Sharapova, Maria Yuryevna(Sharapova, Maria)

1987 - Born on the 19th of April in Nyagan, Russia. She is a Russian professional tennis player and the current World No. 1.  

1986 - Sharapova's parents moved from Homyel, Belarus, to Siberia, Russia, after the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

1994 - Moved to Florida when she was 7 years old to be coached by Nick Bollettieri, formerly coach to Andre Agassi, Monica Seles, Kournikova, and others.

2004 - Became the third-youngest Wimbledon women's champion (after Lottie Dod and Martina Hingis) and second-youngest in the open era by defeating Ai Sugiyama (5-7, 7-5, 6-1) in a quarterfinal, Lindsay Davenport (2-6, 7-6, 6-1) in a semifinal, and two-time defending champion Serena Williams (6-1, 6-4) in the final.

         - She also became the first Russian to win that tournament.

2005 - Rose to the No. 1 ranking again on the 12th of September, despite losing in the semifinals of the U.S. Open.

         - She kept the No. 1 ranking for six weeks before relinquishing it again to Davenport following the Zurich Open.

         - Was the first Russian player to become the best player in the world.

2006 - During the Australian Open, Sharapova lost in the semifinals to Justine Henin 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, the only match of the year that she lost after winning the first set.

2007 - Began by reaching the final of the Watson Water Champions Challenge, an exhibition tournament and warm-up for the Australian Open, where she was defeated by Kim Clijsters.

         - She was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and donated US$100,000 to UNDP Chernobyl-recovery projects on the 14th of February.

         - Forbes Magazine estimated her earnings for the year at $23 million.