When Anna Kournikova was at the peak of her popularity her detractors would constantly remind us of one thing: she’s never won a singles tournament. That never seemed to bother Anna though. She politely laughed it off – all the way to the bank. Now another Russian beauty has caught the world’s attention, but unlike her predecessor this girl can bring it. With supermodel looks and a game that has put her amongst the world’s elite, Maria Sharapova has become the new IT girl. And everyone on the planet from Moscow to Madison Avenue has taken notice. At the age of six years old, Maria was spotted at a tennis clinic in Moscow by Martina Navratilova. The tennis legend, who was hosting the clinic, recommended that

Sharapova train at the world famous Nick Bollateri tennis academy in Florida. She went and while at the academy Maria honed her skills. She was even interviewed by Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.

In 2004 Maria burst onto the scene, winning her first Wimbledon title by defeating Serena Williams. At the time she was only 17 years old, making her the third youngest woman to win the tournament. It also made her the lowest ranked and first Russian woman to accomplish the feat. Since then the Siberian Siren has won the 2006 US Open and earlier this year she dominated the Australian Open. Her consistent play has kept her among the world’s elite in the WTA rankings.

If her WTA ranking doesn’t impress you, another ranking might. In 2007 Forbes released “the world’s top 25 earning athletes rankings.” Maria was the only female on the list, coming in at number 25. Her lucrative deals with Nike, Motorola, Cannon and others netted her $23 million. Not bad for someone who just turned 21 in April. —James Kouledianos