Preparing to defend her French Open title, the tennis champ holds forth on her favorite hotels, great carry-ons and the joys of getting lost in Tokyo

GRAND SLAMMER | Maria Sharapova PHOTO: JOHN RUSSO/CORBIS

WHEN SHE ARRIVED IN PARIS this week as the defending champion at the French Open, Maria Sharapova was fresh off her win at the Italian Open in Rome and had a shiny new trophy and a bag full of cash to show for it. Both tournaments are played on red clay, which she has said made her feel like “a cow on ice.” But she’s hardly bovine. A lean 6-foot-2, with an imperial persona on the court and a sunny California élan off it, Ms. Sharapova, 28, is currently No. 2 in the world, a ranking she earned in part with her powerful two-handed backhand accompanied by a shriek that gives voice to her competitiveness. Other Sharapova trademarks include turning her back until she’s ready to receive, crushing her opponents’ second serves and annihilating anything that comes across the net soft and high. And she keeps her chin up even when she’s match point down.

Born in Russia, Ms. Sharapova came to the U.S. when she was 7 and won her first Wimbledon title at 17. Subsequently falling from the top tier, she had to climb back up the rankings ladder—not to mention reinvent her serve after shoulder surgery that could have ended her career. Today, Ms. Sharapova is the world’s highest-paid female athlete (Nike signed her to a reported $70 million endorsement deal) and has become that most coveted of modern things—a global brand.

Lately, she’s been expanding her line of candy, Sugarpova, an especially big hit in Japan where, she said, “they love color and pattern and a unique take on things.” But she hasn’t hung up her HEAD Graphene XT Instinct MP racquet just yet. In Paris, she’s eyeing a third French Open title and looking forward to being in the same time zone as her boyfriend, Grigor Dimitrov, the young Bulgarian whom some consider male tennis’s next big thing. Ms. Sharapova said she loves travel, but her greatest indulgence—apart from flying to matches in a private jet—is being in her pajamas at home with her fuzzy Pomeranian, Dolce. Ms. Sharapova owns homes in Florida and California.