Goodwill Ambassadors

Maria Sharapova

photo by Yuan-Kwan Chan / UNDP

Maria Sharapova was born on 19 April, 1987 in Nyagan, Siberia, after her family fled the city of Gomel in Belarus in the wake of the Chernobyl accident. The family lived in Nyagan for 2 years and then moved to the Black Sea town of Sochi.

In 1995, Sharapova left Russia and became a full-time student at IMG's Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. She made her first WTA tournament appearance in 2002. In 2004 she won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon and was named WTA player of the year. She also won the 2006 U.S. Open and the 2008 Australian Open.