2001-03 , Professional Debut
Sharapova turned professional in 2001 but played just one tournament that year. The following year, the 14 year-old Sharapova became the youngest female to reach the final of both the junior Australian Open and the junior Wimbledon Championships. She also won three titles on the International Tennis Federation Circuit and played her first matches on the main Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour, including winning a match at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, a Tier I event.
Sharapova started playing tour events full-time in 2003. She lost in the first round of both the Australian Open and the French Open. She lost in the fourth round at Wimbledon after having defeating two seeded players. After being defeated in the second round of the US Open, Sharapova won her first two Tier III titles - the Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo in October and the Bell Challenge in Quebec City four weeks later. She finished the year ranked World No. 32 and was named the WTA Newcomer of the Year.
2004
Sharapova was defeated in the third round of the Australian Open and lost in the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, a Tier I event. On hard courts, she lost in the semifinals of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee and in the fourth round of both the Pacific Life Open and the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida. During the spring clay court season, Sharapova lost in the third round of the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin and the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, both of which were Tier I events.
At the French Open, her first Grand Slam singles event, she was defeated in the quarterfinals. Leading up to Wimbledon, Sharapova won her third career title at the DFS Classic in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Seeded 13th and aged 17, Sharapova won her first Grand Slam title when she won the singles title at Wimbledon. During the North American summer hard court season leading up to the US Open, Sharapova played three tournaments. She lost in the quarterfinals of the Tier I Acura Classic in San Diego, the third round of the Tier I Rogers Cup in Montreal, and the second round of the Tier II Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut.
At the US Open, Sharapova was defeated in the third round by Mary Pierce. In three tournaments in Asia during the autumn, Sharapova lost in the semifinals of one, won the second tournament, and successfully defended her title at the Japan Open Tennis Championships. In her first Tier I tournament final, Sharapova lost to Alicia Molik at the Zurich Open. After losing in the semifinals of the Advanta Championships Philadelphia, she ended the year by winning the 2004 WTA Tour Championships, defeating an injured Serena Williams in the final. Her five titles during the year were matched or bettered only by Lindsay Davenport (7) and Justine Henin (5). Sharapova topped the prize money list for the year and finished 2004 ranked World No. 4.
2005-06
Sharapova started 2005 by reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open, where she lost to the eventual champion. In February at the Toray Pan Pacific Open, Sharapova defeated top ranked Lindsay Davenport in the final and went on to win the final of the Qatar Total Open in Doha. In the semifinals of the Tier I Pacific Life Open, she lost to World No. 1 Davenport 6/0 6/0. Similarly, Sharapova lost to Kim Clijsters in the final of the Tier I NASDAQ-100 Open in Key Biscayne, Florida.
On clay, Sharapova lost in the quarterfinals of the Tier I Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin and the semifinals of the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia. At the French Open, Sharapova lost in the quarterfinals again. On grass, Sharapova successfully defended her title at the DFS Classic, although her 24-match winning streak on grass was broken in the Wimbledon semifinals. The injury Davenport sustained at Wimbledon prevented her from playing tournaments and earning new ranking points to replace those that were expiring from the previous year. Sharapova, with fewer points to defend, became the first Russian woman to hold the World No. 1 ranking on August 22, 2005. Her reign lasted only one week, however, as Davenport reclaimed the top ranking after winning the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut.
Although top seeded Sharapova lost in the semifinals of the US Open, she once again leapfrogged Davenport to take the World No. 1 ranking on September 12, 2005, retaining it for six weeks before relinquishing it again to Davenport following the Zurich Open. To conclude the year, Sharapova failed to defend her title at the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships. She won three titles and was the only player to reach three Grand Slam semifinals, finished 2005 ranked World No. 4, and became the top-ranked Russian for the first time. Sharapova lost in the semifinals of the 2006 Australian Open and in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships. Sharapova claimed her first title of 2006 and eleventh of her career at the Pacific Life Open but lost in the final of the NASDAQ-100 Open.
On clay, Sharapova participated only at the French Open because of injury and was eliminated in the fourth round. On grass, Sharapova was unsuccessful in her attempt to win the DFS Classic for the third consecutive year, losing instead in the semifinals. At Wimbledon, Sharapova was defeated in the semifinals for the second consecutive year. Sharapova claimed her second title of the year at the Acura Classic. At the JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles, Sharapova was eliminated in the semifinals. As the third seed at the US Open, Sharapova defeated World No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo in the semifinals and World No. 2 Justine Henin in the final to win her second Grand Slam singles title.
That autumn, Sharapova won the Tier I Zurich Open final against Daniela Hantuchová and beat fellow Russian and defending champion Nadia Petrova to clinch the Generali Ladies Linz tournament, her fifth title of 2006 and the 15th title of her career. To end the year, Sharapova lost in the semifinals of the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships to eventual champion Henin. Sharapova finished 2006 ranked World No. 2. She was the top Russian player for the second year. She won three Tier I titles, more than any other player. Her total of five titles was second only to Henin's six.
2007
For the first time, Sharapova reached the singles final of the Australian Open, which no Russian woman had yet won. However, Serena Williams, ranked World No. 81, overpowered Sharapova in the final. By reaching the final, Sharapova recaptured the World No. 1 ranking. Partly due to hamstring and shoulder injuries that reduced the effectiveness of her serve, Sharapova did not win any of her next three tournaments, retiring from her semifinal match at the Toray Pan Pacific Open and losing in the fourth round at both the Pacific Life Open and the Sony Ericsson Open. During this period, she also lost the World No. 1 ranking. The shoulder injury also forced Sharapova to miss most of the clay court season for the second consecutive year. Her only tune-up for the French Open was the Istanbul Cup, where she lost in the semifinals. She reached the semifinals of the French Open for the first time in her career but fell to Ivanović 6-2, 6-1. On grass, Sharapova lost in the final of the DFS Classic to Jelena Jankovic. At Wimbledon, Sharapova was defeated in the fourth round by the eventual champion. Sharapova's first summer hardcourt tournament was the Acura Classic, where she won her first title of the year, fifth Tier I career title, and 16th singles title of her career by defeating Schnyder in the final. At the JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles the next week, a shin injury forced her to withdraw from her semifinal match shortly before the match started. Nevertheless, she clinched the US Open Series for the first time. Seeded second at the US Open, Sharapova won her first two matches with the loss of only two games but lost her third round match to 18 year-old Agnieszka Radwanska. It was Sharapova's earliest exit at a Grand Slam singles tournament since the 2004 US Open where she lost in the same round.
2008
As the fifth-seeded player at the Australian Open, Sharapova defeated World No. 1 Justine Henin in the quarterfinals 6-4, 6-0, ending the latter's 32-match winning streak. She then beat Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals and Ana Ivanovic in the final. She is the only female Russian ever to have won the Australian Open and did so without losing a set.
After the Australian Open, Sharapova extended her winning streak to 18 matches before finally losing. She participated for the first time in Fed Cup against Israel and won the Tier I Qatar Total Open. In the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open, Sharapova lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova. Sharapova then withdrew from the Sony Ericsson Open, citing a shoulder injury.
2009
Sharapova withdrew from her first scheduled official tournament of the year, the Australian Open, where she was the defending champion, for not being in match condition. In February, Sharapova withdrew from the Open GDF Suez tournament and the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. She and doubles partner, Elena Vesnina, lost in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open. She then withdrew from the singles competition at the Sony Ericsson Open, saying that she felt her shoulder needed more rest.
In May, she announced her withdrawal from the Internazionali BNL d'Italia and the Mutua Madrileņa Madrid Open. Her long hiatus caused her world ranking dropped to as low as world no. 126 as of May 20, 2009. At the Warsaw Open, Sharapova defeated Tathiana Garbin in the first round, Darya Kustova in the second round and lost to eighth seeded Alona Bondarenko in the quarterfinals. After this, she moved up 24 places on the rankings, from number 126 to number 102.
The 2009 French Open is her first Grand Slam tournament since the Wimbledon 2008. Unseeded at 2009 French Open she defeated Anastasiya Yakimova in the first round, #11 seed and fellow Russian Nadia Petrova in the second round, and Kazakh qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova in the third round, all in three sets. Her opponent in the 4th round was 25th seed Na Li, whom she beat 6-4, 0-6, 6-4. Making this the 4th 3 set match she has played, she will meet up with the 20th seeded Slovak, Dominika Cibulkova in the Quaterfinals.
