The Russian former tennis player and world No. 1 Maria Sharapova will become a parent for the first time, together with her husband British businessman Alexander Gilkes. The popular athlete announced it on social networks on her 35th birthday.
On April 19, Maria celebrated her birthday. She published a cute picture on social media on the beach, and her followers could see her slightly prominent belly. The tennis player captioned the photo as follows: "Precious beginning!! Eating birthday cake for two has always been my specialty."
Let's take a closer look at one of the best tennis players of the XXI century and the future mother. We would like to bring to your attention the beautiful Maria Sharapova.
Sharapova's sports achievements
The future star was born on April 19, 1987, in Nyagan, Tyumen Oblast. Then the Sharapova family moved to live in Sochi. The 4-year-old Masha was introduced to tennis by her father, who worked as a coach.
Already at the age of 6, the girl was lucky to play with the great Martina Navratilova, who visited Moscow. The famous tennis player suggested her father send Masha to the American Nick Bollettieri Academy. So in 1995, the Sharapov family moved to the USA.
The trip across the ocean became crucial for Maria's career. The first victory happened already in 2004 at Wimbledon. Then, in the finals of the tournament, the 17-year-old Russian player defeated the favorite - American Serena Williams. After the match, the tennis player could not contain her emotions, she collapsed on the lawn and cried.
Sharapova is the owner of five Grand Slams (she won all four tournaments), a silver medalist at the Olympic Games in London, and the winner of 39 WTA tournaments.
Besides, the world's most popular slick magazines often tried to get Maria to pose for their covers because of her model appearance.
What Sharapova does besides sports
However, life goes way beyond sports. After her career ended, the tennis player started a sweet business - the Sugarpova candy company, producing chewy candies.
Sharapova is considered one of the richest sportswomen in Russia. Thus, she earned about $300 million during the period of her successful career. Note that most of Maria's income comes from advertising contracts with global brands. Among them are Land Rover, Nike, Tiffany & Co, Canon, and others.
In 2020, Maria appeared on the screen as an actress - she played a cameo in the 5th season of the American series "Billions", with Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis as her colleagues on the set.
Personal life
In 2018, Maria Sharapova's affair with British businessman Alexander Gilkes came to light. For the first time, they were spotted together in the airport of Los Angeles. Later, the media captured the couple in a restaurant, after which the tennis player posted a photo with Alexander on social media, thus confirming the relationship.
Maria's boyfriend Alexander Gilkes is a successful entrepreneur and founder of the online auction company Paddle8, which specializes in low-cost postwar and contemporary art. The tennis player's favorite is also a close friend of Prince William. Over the years, he has hosted charity auctions for Madonna, Elton John, and the American Foundation for AIDS Research.
Maria and Alexander appear together in public quite rarely. In January 2020, the media started talking about their engagement after noticing a new diamond ring on Maria's ring finger. At the end of the year, the tennis player officially confirmed the engagement.
Maria Sharapova's hobbies
Maria is a woman of many talents. Her interests include stamp collecting, photography, reading books, as well as art. The tennis player spares no expense for the latter. She often visits local galleries during travels, looking for new items for her collection. One of the most successful finds according to Sharapova is a Picasso lithograph she bought in London.
Maria Sharapova has achieved everything one can only dream of - a successful career, a lot of money, fame and a loving partner. Now it's time for her to enjoy motherhood, and we wish her all the best of luck.
