Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (Russian: Мари́я Ю́рьевна Шара́пова listen ) (born April 19, 1987) is a Russian professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. As of 29 October 2007, she is the sixth-ranked female player in the world. At the end of 2006, she was the world's highest-paid female athlete.