The family moved to the Russian resort town of Sochi when Maria was two years old The climate was much better in Sochi than in Nyagan Yuri worked around Sochi to support the family Yelena stayed at home to take care of Maria Discovering Tennis Shortly after the family moved to Sochi Yuri Sharapov began playing tennis at a local park He often took young Maria with him and she would watch him play One day when she was four years old she picked up his racket and started hitting balls Yuri and the other adults were impressed by her ability to hit so well at such a young age She showed that she had amazing coordination and an ability to concentrate Sharapova attends a 2014 event to mark the reopening of her hometown tennis court in Riviera Park in Sochi Russia where she first played the game 8 MARIA SHARAPOVA TENNIS GRAND SLAM CHAMPION
Getting into the Game Sochi native Yevgeny Kafelnikov plays at Wimbledon in 1994 Kafelnikov won the French Open in 1996 and the Australian Open in 1999 He thought young Maria had potential as a tennis player QUICK FACT Child-sized tennis rackets were very had to find in Soviet Russia so Maria had to use an adult-sized racket when she first started playing Soon Maria started practicing with her father They practiced regularly at a park near their home where some of Sochi’s best tennis players played Yuri made friends with the famous Russian tennis coach Yuri Yutkin Yutkin offered to give Maria her first real tennis lesson Like other adults who had seen her play Yutkin was impressed by her speed and coordination Local tennis star Yevgeny Kafelnikov also saw that she had great promise He gave her one of his rackets with a shortened handle that would be easier for her to use Maria continued to improve quickly She could hit tennis balls consistently for hours seemingly without tiring By the time she was six Yutkin already thought she could be a star 9
Martina Navratilova plays in the 1993 US Open That same year she saw Maria play at a tennis clinic and recommended that she go to the United States to train 10 MARIA SHARAPOVA TENNIS GRAND SLAM CHAMPION
Getting into the Game Picking Up Skills Maria’s parents believed that Yutkin was right Maria was already well known among Sochi’s tennis community People often came by the park to watch her play Unfortunately it was very expensive to move from Russia to the United States Money was scarce for the Maria’s family But Yuri was determined to find a way to get Maria to the United States Maria’s mother supported this dream although she also encouraged Maria to have interests other than tennis Yelena Sharapova had studied Russian literature in college and read many classic novels to her daughter She inspired a love of reading in Maria and an appreciation for great books QUICK FACT During her tennis career Martina Navratilova won more singles titles than any other player since the Open era began in 1968 Maria’s tennis skills continued to progress rapidly In 1993 Yuri took his daughter to Moscow to participate in a tennis clinic Maria would later write in her autobiography Unstoppable My Life So Far that she barely remembers hitting at the clinic But she made a strong impression on Martina Navratilova a legendary tennis star who saw her play Navratilova was so impressed by Maria’s skills that she encouraged her parents to take her to the United States for training Saving and Immigrating Navratilova’s comments made Yuri Sharapov more determined to help his daughter reach her potential as a tennis player Yuri was able to get a visa to take Maria to the United States Unfortunately only one parent would be able to go with her They decided that he would take Maria and that Yelena would follow later when the family had enough money to afford the trip and it might be easier for her to get a visa 11
