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SHARAPOVA

SHARAFAMILYOver 80 messages

BOW DOWNTO THE QUEEN

MARIASHARAPOVA

We’ll take a look at Maria’s greatest moments!

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For years, Maria Sharapova has been a great inspiration for us. Not only she has been a role model, but she is the reason why so many of us got into tennis.

Some of us have been with Maria since that day, some others joined Sharafamily in the last years, but it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a Maria Sharapova fan, what really matters is that you’ve been a loyal supporter.

If Maria Sharapova has taught us something is that we should never lose a positive attitude, even if the tough-est moments. She has taught us to fight for what we want, to be better even if people don’t believe you can do something, you can always prove them wrong. Over the years, we have woke up in the middle of the night to watch her matches (as stressful as some have been). We have smiled when she wins, and we have also been sad when she loses, but we never stop supporting her and we never will.

The great amount of support from the fans is the main reason this project is done. We are so grateful for all the messages we got from Sharafamily and I’m sure, Maria will love to read the support from all of you.

Once again, thank you so much to all the fans who joined us and helped this project to come true. We are very grateful you believed in this birthday project.

With love,

Rodrigo (SharapovAce) & Liliana (MSharapovaWeb)

“She has taught us to fight for what we want, to be bet-

ter even if people don’t believe you.”

Thank You LETTER

We are not affiliated with Maria, her family, friends or managers. This project is only to show our support to Maria, we have no intention to make a profit out of it.. Other images and text belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended. If you feel any of the material rightfully belongs to you and want them to be removed, please contact us before taking any legal action. - Copyright © 2016

CONTENTS

BIRTHDAY MESSAGES08 Over 80 fans send their best wishes to Maria. Those messages will continue through the rest of the magazine.

Maria Sharapova for EsquirePhotograph by: Pavel Havlicek

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From Russia with Love

Junior Career & First Titles A Star is Born

New York, New York

Down Under

Fall Down, Stand Up String

Queen of Clay

Sugarpova

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From with love

RussiaMaria Sharapova’s journey began in Russia where she first started playing tennis, before moving to Florida. She has always credited her success to her parents who struggled to give her daughter the opportunity to become the tennis star she is now.

Born on April 19, 1987, Sharapova is the daughter of Yuri and Yelena Sharapova. Her father worked in the construction industry, and both parents were avid athletes. They had met in Gomel, a city in the Ukraine that was near the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, the site of the world’s worst nu-clear accident in April 1986, just a year before Sharapova was born. When her mother became pregnant, she and Yuri decided to move east to escape the potentially damaging radioactive effects of the accident. They settled in Nyagan, Siberia, where Sharapova was born. Yuri found work in the Siberian oilfields, but the climate was too cold for them. They saved their money for four years and finally were able to move to Sochi, a pleasant resort town on the Black Sea in the south of Russia.

Sharapova’s parents liked to play tennis, and they gave her a racket as a toddler and began teach-ing her how to hit the ball. Because they could not afford a genuine child-size racket, they cut off the handle of an adult one for her to master instead. She proved to be a quick learner, and when she was six years old they traveled to Mos-cow for a youth tennis clinic. One of the celebrity athletes at the event was Czech-born Martina Navratilova, a nine-time women’s singles winner at Wimbledon. Navratilova was impressed by Shara-pova’s skills and suggested to the parents that they contact the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida. This was a tennis-focused boarding school that had trained several future

including Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Monica Seles.

The Union Soviet had just collapsed two years later and getting a visa to leave the country was nearly impossible. A few months after the encoun-ter with Navratilova, Yuri was informed that he and Maria had been granted exit visas, but Maria would have to leave her mother. Yelena had to stay behind in Sochi and waited for her visa ap-plication to be approved.

They also needed money for the trip and had to borrow several hundred dollars from Yuri and Ye-lena’s parents. This was an enormous sum for her parents, partly because Russia was in a state of financial chaos at the time, and average working families like hers struggled to obtain the basic ne-cessities of life in the new, non-Communist era in which the state did not generously provide jobs, housing, and healthcare for all citizens.

“My parents weren’t stupid,” Sharapova told Peter Kafka in Forbes. “The conditions in Russia weren’t the best for tennis.”

“The only thing I really remember is packing my books. I told my mom that I wanted to

be sure to have a piece of my country with me.”

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Happy Birthday!!WE ASKED THE FANS OF MARIA SHARAPOVA TO SEND A BIRTHDAY

MESSAGE TO MARIA AND SEND THEIR FAVORITE PICTURE OF HER. WE ARE REALLY GRATEFUL TO ALL THE FANS WHO JOIN THE PROJECT,

WITHOUT YOU THIS WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN POSIBLE.

I like to wish Maria a Verry Happy Birthday . And to wish you a verry verry comeback soon.

Never give up on your dreams.

#IstandWithMaria #LetMariaPlayFrom: Viviane

An ode to Maria Sharapova: the most awesomely-flawed, perfect human being to ever grace a tennis court. Following your matches is one hell of a roller coaster ride (well, the three setters, anyway), but i wouldn’t have it in any other way. you’ll forever be an inspiration and a role model. Hope we get to see you on-court real soon. thank you for all these amazing years and many more to come. Wishing you the greatest birth-day ever. stay happy, always. Happy birthday, champion!

From: Your fan from Pakistan, Javaria.

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Happy Birthday Maria,all the best, Luck and Health. Hope you come back soon to the Tour, We believe in you.

From: Andreas

You are and always will be my favourite champion, my inspiration!I will always support you…HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM THE DEPTH OF MY HEART, MARIA!

From: Raffaele – Naples, Italy

That this birthday is a starting line for new emotions and joys ... Congratulations Maria !!!

From: Ferrero

Hey Masha wish you a very happy birthday, remembering all of your golden era hope you come back very soon on the court.

From: Debmaly

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIA. GOD BLESS YOU . Maria Forever.

From: Rene

That the healthy hopes become reality and that all that the world is yours forever! Happy Birthday Maria Sharapova!

From: Luz

Happy Birthday, Maria!

From: Swagata

Happy Birthday to one outstanding Champion! Thank you for inspiring myself and millions of other fans every day.“The harder you work the more ‘luck’ you receive”

Your 100% fan, Chanique

Happy birthday, Maria.I was in the central court the 7 of june 2014. Thanks for these fantastic moments. I will never forget.You’re a legend of sport for ever.France waits for you.

From: Frédéric from Paris

A special day. 19.04.2016 for Maria Sharapova. An impor-tant moment. My heart is beaming with joy. I would like to congratulate your birthday wholeheartedly.

From: delphindetlev

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UPCOMING TENNIS STARJunior Career &First Titles

The sacrifices her parents had to make paid off when Maria landed a scholarship

at the prestigious Nick Bollettieri Ten-nis Academy. That was the start of what

would be a successful career.

Maria couldn’t be accepted in any top tennis academy because she was too young. With lim-ited English skills and little money, Yuri strug-gled to make money. He juggled low paying jobs, some days working in construction, others sweeping off in a store. “I remember I had a few bucks in my pocket and I get no place to stay and people told me if you’re not going to pay you’ll end up in the street tomorrow. I said to them, ‘you cannot push me on the streets, I have this seven year old little girl, you cannot do it.’ and they said, no, we can.” Yuri says in an interview for ESPN in 2010. In the same interview, Maria talks about her time in the United States. “I spent a lot of time on my own, his work hours were all over the map, a lot of them were night hours.” Maria quickly started learning english, and in four months she was able to hold a conversation.

At the end of her second year in the US, her mother obtained enter to the country and Maria earned a tennis scholarship worth more than $35,000. The Academy was part of the International Management Group (IMG), a talent agency that handled the careers of entertain-ers and athletes, and its scouts likely recog-nized Sharapova’s potential for future stardom.

But when Sharapova entered the Bollettie-ri Academy, she had to live in its boarding school. She later hinted in interviews that it was a tough, competitive atmosphere, and she was sometimes the target of bullying by the older girls. Her days included regular academ-ic classes and as many as six hours a day on the tennis courts in practice sessions. At the age of eleven, she signed on with coach Robert Lansdorp, who had guided the careers of Sampras as well as Tracy Austin, a two-time U.S. Open winner, and Lindsay Davenport, who won three Grand Slam events between 1998 and 2000. Sharapova also signed with IMG around this time, and this paved the way for her first deal with Nike, the athletic shoe and clothing maker.

Sharapova first hit the tennis scene in No-vember 2000, when she won the Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships in the girls’ 16 division at the age of just 13. She was then given a special distinction, the Rising Star Award, which is awarded only to players of exceptional promise.

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harapova made her professional de-but in 2001 on her 14th birthday on April 19, and played her first WTA tournament at the Pacific Life Open in 2002, winning a match before losing to Monica Seles. Due to re-strictions on how many professional

events she could play,

Sharapova went to hone her game in junior tour-naments, where she reached the finals of the girls’ singles events at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2002. She was the youngest girl ever to reach the final of the Australian Open junior championship at 14 years and 9 months.

Sharapova reached No. 6 in the ITF junior world singles ranking on October 21, 2002. In all, she won three junior singles tournaments and was runner-up at five, including two junior Grand Slam events. Her win-loss record in junior competition was 47–9.

From 2003, Sharapova played a full season and made a rapid climb into the top 50 by the end of the year. She made her debuts at both the Australian Open and the French Open, but failed to win a match in either. Then, as a wildcard at Wimbledon, she defeated 11th seed Jelena Dokić,her first win over a top-20 player, to reach the fourth round, where she lost in three sets to Svetlana Kuznetsova.

By the end of September, Sharapova had already captured her first WTA title at a smaller event, the Japan Open Tennis Championships, before winning her second in her final tournament of the season, the Bell Challenge. To cap off her first full season as a professional, she was awarded the WTA Newcomer of the Year honor.

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Maria wishing you a very happy birthday and may this year bring you all the happiness, success and love that you deserve. Know that your fans are with you always, I have included a photo of you winning the French open for the second time. Wow what a game that was to watch, you could see the fight and passion you gave in that match and that is why you are one of the best players ever and much loved by tennis fans. Love and happiness to you Maria and hope to see you back on court very soon winning another grand slam.

From: Lou

“May this day bring to you all things that make you smile. Happy birthday,Masha!.

From: Anna-Maria M.

Dear Maria,I wish you a happy birthday and millions of happiness to live... You are the best. These two pictures represent two wonderful moments in my life. I hope you love them.See you soon, Kisses.

From: Sophie Da Agueda#TheGirlWhoWantsToInterviewYou

Happy birthday my champion! There are exactly 29 years ago a wonderful and shining star was born. And this star... is you. So I’d like to wish you from the bottom of my heart A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

From: Jeresharafam

I’m happy and proud to be your fan since 2004. Glad you love our country - and proud to see you carrying our flag and Olympic flame. You’re the most beautiful tennis player i ever seen - and one of the greatest in WTA history. I was so happy to see you in Moscow. Thank you very much for the autograph in Fed Cup 2016. You give your love and inspiration to millions people over the world. We’ll be always with you. Be strong and beautiful, dear Masha.

From: Eugene Belash

I wish you a good 29 birthday Maria, with this photo very special for me; indeed here you can see your fighting spirit, which let you to defeat many difficulties and problems and I’m sure that you will overcome the current ones, even if you have made mistakes or not.

From: Filippo

Happy birthday, Maria. Just want to let you know that you are an awesome sportswoman, the sportsmanship and men-tal toughness you display on court has really earned my respect and no matter what happens in the future, you will have my utmost support! Hope you will have an enjoyable birthday this year with your love ones.

Habe sending lots of love from Singapore.

God bless you, Maria. You are my inspiration, be happy and stay strong.

From: Claudia G.

You are my idol since I saw you first step on a tennis court. I remember the first time I saw you play, instantly told me “I want to play like her,” but I could not do not have enough support. Only until 2 years ago, I decided to learn to play tennis, and despite having 23 years, I’m still with the illusion of play-ing like you. I hope that in the afterlife we can play a game of tennis together, it would be an honor to have an opponent like you.You have been an inspiration for many peo-ple in the world and believe it or not, you have helped us overcome difficult times in our lives. We will always be with you in adversity, during good times, in every game no matter if you win or lose.I love you and the Sharafamily loves you too.

From: Viviana Rueda Forero -Colombia

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Happy birthday, Maria. Never give up, you make me feel so proud. I love you so much.

From: Lou

A very Happy birthday Maria Sharapova. God bless you. Love you alot . Come back soon,can’t wait to watch you play. All the best. Tight hug. Keep smiling . And you are awesome. Have a great year. Take care!

From: Mariam.

April 19th and it’s the fourth month of being banned from playing.You have nostalgia for last year, but i hope your happiness will be back on May. Mashenka my heaven, Happy Birthday

From: Julián B

My Dear Sweet Maria, Wishing you a Happy Happy Birthday. You are and always will be my #1. I believe in you and will continue to pray for you. xoxo Love You, Collene

Happy Birthday to the beautiful, passionate, determined, inspiring Maria. From your ‘fan of the month’ then, and now. We will always support you. The first time I saw you play was at the Australian Open 2014. I will never forget that ‘Diamonds’ by Rihanna was playing when you walked out and I cried straight away. To this day I tear up when I hear that song. You are incredible!

From: Hannah

Maria Happy Birthday I hope for you a happy and serenity life and happy divert day I love you.

From: Alberto

Happy 29th birthday champs!!! Keep pretty, fierce, and strong as always. I’m wishing you good health and please come back on court soon.

Adi from Indonesia.

I want to wish you a very happy birthday. Thank you for being such a great role model over the years.I will be forever grateful you got me into tennis in 2004.

This year has been tough for you, but I know you will come back stronger. Wishing you all the best

Karolina from Denmark

Hi Maria, Happyyy Birthdayyy.Wishing you love, happiness and lots of success in what ever you do. I would like to let you know that I have been your supporter since you was 17 at Wimble-don. You are one of my inspirational and idols. Your smile always brighten up my day. What eles, not only you’re a great tennis player, you also have an amazing sense of fashion. Another thing that I really love about you is you always be profes-sional when at work and be friendly with your fans. Since the incident occured, I’ve been really sad that it happened. However, you don’t let me down at all. What you did in the press conference was really brave and I was so proud of you.I really hope that they will allow you to play just in time for Olympic. To be honest, tennis is not the same without you.#IStandWithMaria Lots of love,

Amy from Thailand

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Astar is born

Seeded 13th and aged 17 at Wim-bledon, she reached her first Grand Slam semifinal by defeating Ai Sug-iyama. She romped through the first week without dropping a set, before coming up against Lindsay Daven-

port in a memorable semi-final.

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This one included an hour-long rain delay. “I think she was leading by a set and a break when the rain came,” says Sharapova. “I was down and out. But I was a happy girl. I was in the semi-finals for the first time. A few weeks ago I’d been a quarter-finalist at Roland Garros, and I was happy to be booking a flight home late in the second week of Wimbledon. Then the rain stopped and I remember just before I went on court my dad looked me in the eyes and said, ‘You’re go-ing to win this match.’ And I gave him a ‘Yeah, right’ kind of look. It was tough to face him afterwards because you never want to admit when your fa-ther’s right.” Sharapova’s 2-6, 7-6, 6-1 victory sent Eisenbud back to the travel agent to re-book flights for the third time that week.

In the final, Sharapova upset top seed and de-fending champion Serena Williams to win her first Grand Slam singles title, and become the

third-youngest woman to win the Wimbledon ti-tle, behind only Lottie Dod and Martina Hingis. Sharapova also became the second Russian wom-an (after Anastasia Myskina had won the year’s previous major at Roland Garros) to win a Grand Slam singles title. The victory was hailed by the media as “the most stunning upset in memory.” “I

just remember being on the ground and looking at the box and shak-ing my head and saying, ‘Did this really happen?” She entered the top 10 in the rankings for the first time as a result of the win.

Following her Wimbledon win, at-tention and interest in Sharapova in the media greatly increased, a rise in popularity dubbed “Maria Mania.” She then made her de-but at the year-ending WTA Tour Championships. There, she won two of her three round-robin matches (including a win over US

Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova) in order to advance to the semifinals, where she defeated Myskina. In the final, she defeated Serena Wil-liams, after trailing 4–0 in the final set.

“I remember just before I

went on court my dad looked me in the eyes

and said, You’re going to win this

match.”

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“To think back that I was holding that trophy as a

17-year-old girl is really spe-cial. It really makes me feel really happy inside when I look back on those years,”

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Нет человека, которого я люблю в спорте больше, чем тебя! Я желаю тебе стать ещё сильнее, чем ты была и не терять присущее тебе обаяние и чувство юмора! Ты потрясающая и именно поэтому ещё много побед будут впереди! 29 - это просто число, главное, что у тебя внутри!

There is no person in the world of sport, which I love more than I love you, Masha! I wish you a good health and I really want you to become stronger than you are now! Don’t lose your con-fidence, your natural beauty and amazing sense of humor! You are inspiring, that’s why i believe in your new wins to come! 29 - is just a number, the way how you feel is more important!)

From: Daniel (Накашидзе)

Happy Birthday Maria Sharapova. Just want to say, Forget the past; look forward to the future, for the best things are yet to come.

Yours Fan and Admirer,Rima Rai.

Happy birthday wish you the best on your birthday today and that God grant you many more years of life. I love you happy birthday. We will always be here for you and support you all you want Maria Sharapova. You’re the number one Maria.

From: Martha G.

Happy birthday, Maria. I wish you the best, I give you all my love and loyalty.

You’re my ray of sunshine forever. From: William

Happy birthday, Maria!!!!From: Ed

Masha you are really a big inspiration for all of us. I have a knee injury and I can’t play tennis for a long time( maybe forever) but I keep train-

ning every day and given the best of me because some day I want to be as good as u are. I know u made a mistake and maybe you will have the chance to play tennis in some time but just keep training, we

belive in u and we know that amazing things would happend to u. YOU ARE MY BIGGEST INSPIRATION HAPPY BIRTHDAY (I AM A 100% sure

that u would raise a GS again)From: Mariana Barrero

Words alone are not enough to express how happy I am you are celebrating another year of your life! My wish for you on your birthday is that you are, and will always be, happy & healthy! Don’t ever change. Have a wonderful, happy, healthy birthday now and forever.

From: Luis

I’m a big fan of yours since this famous final of Roland Garros 2014 during a difficult period for me. I discovered this day, a fantastic person with a strong mental and a big heart. Happy birthday, Maria!!! Enjoy your day with your friends and family. The only wish to offer you is that you can play tennis again immediately. I’ll always support you whatever happens. I love you and think of you.

From: Sebastien

This year has been so weird specially about tennis (I mean I don’t watch tennis if you’re not playing) but you know what something that I have learned from my own life is that there’s always gonna be people who doesn’t like you or judge you without knowing you so I want you to know that you have me here for better or for worse. I believe you and will support you forever. Thank you for making a huge part of my life incredible. Happy 29th birthday

From: Corelma

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Hello Maria! I hope you have the best birthday ever. You deserve all the best in this world. Please keep that smile on your face. I love you to the mooon and back!

From: Cathy

Thank you for being an inspiration. No matter what, I always be with you!! Happy Birthday Maria!!

From: Carlos M

Happy birthday to my idol!!! April 19th is a holiday for me too :)I’m so happy that my birthday is in the same month with Maria!! WOOOHOOO GOOD LUCK MARIA YOUR FAAANS ARE WITH YOU FOREVEEERRR!!

From: Anna

As a fan of the queen of tennis as I denominate, I want to present me with this message in our idol’s birthday. Send you warm greetings!

From: John J. García from Colombia

Happy birthday, Maria. Team Sharapova forever and ever.

From: Jhojan Bastidas from Colombia

Happy birthday, Maria. Be stronger and more confident on facing problems in your life. I wish nothing but the best in life for you and that you continue to receive love and blessings.

From: Jennifer

Hey, Maria. Here’s wishing you the happiest birthday. It’s hard to im-agine that you are already 29...how time flies. I hope you have a great day and enjoy to the fullest. I wanted to let you know that I will always be there for you, no matter what. This period is just a small hiccup in your path towards greatness and I am confident we will be able to pull through it soon. Thanks for always being you and the entire Shara-Family misses you a lot. Here’s hoping to see you soon, love you to the moon and back.

From: Vibhor (India)

Happy birthday to my queen!! After all the recent obstacles, you deserve the best day that anyone could ask for. You are forever my idol and the only person I look up to in the world. Get through this tough time and know that the world will be begging for Maria Sharapova to be back on the WTA Tour. The best day of my life is going to be your first tournament back. Best wishes!!

From: Maddy

Maria , you are one of those rare people who i have in my world You’re one of my Heroes , since my first years of teens. I’m living those dream moments while watching your matches, match points, celebrating, events, funny times, interviews .... Just everything. U taught Me a LOT . So THANK U . this year is tough for all of us , but, the only thing that matters, is that your real fans are standing with u , and WE GOT YOUR BACK. We know who you are, we believe in u, and we are waiting for your comeback on those courts that YOU OWN. No DOUBTS in U Fighter. The post you made to thank your fans for being with you was so heart warming, but we are the ones who should thank u. I Love u Queen <3² ..Thank U.”

From: Drea

Happy birthday, Maria.

From: Thor L.

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New York New York

In the lead-up to the US Open, Sharapova captured her second title of the season by defeating Kim Clijsters in the final of the Acura Classic in San Diego, and in doing so claimed her first victory over the Belgian in five attempts.

Sharapova entered the US Open as the third seed. She defeated Michaëlla Krajicek, Émilie Loit, Elena Likhovtseva, Li Na and Tatiana Golovin all in straight sets, before being tested in three sets by World No. 1 Amélie Mauresmo, who had beaten her at Wimbledon earlier in the year. Sharapova would be too good for the Frenchwoman this time, winning in three sets, two of which were won without dropping a game. In the final, she faced Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne, who had previously captured the title in 2003 (and would do so again in 2007), and recorded an impressive straight sets victory to claim her second Grand Slam title at just 19 years of age.

“I experienced it two years ago,

and I knew that I wasn’t

done.I had a lot more in me.”

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After her Wimbledon and US Open win, Maria would conquer the Australian Open in 2008 de-

feating Ana Ivanovic.

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In 2008 Sharapova was seeded fifth at the Australian Open, but was not considered a favorite. Nevertheless, she de-feated former world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport in the second round, and then world No. 1 Henin in the quarterfinals, ending the latter’s 32-match winning streak. She proceeded to the finals by defeating Jelena Janković in the semifinals, and defeated Ana Ivanovic in the final to win her third Grand Slam title, having not dropped a set all tourna-ment. “This is just incredible,” she said. “If someone had told me in the middle of last year I’d be standing here with the big one, I’d have said ‘forget it.’

In May, Sharapova regained the world No. 1 rank-ing because of Henin’s sudden retirement from professional tennis and request to the WTA that her own ranking be removed immedi-ately.

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Today is the day that you were brought into this world to be an inspiration for myself and for many people around the world! Thank for being this way. My birthday wish for you is that you continue a love life, happiness, success and never stop dreaming. We love you. You have always made us proud.

From: Ceciel

Masha happy birthday day & what I want to say to you “ The Strike which doesn’t destroy would reinforce” Really you are a source of inspiration to me ,do your best to back strongly..,

Thanks and best wishes;From: Ahmed Hassan

Hi! I am Danielle.. Dani for short, 15 years old. Am a big MaSha fan. She is my inspiration in playing Tennis. I sent this pic to participate in this project. I am hoping u got it. Thanks and more power!

From: Dani

Hi Maria, I wanted to let you know that you are loved even in this small country of mine, The Philippines. The first time I saw you play at the French 2008 with Dinara, I fell in love and there’ no turning back. I fol-lowed you since then. Cried on your toughest loses but like it’s the best days of my life on your wins. Thank you for showing me how to be passionate about something and fighting for what you love. I know you have many more achievements to come in and out of the courts. I hope i would be able to see you play in the near future. You are not the next anyone. You are the Queen Maria.

From: John Paul

Wishing you many happy returns, happiness and love on your birthday. I have and always will be a fan of the way you have always played tennis with so much strength, fight and love of the game,for the way you have conducted yourself away from the court and that you always have time for your fans. I have seen you play many times at Wimbledon and have always believed that you would lift the trophy again and i still believe that. I included a photo of you practising at Wimbledon that shows the beautiful grass court and blue skies (which doesn’t always happen) i know. Sharafamily are with you always with our support and love more so than ever the last few weeks. I hope to see you back on court very soon where you belong.

From: Louise

Masha! So many congratulations. I will never thank you enough for being the amazing person you are. Not only you inspire us but you have proved to be a strong and wonderful woman. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

From: Katja

In three words i can sum up the best thing i’ve learned from you after following your amazing career since 2007: “Life goes on “ i believe this is what makes you a great champion. On mornings when i don’t have the strength to get up and face the world i sometimes think of you and what you had to go through to achieve what you have achieved and this makes me feel better every time. I just want you to know that no matter what, you are the best role model any one could have and nothing will ever change that. Happy Birthday Maria, love you & miss you so much. From: Rose

The whole world experience what “Maria Mania” is all about. Though your success did no way come in a silver platter, your fami-ly’s humble beginnings, hardships and sacrifices helped shape your character and ultimately pushed you to the top. Your story is a virtual fairytail that continues to inspire young dreamers in the world.

As they say, life has good things and bad things and you just have to accept both. Despite the bad things that happened, we still have the reason to celebrate the good thing, YOU. We are thankful that we get to know you, experience you, watch you play, share the ups and downs in your career. We are greatful and proud to be called your fans and we will stand with you, al-ways.

Happy birthday Maria. Together, lets celebrate YOU.

From: Eljay

Happy birthday, Maria.

From: Iesha

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Happy birthday, Maria.

From: Dom

Happy birthday, Maria.

From: Xabin

Happy birthday Maria!Enjoy your day you deserve it! Can’t wait to see you back on the court soon. I am one of your biggest fans and your commitment and determination on the court has really helped me improve and strive to be better in sports and everyday life. Tennis is not the same without seeing you out there everyday but you will be back better and stronger and I can’t wait to see it. Have

fun. From: Sean Irwin

I done some paintings of Maria because she has a very interesting face. To Maria, a beautiful lady with the most interesting face, happy birthday.

From: Peter

Hi Maria! I’m so happy you are gracing us with your smile another year. I wush you all the best, and I can’t wait until we see you back on court. We all love you so much, never forget that. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

From: Hanna V.A

Happy birthday, Maria.

From: Iva

Congratulations Maria enjoy your day today forget everything and be happy. Your comeback will soon be, and you’ll be better than ever, and we will be waiting for you as ever. Eager to see you do what you do best. Congratulations and always looking forward, nev-er backwards. God bless you now and forever.

From: Daniela

Dear Masha we all your fans are missing you, the world tennis not is the same after yr suspension, I give you my best wishes for your Birthday and a rapid return on tennis courts!! With much love my favorite woman in the sport world.

From: Fabio

Dear Maria,Wish you all the best - happy birthday from a big fan from Germany!

From: Chrissie

Happy birthday, Maria.

From: Barry

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Sharapova withdrew from the Rogers Cup tour-nament in August following a shoulder injury. An MRI scan revealed that she had been suffer-ing from a rotator cuff tear since April, forcing her out of all tournaments for the rest of the season, including the Beijing Olympics, the US Open, and the WTA Tour Championships. In spite of that, she still finished the year ranked world No. 9. In October, after a failed attempt to rehabilitate the shoulder, Sharapova had surgery to repair the tear.

In 2009 Sharapova did not attempt to defend her Australian Open title, as she continued to recover from surgery. She returned to the sport in March, in the doubles tournament at the BNP Paribas Open, but she and partner Elena Vesnina lost in the first round. After this, Sharapova withdrew from further singles tour-naments, resulting in her standing in the world rankings being severely affected. She dropped out of the top 100 for the first time in six years in May, the nadir being world No. 126.

“I always listened to my own voice, and it always

told me that for some rea-son I’m meant to be bet-

ter. I’m meant to succeed again. And I did.”

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Three grand slams al-ready, but maria still need-ed to win Roland Garros to complete the career grand slam. on 2012 she did it and in 2014 she crowned herself as the queen of claySharapova was seeded second at the French Open, where she defeated Alexandra Cadanću, Petra Kvitová on her way to the finals, allowing her to regain the world No. 1 ranking. In the final, she defeated Sara Errani for her first French Open title. Sharapova became only the tenth woman to complete a Career Grand Slam with the French Open victory. “But when I fell down on my knees today I realised this was extremely special; and even more so, yeah. It’s surreal. It’s the most unique moment of my career.”

Sharapova was seeded 7th at 2014 French Open and defeated Ksenia Pervak, Tsvetana Pironkova, and Paula Ormaechea in the first 3 rounds, all in straight sets. In the fourth round she defeated Samantha Stosur, reeling off nine straight games from a set and 3–4 down. This marked her 14th win in 16 meetings with the Australian. In the quarters, she defeated Garbine Muguruza, again coming back from a set down, to reach the sem-ifinals at the French for the fourth consecutive year. In the semi-finals, she defeated Eugenie Bouchard, once again coming back from a set down, to reach her third consecutive French Open final. In the final, she defeated Simona Halep in three sets to win her second French Open title and fifth overall Major title. This was the first time since 2001 where a third set was contested in the final. The match took just over three hours, and has been described as one of the best women’s finals in recent years. “If somebody had told me … at some stage in my career, that I’d have more Roland Garros titles than any other Grand Slam, I’d probably go get drunk,” Sharapova said with a chuckle. “Or tell them to get drunk. One or the other.”

“If somebody had told me … at some stage in my ca-reer, that I’d have more

Roland Garros titles than any other Grand Slam, I’d

probably go get drunk.”

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Happy Birthday to a great person with style, grace, and just a class act. Enjoy your day.

From: Michele

Happy birthday, Great beauty girl of this universe, Maria Sharapova. no one other against you. I wish to GOD u will get more success in your profession & business keep evergreen always not comes any trouble in your beauti-ful life

From: Jwaycy

Happy birthday my favorite champion! Thank you for everything. I wish you the best now and always. Hugs and kisses from México.

From: Faby D.

Hi Maria, wish you a very happy birthday! I wanted to let you know that I miss you a lot and can’t wait for you to be back on the tour. Tennis is not the same without you. I really hope to see you soon. Enjoy your day.

Love, Nipun Taneja

Thanks for being part of my life without you even know. Thanks for being a great role model. Thanks for giving that sweet smile you have. Thanks for making me who loves ten-nis, see you. On this day just wanted to wish you a very happy birthday from Paraguay with love and want you to know how much I love you, and how much you mean to me.

From: Alejandra Sanabria

Happy birthday, you are the best!!!

From: Arturo

Dear MARIA, I am proud to be in the Time of u ! You r blessings earth in term of beauty, inspira-tion n LOVE ! Happy birthday ! LOVE u

From: Abdul

Hi all together. Here are 2 pics which shows Pics. Some of them I shot by myself. All of them with authentic autographs of Maria. The single Foto I took after her last Paris win. The best live event I ever followed in my life!!!Thanks for that Maria!!!

Happy Birthday Maria. Keep your head still high, you will come back and we all still be there!!!

From: Ulrich

You’re such an inspiration ! I have been a fan of yours since Roland Garros 2012, and I remember your happiness when you collapsed down on your knees on Championship Point. That moment, you achieved a dream, and you made me believe that if you try hard enough, you will eventually get what you want. You are a true champion, you can make it through this hard time you are actually going through. You will make it, and you will get out of it even stronger than before. I believe in that, and when that time comes, we will be there, once again, to cheer for you.I wish you a very happy Birthday, may it be filled with lots of love and much deserved happiness.

From: Samia, Morocco

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Hello Miss, Maria Sharapova, I wish you happy birthday.

From: Jose M.

Masha, I wish you all the best in the year to come. I love you so much and I know you will

be back stronger.

From: Rodrigo (SharapovAce)

Happy birthday, Maria. So many things to tell you that I can only tell you congratulations for another year of life. A year over, rejoice and be proud to be your fans. You inspire us and will always support you. I wish you all the best and God bless you and allow you to go on the court. Happy beautiful birthday.

Azael from Mexico.

Happy Birthday Maria Sharapova, one of the best tennis players in history, certainly you will always have my support, in good times, but especially in bad. The best and certainly the most beautifuñ tennis player. A joy watching her play and modeling. Congratulations. A big hug.

From: Isaac.

Hello Maria, happy birthday. I hope you have an amaz-ing day, enjoy it with all who are close to you and all who are not close to you wish you all the happiness for today. Thanks for showing us what is like to be a real winner, a champion, and more than that a beautiful person. Happy birthday again, and remember you are not alone. We love you and support you all the time.

From: Fernanda Vega

M.S: I hope you,can play as soon as possible. I hope you can play in June/July. Congratula-tions and happy birthday.

From: Manuel

So many things I want to tell you. First of all, hap-py birthday!! You have no idea how grateful I am you are in this world and I’ve been lucky enough to watch you play. I can’t even begin to explain how happy I am that I watched that Wimbledon 2004 semifinal because that’s how I fell in love with tennis and all because of you. I’ve been your fan for 12 years now and I can safely say that my love and admiration for you only grows.

No matter what you will always have my support. I believe in you and I know you’ll be back on court soon and that day I will be the happiest girl in the world. Thanks for existing and happy birthday.

From: Liliana (MSharapovaWeb)

Happy Birthday Maria! Another year for you, harder than the others but still, I’m glad to see you fighting like the champion you are. I’m just another fan around the world but I’m sending you all the good vibes and wishes, not only for today but everyday, you deserve to be happy and enjoy your life at the max, happy to see you go on adventures lately. Words could not describe how you’ve been inspiring me in all these years I’ve been following your career, your spirit of fighting and never giving up through the adversities, not only on the courts but in life too. Keep strong Maria Sharapova, your fans are here standing by your side, the most important thing is knowing you’re happy, training, traveling and having adventures, c’mon Maria! Today and always in your side

Fabiola from Mexico

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SugarpovaIn 2013 Maria announced the launch of her candy line named Sugarpova. “Sugarpova is a premi-um candy line that reflects the fun, fashionable, sweet side of international tennis sensation Maria Sharapova.” The line currently consists of 12 dif-ferent flavors that range from Flirty, to Smitten Sour, to Splashy. A portion of all proceeds goes towards the Maria Sharapova Foundation, Shara-pova’s charity.

“I’ve always had a sweet tooth. And I am not exaggerating one bit. My earliest memory of candy is being a little girl back in Russia and ask-

ing my parents for a lollipop after a good practice on the tennis court. It was that little treat I looked for-ward to. And here I am many years

later hoping to get a sweet treat after a good practice.”

On 2016, it was announced that Sugarpova would add chocolate. The release is scheduled on May 2016.

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Happy Birthday Maria! I hope you enjoy your spe-cial day today and have lots of fun! I know the last 6 weeks have been harsh and depressing for you due to the drug scandal you’ve led yourself into but this will not stop me from supporting you, we’ve all got your back and we’ll continue to do so, regardless of what happens to you. Maria I’ve been your diehard fan for 11 years now and I’ve been through the high and low moments throughout these years I’ve been supporting you. I’ve had so many memories watching you play on the tennis courts fighting for the big titles, including the Grand Slams. I still remember when I first start-ed liking you back which I think was at the 2005 Australian Open when I saw a very determined 17 year old playing in the Semi Finals but eventually lost. Maria, my favourite memories of you would have to be you winning each of your 5 Grand Slam ti-tles, became World No.1 and completing the Career Grand Slam back in the 2012 French Open. The one grand slam winning moment I really remember of you was in the 2008 Australian Open. I remem-ber the match very well. From the atmosphere, to the audience cheers but mainly the match in general. I won’t forget that feeling I had when you converted your 3rd Championship Point when Ana Ivanovic committed a forehand unforced error. I remember my dad congratulating me the moment you won the match which was slightly odd because I thought it should be you that should be congratu-lated. Maria if you do come back to tennis, I really hope you can win another Australian Open because it’s actually my favourite tennis tournament and you play consistently there almost every year. I was really disappointed when you lost in the final last year. At least you tried!

I also remember winning your 2 French Opens, especially your most recent where you said it’s, “The toughest Grand Slam Final I’ve ever played”. You had me on the edge of my seat at that time! When you finally won the match, I was really full of emotions! Words cannot really describe how happy I was for you! I remember seeing my News Feed on my Facebook account full of other Tennis Facebook pages congratulating you.

title and 5th Grand Slam title overall. You winning the French Open really made my day, since at the time you won the match, it was already past 2am over here in Sydney, Australia where I live!

One thing I’d like to tell you Maria is I’ve actually seen you play in person once which was 3 years ago at the Australian Open. It was your QF match against Ekaterina Makarova and I really enjoyed watching you play. After the match, I actually tried to get your autography right beside the place where players enter Rod Laver Arena but unfortunately I did not manage to catch you in time to get you to sign my big tennis ball and my banner which says, “Maria Rocks!”. Your name in the banner was inside one big love heart! Just goes to show how much of a dedicated support-er I’ve been of yours over these 11 years! Too many kids were lining up at that time I tried to get your autograph! But on the bright side, at least I had the privilege of watching you play in person, rather than on TV! Really loved the atmosphere of the Australian Open when I went there!

To conclude this, I just want you to know that no matter what happens, we’ll always stay with you. Today’s your birthday so please try to relax and enjoy yourself as much as you can! My thoughts and prayers are with you in your upcoming tribunal hearing for the best possible outcome!

Remember, one last thing, in my eyes you’re not just my favourite tennis player, you’re my main inspiration for not giving up and to keep persevering whenev-er things get tough! Also for doing my best at all times, regardless of the difficulty! I am not going to allow myself to stop idolising you, despite your drug scandal! My fellow Sharapova fans and I are proud of everything you’ve achieved in your tennis career. 35 WTA titles including 5 Grand Slam titles and be-coming World No.1. Please don’t listen to the trashy comments other people are making about you! You’ve got your fans supporting you! Please stay strong Ma-ria and have a wonderful 29th Birthday!!

Enjoy the photo I’ve included in this message by the way! It’s my favourite photo of you, of all 5 Grand Slam titles of yours!

- Letter by Ian Abalos

Maria,I wasn’t even born when the world was preparing to witness the rising of a special star, one which eyes have never seen before. Ever since you first blinked, you never ceased to fight for your dreams until you made them happen. Ever since you touched a tennis racket for the first time, you never failed to inspire people around you and beyond. Ever since you stepped out on stage for the first time, you never stopped fighting.

When you won your first Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2004, I was just a little girl and I remember that from that day, you became my favorite tennis player and my inspiration and I wanted to be just like you! Of course I’ve failed, it’s hard to reach such a perfect stand-ard. But I’m thankful you haven’t. You have continued every single day to inspire me, and each day I love you more! I am so grateful to call myself one of your biggest fans and I always have the best time following your work, cheering for you in front of the screen at your every matches, whether it’s a win or a loss! You have never disappointed me and you never will.

Today you’ve already conquered not only the sport, but the heart of millions of people from all over the world! Amongst them all, here I am, a small fan who stuggles

to find the words to tell you how much you mean to me! Maria, you are my idol and I love you so much! I’m sending you the biggest Happy Birthday my heart can give, and on this very special day, I want to promise you that I will always remain your biggest fan. Forever and ever.

And I hope, from the bottom of my heart, that one day I will have the chance to meet you. Or at least see you somewhere a couple of meters in front of me. Maybe scream your name and wave like crazy, but that should be the best day of my life.

Once again, Happy Birthday, Maria!With deepest love from your fan,@deliavasilca

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Maria! There are many things that I, as a fan would like to say to you, but first and foremost I will say Happy Birthday! I just think you are such an inspiration to so many people. The way you dealt with the doping situation was so amazing. Such poise, such character, such honesty. I do not believe anything the skeptics say. You are someone with so much integrity. You’ve made a name for yourself as someone to be trusted and someone who can be relied on. Perfection is something I find synonymous with your name. Perfection in tennis, perfection in business, and perfection in personality. It was so touching to read you letter to your fans you posted in the days follow-ing your announcement. Not to mention you were honest with us again, when you corrected the corrupt story of the media. You have always been a fight-er. I remember watching your second round match against Panova last year. I was eating dinner when you’d won the first set 6-1, and I decided it’d be a quick match so I’d do my home-work. Later I checked, and you’d lost the second set. I remember that I furiously stopped watching when you were down 1-4 in the third. Yet, something told me to turn it on. Slowly the scoreboard evened. It was 2-4, then 3-4, but it was so amazing to watch you save those match points down 4-5. I knew you’d win that match. I just find it so hard that people are jumping to conclusions about this situation. How so few players on the tour are supporting you. They’re jealous is all. They find you “cold and arrogant”, well, that is so false in my opinion. You are a competitor, a professional, and that kind of per-sonal wouldn’t form friendships with people you compete against. I’m so proud to call you a fan

I haven’t always been an avid tennis fan. I played when I was a child, but quit out of spite towards my father.. Oh well! Haha. I can recall seeing the cover of “Review It”. You were on the cover after winning Roland Garros in 2012. I was so happy for you! When I was younger I would always ask (this was around the time you had just had your surgery) my dad if you’d won your match. He’d say, “No, she lost. She’s done, she won’t come back.”

I always knew he’d be wrong. So it was at Indian Wells 2014 that I began watching your matches. Since then, I have never missed a single one. I’ve watched every single one live, and yes, that means I have woken up in the morning ridiculous-ly early to do so.

But I do it, because watching you play makes me happy. The joy I feel watching you win a title. French Open, Beijing, Brisbane, Rome. When you smile and raise your arms in the air that you’ve

won, that just makes me feel as all my sleep deprivation as a fan has been worth while. When you rock back and forth hugging the trophy. Being your fan makes me complete! The day you launched your app and spoke in the chat was amazing. You spoke to me, and I almost died. My dad took me to Cincinnati last year so may-be I could watch you. I did get to see you practice, but sadly you withdrew. You did promise me a selfie though, which I never got. So I’ll hold you to that!

In short, I just want you to know that I, as well as the entire Shara Family hope that you have the birthday you deserve. One filled with happiness, fun, friends, and family. You are such a kind and loving person and I hope that this day is a day you cherish and enjoy. I’ve loved your twitter and Instagram posts of your continued training. I find tennis so empty without you. I hope you’ll be back soon. Preferably in time for the French, but only time will tell. I’ve been praying for you and your situation. I have full faith and trust in you and your story. To some, the way I am “obsessed” with you is creepy and weird, and for all I know, you could see it that way too. I don’t know, but I do know that I find it reassuring. In my life there isn’t a lot of consist-ency or good times with my self esteem. Watching you play, though, it just makes me happy. I can set aside all my feelings and just watch someone talented and devoted do what they love.

So, Maria. It is now that I wish you again a very Happy Birthday. May it be great, and remember, that I Stand With Maria.

Love your fan, Reagan Hermsdorf

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