Having won three Grand Slam singles title and spending a major portion of her time as the world No. 1, Russian Maria Sharapova is definitely one of the top female athletes in the game of tennis. She spent a major part of her childhood in Sochi, the home of Olympic Winter Games in 2014.

Then, Sharapova moved to Florida along with her father Yuri when she was just 7 years old with a view of training at Nick Bollettieri’s academy. Her first major break came in 2004, when she defeated Serena Williams, a former champion, in the Wimbledon finals, which became her first Grand Slam.

It happened at the age of just 17 and Maria Sharapova was soon in the celebrity status. It evolved even more after the 2005 French Open quarterfinals appearance and three other Grand Slam semi-final appearances. Sharapova was elevated to the No. 1 position in the ATP ranking.

She remained there for a total of seven weeks. The year 2006 saw Maria Sharapova lift her second Grand Slam in the form of the U.S. Open. Despite the loss to Serena Williams in the 2007 Australian Open final, Sharapova remained number one. Her third Grand Slam came immediately after a year in 2008 when she won the Australian Open.

Not only did it give her third major title, but also elevated her to the top position once again. However, since then, she has been plagued by injuries. The 2008 season, especially was one to forget for Sharapova, who injured her shoulder, which brought a premature end to the season.

Her comeback as a major force was once again clear at the 2009 French Open, in which she made it to the quarterfinals. Sharapova has also done various modelling work as well, which contributes significantly to the title of being the best paid female athlete.