Maria Sharapova was born on April 19, 1987 in Siberia. Before her birth, the Sharapova family lived in Gomel (Belarus), one of the areas contaminated by radiation from the Chernobyl disaster. However, fearing that the consequences of this disaster would adversely affect the health of the princess still in her mother’s womb, Masha’s father, Yuri, decided to move to Nyagan, Siberia the same year Sharapova was born.

Maria Sharapova as a child in Siberia.

At that time, Nyagan was one of the harshest regions in Siberia. Winter temperatures could drop to -40 degrees Celsius, and there were few career options. The money that Yuri had saved was used up to take care of his family and Maria’s health.

In the new land, Sharapova’s parents had to work hard all day. Mr. Yuri constantly had to work overtime at the oil refinery in Tyumen, more than 2,000km from Moscow. People described the work at the Tyumen oil refinery as exploiting the workers’ labor. For the future, Yuri rarely saw his daughter, but spent most of the day burying himself in hard manual labor. His father went to work from early morning until late at night, and his mother did not have much time at home, so little Maria only knew how to find joy with her grandmother.

Working in Tyumen for nearly four years was equivalent to working for others for decades, and Yuri once again had the capital to help his family overcome difficulties. This time, his family decided to move to Sochi, one of the famous resort cities. At this time, Maria Sharapova was almost 3 years old.

Although her family did not have much money, Sharapova’s childhood was filled with peaceful days spent in her parents’ arms. “My childhood was filled with days when my family could swim in the Dead Sea in the morning, go for a walk in the mountains in the afternoon, and ski on the same mountains in the evening,” Sharapova later recalled.

Russian doll had a peaceful childhood in the loving arms of her parents.

It was in Sochi that her tennis talent was discovered. One day, Maria was given a tennis racket by her father’s friend. It was just a racket that had been cut short for a child. Masha was 4 years old.

In her spare time, Masha used that racket to practice hitting the ball against the wall. Realizing her interest, Mr. Yuri started practicing tennis with his daughter in the park. In the morning, he went to work, and in the evening, he went to the park with his daughter to play tennis. In Sharapova’s memory, her father was always extremely tired, but for the joy of his daughter, he never complained. Then, using his connections, Mr. Yuri asked for Sharapova to learn tennis systematically with teacher Yuri Yutkin.

In 1993, Masha’s turning point came when she caught the attention of the legendary Martina Navratilova after just a few exhibition shots in a small tournament in Moscow. Navratilova suggested that Masha should join the Nick Bollettieri Academy in Florida, USA – the place that had trained the names Andre Agassi, Monica Seles, and Anna Kournikova.

America was a dream for Sharapova at the time. A distant, expensive country that was beyond her family’s financial means. Masha never thought she would end up at the Nick Bollettieri academy.

After a few nights of thinking, Mr. Yuri decided to take a big gamble in his life. He borrowed exactly 700 USD from an acquaintance and took his daughter to America. At that time, because he could not get a visa, Masha’s mother, Ms. Yelena, remained in Russia.

Sharapova with her first awards in America.

Masha and her father came to the United States in 1994, when she was only 7 years old. It was not easy for her to immediately learn tennis in an expensive place like the United States. With only 700 USD in capital, Masha and her father’s first days in the United States were a real nightmare.

Not knowing English and having no money, Mr. Yuri took any job that came his way. During the day he washed dishes and in the evening he worked for Russians living in the US. But Mr. Yuri’s efforts were not enough to get his only daughter admitted to the Nick Bollettieri Academy. Masha was too young to be admitted there.

She had to temporarily enter the Rick Macci academy to practice tennis every day, while Mr. Yuri worked hard to earn money, simply so that he and his daughter could have 3 meals a day. According to Mr. Yuri’s description, Sharapova’s first years in the US were not easy, even though she had studied tennis professionally. “Masha did not know English. I remember that in the first month, she could only say one word: Cat. A 7-year-old daughter had to be away from her mother, which was also a big difficulty for Masha,” Mr. Yuri recalled.

Maria Sharapova shares joy with her father after a victory.

Finally, two years after Sharapova and her father arrived in the US, her mother finally received a visa to reunite with the family. From then on, Yelena Sharapova devoted all her love and attention to her daughter.

“My mother made me go to ballet lessons, to drawing lessons, or just to learn some art. She was the one who reminded me to finish my homework every day, and she was the last person by my bed before I went to sleep,” Maria Sharapova confided in a rare interview with the Daily Mail about her mother.

Throughout her childhood journey until she took her first steps into the world of tennis superstars, Maria Sharapova grew up on her father’s back and in her mother’s arms. Her father sacrificed everything so that his daughter could go to America and her mother was the one who, according to Masha, introduced her to the civilized world and helped her have the right perspective.

Although Maria Sharapova’s success is due to her own ability and effort, every step she takes bears the mark of her parents’ sweat. Her family is the solid foundation for every step forward in this beautiful girl’s career.

The winning smile of the tennis queen.

To date, Maria Sharapova has won 5 Grand Slam titles and a series of other prestigious titles in the world of tennis. She has been ranked number 1 by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 5 times, with a total reign of 21 weeks. The 29-year-old girl from Russia is also an advertising model for many famous brands.