Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal has both made the Forbes’ 2012 list of the world’s most powerful celebrities.
Federer was the highest-ranked tennis players at No. 31, followed by Nadal (47), Maria Sharapova (71), Serena Williams (77) and Li Na (87)
Here is some great behind the scenes footage of Maria Sharapova filming her commercial for Samsung.
Sorry for my previous post about the dress… I got it wrong. Anyway, here is Maria Sharapova’s 2012 French Open dress:
I like the serious dark color, although I wouldn’t have minded something bright and colorful. Overall, this looks good and comfortable, and I hope Masha will play well, and maybe even win, in this dress!
It has been reported that the ITF committee has changed its eligibility rule for the 2016 Olympics by doubling the amount of ties players will have to play leading up to the next Olympics.
Maria Sharapova is not in favor of this rule and has said this about the announcement:
“I’m disappointed.”
“I met with them once in Miami. They didn’t listen to us at all.”
Currently, you have to make yourself available for two ties in the two years preceding the Olympics, but the new rule states that you now have to be available for four ties in the four-year period leading up to the Olympics and Sharapova argues that this kind of rule change can cause some trouble in the players’ schedules on the tour.
Sharapova herself did take part in two ties for Russia during the 2011 and 2012 Fed Cup seasons but you have to argue that she only did that in order to get herself to become eligible for the Olympics. Otherwise she usually blames an injury, fatigue or a busy schedule for her inability to participate in the Fed Cup when it isn’t mandatory. So it goes without saying that even though this new rule is in place, if a spot at the next Olympics is at stake, Sharapova will no doubt comply with the new rules in order to get there. It seems rather odd that other players haven’t opposed this rule change yet, but if they happen to, only then it will become an issue that needs to be looked into.
I personally don’t think other players have a problem with this rule change and if you do the math, four ties in the four years leading up to the Olympics is only one mandatory appearance per year which I think would be a great incentive for players to go out and play for their country at least once if they want to represent their country in the Olympics. If they don’t have the desire to represent their country in the Fed Cup, what kind of message does it send to let them represent their country in the Olympics, assuming they’re just going for the gold without any regard for the country they have chosen to represent.
If you are a citizen of a country and choose to retain the nationality of that country while playing a sport, the least you can do is play one tie a year in the Fed Cup; especially when it comes to Maria Sharapova, who has been known for opting out of many Fed Cup ties and who is now complaining that there are too many compulsory ties to play if you want to get to the Olympics.
You should be proud to represent your country no matter if you’re playing in the Fed Cup or the Olympics. And if you can’t make an appearance once a year to represent that country, maybe you shouldn’t take a spot that could be taken by someone who considers it an honor to represent their country in an international event.
Maria Sharapova has a new style and new hair cut. What do you think?
I came across this great computer generated image of Maria Sharapova. It was designed by Nikita Volobuev, but apart from that there is not much information about the design.
Maria Sharapova always looks sexy, but this Tag Heuer photoshoot is one of the best I have seen in a while Maria you can even make Phoenix look good!
After 4 years of being an ambassador for Sony Ericsson, world No. 2 Maria Sharapova will now be a team with Samsung. Her new deal will only cover Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, which are countries such as Armenia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan, and it will last for 3 years. The deal includes promotion of phones, tablets, and TVs. Sharapova’s agent had this to say:
Maria really hasn’t been marketed that much in Russia. It’s important to her because that’s where her roots are. I also felt that was a really untapped market, with the 2014 Sochi Olympics coming up.
Although it happened about two weeks ago, I thought I’d show you guys a clip from the quarterfinal women’s match where Maria Kirilenko faced Maria Sharapova. Two point away from the end of the match, Kirilenko apparently tapped her racquet a few times against the court during the point and the point was subsequently stopped by the referee and called a hindrance. If you didn’t catch that while you were there or watching on TV, here’s your chance for a replay of the incident.
Maria Sharapova sat down at the Sony Ericsson Open 2012 in Miami to answer some fan questions.
Victoria Azarenka has confirmed she is the best female tennis player in the world with another dominating display against Maria Sharapova. Preivously it was in the Australian Open final, but today she defeated Sharapova in the Indian Wells 2012 final. Azarenka showed another great performance and won 6-2 6-3.
Watch Caroline Wozniacki try a prank on Maria Sharapova during All Access Hour at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
Better luck next time Caroline!
Maria Sharapova will be skipping the Fed Cup semifinal for Russia against Serbia. The match is scheduled to be played in April, but it seems like this does fit in with Maria’s schedule. Very interesting to see that she has no national pride whatsoever.
Most of us have seen Maria Sharapova playing Fed Cup for her country but have never seen what it’s like when she’s on the sidelines.
Here’s your chance to see the tennis superstar up close and personal at their match against Spain on February 5th. Russia edged it out to win 3-2 and will face Serbia in the semifinals, taking place on April 21-22.
She isn’t as cold and impassive as you thought she would be with the other Russian players, and hopefully this video will reveal a more realistic picture of our favorite Russian beauty.
In the first part of the video, you will see Sharapova mix and mingle with Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anastasia Myskina, as well as meet with Marat Safin. Just so you know, the videos are both in Russian so don’t get too discouraged.
In the second part, it’s mostly her and Kuznetsova talking amongst themselves.
The BNP Paribas showdown was an exhibition tennis event in New York City yesterday. It was full of good tennis and some laughs. However, most of the commentary and commercialism of the event really makes me cringe!
Rory McIlroy… the most uncoordinated person I have seen play tennis in a while!
On the day that’s filled with love and romance, Maria Sharapova opted instead to focus her agenda on the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City.
The former Grand Slam champion and this year’s Australian Open finalist attended the Vera Wang and Rodarte shows sitting alongside names such as Anna Wintour and Viola Davis. Maria wore a slightly edgy yet classy look with a pop of color for the Vera Wang Fall 2012 Collection, and a sleeveless purple day-dress for the Rodarte Fall presentation.
A glamorous event like this is a perfect match for the most glamorous player on the tour, and gives Maria a chance to hone her skills as a guest designer for Cole Haan and Nike; seeing what trends sweep the runways this season.
Maria has recently been defeated by Angelique Kerber at the tournament in Paris, and this event will give her a chance to regroup and take her mind off the loss for a while before getting back on the practice court.
Martina Navratilova has come out on record to say that she doubts the performance of Maria Sharapova and expects that Victoria Azarenka and Petra Kvitova will be the best players on the WTA and will have a very strong rivalry.
p.s. Good thing no one listens to Martina!
This is what Maria Sharapova will be wearing at the 2012 French Open. It seems to be a very nice blue in which has great air slits on the chest.
Here is Jelena Jankovic, Maria Sharapova and Bojana Jovanovski during the practice session for the Fed Cup.
