Maria pulls out of Hong Kong.
December 30th, 2008
In a statement today, the Hong Kong Tennis Patrons’ Association announced the withdrawal of Maria Sharapova from the Hong Kong event.
Sharapova has reluctantly withdrawn, as full recovery from a shoulder injury has allowed her to only start hitting balls just over two weeks ago. She’s playing but has not had sufficient training to compete at the high level that Hong Kong demands. Maria announced:
Maria:
” It’s with much disappointment that I have to withdraw from Hong Kong. I’ve been using this event for the last five years to get match fit and ready for the new season, in fact Hong Kong has been successful in preparing me for the Australian Open. I am very sorry I won’t be competing, and I deeply apologise to my fans and the sponsors that they won’t see me there this year.
I’m just not ready to play against the top class competition in Hong Kong, although I remain hopeful for Australia where I’m the defending champion. Believe me, it’s been a very difficult decision, but I only started practicing 16 days ago. I love playing in Hong Kong, and the Organisers attract a world class field.”
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Max Eisenbud, Maria’s agent at IMG commented, “I know how difficult this decision has been for Maria. Hong Kong is a special event for her, she’s been competing there since she was 15yrs old and the event staff and team are like family, and there has been no better place to prepare for a Grand Slam. Maria needs to get “tennis fit” now and she’s working hard.”
Co-Tournament Director in Hong Kong, Mr. Terry Catton said, “We’re hugely disappointed, who wouldn’t be, but we’ve known Maria for over five years and we know what a tough competitor she is. She wouldn’t give up her spot in Hong Kong lightly and we are terribly sad for her. We’re particularly disappointed for our sponsors, our fans and all our different partners but we welcome Maria’s comments about Hong Kong, we wish her well for the season and look forward to welcoming her back another year. Tennis needs a fit and competitive Maria.”
December 20th, 2008
Maria is sinds haar schouderblessure zeker niet van het ( tennis ) toneel verdwenen.In een aantal magazines w.o. Russian Voque,California Style,GQ en Womenxe2x80x99s Health werden er artikels en fotoshoots van de tennisdiva gepubliceerd.
Here is an extract from the article in Womenxe2x80x99s Health magazine:
Maria Sharapova can pull off the whole Blonde Goddess thing with ease – it’s no problem when you’re a world-class athlete, a multi-multi millionaire and 6-foot-2 inches of beautiful. But then she unleases this very un-goddesslike noise, a booming sound that has nothing to do with smashing the stuffing out of a two-ounce tennis ball.
Women’s Health magazine,january 2009
See, Sharapova likes to laugh. A lot. Ask her a question, any question, and she’ll find a laugh in there somewhere. So what do you like to eat, Maria? “Everything!” (Laugh.) How would you describe yourself? “Oh, well…stubborn. Very stubborn” (laugh.) Why do you love tennis? “Because all your wins and losses are in your hands. I mean, I would be terrible at team sports” (laugh.). I’d never be able to pass the ball to anyone” (big laugh).
The 21-year-old may not take herself too seriously by trust us: she takes her work – in this case, an afternoon photo shoot in Phoenix – very seriously. She arrives on the set 30 minutes early (she hates being late), dressed in black Hudson jeans, a gray Graham & Spencer tank top, and black flats, her hair still wet from the gym. After greeting every person in the room, she quickly shifts into job mode, a nonstop whirl of multitasking – selecting her clothes, checking out the shots of herself (“I just want to make sure I don’t look like someone I don’t recognize!”), and discussing an upcoming project with her beauty squad (a hairstylist, a makeup artist and a fashion stylist), all the while working two Blackberrys – one per hand. “I’m always on the go,” she explains. “I love doing things until I hit rock bottom. Then I need my 12 hours of sleep, and I’m on the go again.”
GQ magazine,december 2008
California Style magazine,november 2008
Russian Voque magazine,october 2008
MARIA MAKES HER COMEBACK IN HONG KONG.
October 9th, 2008
Maria will begin 2009 by playing the World Team Challenge in Hong Kong which is from January 7-10. The tournament will feature four teams representing Europe, Russia, the Americas and Asia-Pacific.
Each team will consist of three players competing in singles and doubles, with Maria leading the Russian team. Other players confirmed are Jelena Jankovic, Venus Williams and Sania Mirza. The rest of the field will be announced later.
The teams will be placed into a semi-final draw with each tie consisting of singles and doubles rubbers. The two teams with the most overall wins will proceed to the final and the losers to the wooden spoon match.
source : mariasharapova.com
Maria during the Exhibition Tournament in Hong Kong,January 2008
Los Angeles,1 august 2008.
Maria zegt af voor Olympische Spelen en US Open.
Maria komt zeker niet in actie op de Olympische Spelen en de US Open. De 21-jarige Russin, de voormalige nummer xc3xa9xc3xa9n van de wereld, heeft kleine scheurtjes in pezen in haar schouder. Dat schrijft Maria op haar website.
Maria denkt over twee tot drie maanden weer op de baan te staan.
De Russin had al enige tijd last van de schouder. Woensdag won ze op het toernooi van Montreal desondanks wel haar tweede rondepartij van Marta Domachowska uit Polen. Maria liet zich echter twee keer behandelen in de drie uur durende wedstrijd en meldde zich na afloop af voor de derde ronde.
Doktoren ontdekten donderdag op een MRI-scan de scheurtjes in haar schouder, die er al sinds april zouden zitten.
Maria:
” Het doet me pijn dat ik de Spelen en de US Open moet missen. Dit zal het eerste grandslamtoernooi zijn waarop ik niet in actie kan komen”
“Het was niet fijn om te horen dat mijn medische team dit al die tijd niet opgemerkt heeft”. De blessure moet met rust genezen.
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Maria moet wegens een schouderblessure de Olympische Spelen en US Open missen
19 may 2008.
Maria Sharapova take over no. 1 Ranking
With the announcement of her immediate retirement from professional tennis, and at her request, World No.1 Justine Henin removed from the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings. As such, the rankings xe2x80″ to be released on Monday, May 19 xe2x80″ will see the current No.2, Russian Maria Sharapova, assume the top spot for the fourth time in her career.
This Monday will see Maria Sharapova commence her 15th career week at No.1, having first ascended to the top ranking on August 22, 2005. After a one-week spell at No.1 she regained the position two weeks later from Lindsay Davenport, where she remained for six weeks. Sharapova was also No.1 for seven weeks from January to March 2007.
After an injury-plagued latter half of 2007, Maria made a major resurgence at last November’s Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid, Spain, where she made it all the way to the final before narrowly losing to Henin, 57 75 63.
That form has continued into 2008, so far compiling an impressive 24-2 win-loss record, winning her third career Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open, defeating No.1 Henin 64 60 in the quarterfinals, No.4 Jelena Jankovic 63 61 in the semifinals and No.3 Ana Ivanovic 75 63 in the final.
She has also won titles at the Tier I Qatar Total Open in Doha and Tier II Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, FL.
19 april 2008.
A very happy birthday Maria !
Maria viert vandaag haar 21ste verjaardag.
From MariaSharapova.web-log.nl, all friends, fans and supporters…
A very happy 21st birthday Maria !
BAPTIST’S CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL VISIT
March 27th, 2008
Sony Ericsson WTA Tour player Maria Sharapova and actress Camilla Belle, star of the movie 10,000 B.C. went to Baptist Children’s Hospital to visit some of the hospitals teenage patients.
Maria and Camilla passed out hats, t-shirts and tennis balls to the children and spent a few moments with each patient.
The two stars also signed autographs and poised for pictures with the hospital staff.
Maria withdraws from Sony Ericsson Open
March 22th, 2008
The Sony Ericsson Open lost one of it’s major stars on Saturday morning when Maria Sharapova announced she is withdrawing from the Key Biscayne tournament because of fatigue.
Maria, who has dominated the tour since winning the Australian Open in January, had her 18-match win streak broken by Svetlana Kuznetsova Friday night in the Indian Wells semifinals, and Maria told reporters afterwards that she was considering taking a break and skipping the Sony Ericsson Open, which begins Wednesday.
She advised tournament officials of her decision early Saturday morning.
Maria:
I’ve been playing a lot of tennis, flying a lot, and it’s all been work since I took a week off after the championships.
It’s pretty much been nonstop from the season to all the tournaments I’ve been playing, and Fed Cup as well. It takes a toll on your body and your mind.
You feel like you have to go out on the court and, you know, spend a lot of emotion and energy out there, and sometimes you just don’t have it for every match.”
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The Sony Ericsson Open is a mandatory event, and Sharapova faces a stiff fine for pulling out, but she said was ready to pay the consequences for her decision.
Maria explained that it’s too early in the season for her to be feeling this tired.
Maria:
I’m sure that there’s a pretty big fine, but the body’s more important than a fine,”
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MARIA IN OCEAN DRIVE MAGAZINE
March 6th, 2008
Source:mariasharapova.com
Maria is featured in the March edition of Ocean Drive Magazine. The article is titled ‘Maria Full of Grace’. Maria did a shoot at the end of last year for the magazine which is based in Miami, Florida.
Here is an extract from the article:
This is the moment of Maria Sharapova. The Russian beauty just won the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne. Her image is all over billboards and television commercials for companies such as Nike, Canon, Tag Heuer, Prince and Sony Ericsson.
She is one of most successful female athletes in the world-both financially and competitively. Locally, Sharapova hits Miami for the annual Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament on Key Biscayne this month (March 26th to April 6th).
Expect to see some hard-hitting serves and aces as Maria attempts to win her first title here. Of course, the sexy tennis star is no stranger to Florida. Not only does Sharapova, who is ranked number-five in the world, reside in Sarasota, but she has also been spotted at multiple Miami Heat games and lists China Grill as one of her favorite restaurants.
Maria Sharapova withdraws from Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships
Dubai, UAE, February 26th, 2008:
Maria Sharapova, who flew into Dubai earlier this week direct from a victory in Doha, has announced her withdrawal from the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships due to a viral illness. The Australian Open champion, who was scheduled to play her first round match on Centre Court at 7pm this evening, is disappointed that she will be unable to compete in the Dubai Duty Free owned tournament which this year attracted 9 of the top 10 players on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
26 february 2008.Maria moest vandaag helaas afzeggen voor Dubai.
Maria:”I was really excited to come to Dubai this week and was very much looking forward to playing the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. Unfortunately I have been battling a virus for several days and it’s reached a point where I’m unable to compete.
This is really disappointing to me, but I do intend to come back to Dubai next year and hopefully have a great tournament.
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Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free, said: “We are obviously disappointed that Maria will not be playing in Dubai as we know that she enjoys playing here and is extremely popular with the crowds. However, we understand her need to rest as a result of this illness and wish her a speedy recovery.”
Ramat Hascharon – Israel, 3 February 2008
RUSSIA INTO WORLD GROUP SEMIS !
Source:mariasharapova.com
Russia are through to the World Group semis after they defeated Israel. Maria was 1st on court today and she defeated #1 Israeli Shahar Peer 6-1 6-1 in 1 hour and 14 minutes. Then Anna Chakvetadze gave Russia the win when she defeated Tzipora Obziler 6-4 6-2.
A very impressive debut for Maria in Fed Cup as she won her 2 matches in straight sets against a very enthuastic crowd.
Maria raced to a 5-1 lead in the 1st set and finally took the set after a long deuce game when Peer hit a forehand wide. Throughout this set Maria hit 15 winners to 12 errors and took the set 6-1 in 32 minutes.
Another good set from Maria as she took it 6-1. Maria had 3 matchpoints on her serve at 5-0 but was unable to convert them but in the next game on Peer’s serve she was able to take the match when Peer hit a backhand unforced error.
Maria had een belangrijk aandeel in de overwinning van Rusland op Israel.
Gisteren won Maria van Tzipora Obziler en vandaag werd Shahar Peer met overtuigende cijfers verslagen ( 6-1 6-1 )
18 january 2008
MARIA TO MAKE FED CUP DEBUT. .
Source:mariasharapova.com
Maria will be making her Fed Cup debut for Russia in the 1st Round of the World group in Israel. Maria and the Russian team will travel to Ramat Hasharon to play the tie on the weekend of February 3rd and 4th.
After Maria’s match against Elena Vesnina at the Australian Open, Maria made these comments on the tie: ”
Maria: I’m so excited about this trip. It’s one of my priorities for this year, along with competing in the Olympics. Ever since I’ve been watching the Olympics on TV and ever since I went to Moscow to watch the girls play in the final, watch them win, hear the anthem, it was really amazing. I mean, in today’s match we had a group of about 20 Russian fans, you know, yelling my name and Elena’s name and saying, No matter what happens, Russia is still the champions. I’m looking forward to it. Even though we’re playing in Israel, I’m looking forward to the team experience and also visiting Israel for the first time.”
Well, I think we’re coming into it. I think we’re gonna be expected to win. But I don’t think — you know, we’re not playing at home. You know, that’s never easy. You know, the girls would obviously know. As an individual, I take every match seriously, no matter who I’m going to play. I look forward to the challenges. And, like I said, I mean, the crowd is going to be on their side, and that’s never easy.”
The tie consists of 5 rubbers – 4 singles and 1 doubles, with 2 singles played on the Saturday and the remaining matches played on the Sunday. Russia are playing for a place in the semis which will be held in April.
13 january 2008
Maria boegbeeld van Sony Ericsson.
Source:telegraaf
Maria wordt vier jaar lang het boegbeeld van Sony Ericsson.De mooie getalenteerde Russin gaat een actieve rol spelen in de merkcampagnes van de Zweeds-Japanse fabrikant.
Sony Ericsson wil af van haar nogal mannelijke technische imago.
En Maria doet het goed bij zowel vrouwen als mannen.Volgens een woordvoerder is Maria niet alleen om haar mooie gezichtje gekozen.
Maria die in april haar 21e verjaardag viert,gaat ook advies geven op het gebied van mode,stijl,materiaalgebruik en kleur.Samen met een designteam van Sony Ericsson zal zij werken aan een assortiment producten en accessoires.
Sony Ericsson sponsert sinds 2005 het vrouwentennis.
Maria gaat een hoofdrol spelen in de merkcampagnes van
Sony Ericsson.
Maria Sharapova weblog 