt like I just kind of got in my zone, you know, just remained focused, and kind of got back to 3 All.

I was fortunate to win that set and then get up a couple of breaks in the second. Read more »

Wimbledon starts today.  But before the WTA stars get into action, they had their traditional pre-tournament party. No Wimbledon whites there. Loved Serena Williams’ and Maria Sharapova’s glamorous looks. Not to disappoint her fans, American pro Bethanie Mattek-Sands arrived in a ball gown, literally. Her dress was comprised of bright florescent tennis balls. You can read more about Maria’s  style here.

(Photos: gettyimages)

Ever wondered how Maria Sharapova is always so competitive? In a recent interview with Reuters, former world number one Sharapova talked about how she stays competitive and what she thinks about her chances in Roland Garros in Paris.

“It is tough to have really good friends on the tour,” she said. “I find it difficult to be having dinner with someone one night and then having to play them two days later because it is at the end of the day an individual sport and we are all very competitive.

It’s typical in sport to try to beat each other. You know we are not on a team and as far as really close friends goes I have my family who come with me on the road. I don’t hang around in the locker room - it’s my least favorite place in the world. I do my job at the site, I play matches do what I have to do and live my world away from the site and don’t talk tennis all day. It’s not in my best interests.” Read more »

Interview with Maria Sharapova after her third round victory 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 against German Julia Goerges at Australian Open.

Q. Can I ask you your thoughts on the court when you were hitting up obviously and that delay happened and it looked to be a bubble and it was fairly comical. What were your thoughts?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Maybe it was comical to you. Wasn’t really comical to us. We warmed up and had to sit and wait for a while. I was the first one to notice it because I went to the umpire for the coin toss and I noticed there was something under my left shoe. I know I have a lot of foam in the heel but I thought they added some padding or something in there. All of a sudden I looked down and there was a pretty big bubble there. I mentioned it to the umpire and she said she would make a call.

Read more »

Maria Sharapova has announced on her Facebook page about the launch of her new website. Check it out at mariasharapova.com. She has also recently showcased her latest Nike dress which she is planning to wear for the upcoming Australian Open.