Maria Sharapova was born on April 19, 1987 in Nyagan, a town in the Siberian region of Russia. In 1989, the family moved to the Black Sea resort town of Sochi.
When she was 4 years old, a chance encounter changed her life. She met with the father of tennis champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov, and the man gave her a racket. From that moment, she started hitting tennis balls. The game soon became a passion for her.
Two years later, she was performing at a tennis clinic when another tennis champion changed her life. Martina Navratilova was in the building and she was flabbergasted by the talent of the 6-year-old. [...]
