Why does maria sharapova play for russia

The media reported in that the athlete was planning to change her last name to Sugarpova for the duration of that year's U. Open, but she eventually ditched the idea due to the amount of red tape involved. In the past decade Sharapova has been actively involved in charity. She set up a fund to help people born near the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site because her parents grew up in Belarus's Homyel Region, not far from the ill-fated power plant.

The accident forced them to move to Siberia two months before Maria's birth. If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material. This website uses cookies. Click here to find out more. Apr 28 Alexey Timofeychev. Tennis player Maria Sharapova Reuters. In Stuttgart on April 26, tennis player Maria Sharapova won her first game after a month ban following a Meldonium doping scandal. Over the course of her long amazing career she had Russian citizenship, her country of birth.

However, the doubt arises given that Sharapova has lived in the United States since , that is, since her childhood. Many fans, as well as insiders, have always asked themselves the question of what the citizenship of Maria Sharapova is and if she really also possesses Russian citizenship. When she was only 6 years-old she then went to a tennis school in Russia, but she was then suggested to move to the United States to train with the well known and famous coach Nick Bollettieri.

This is the main reason why Maria Sharapova moved to Florida in and she has lived there as a resident ever since. She has won five Grand Slams, 36 titles, and in addition to that, she has also won an Olympic Silver Medal. Now, after her retirement, she is making a name for herself as a successful businesswoman.

Home Tennis. By Rishi Karthikeyan. Read More Can sports re-energize Singapore's tourism? Just life experiences that I look back to and I know that for so many years I was shaped into the individual I was from those experiences. And not necessarily simply the country, but the people, the mentality and the toughness and that never giving up attitude," she said.