MARIA SHARAPOVA: WORLD'S PRETTIEST FEMALE TENNIS PLAYER

Hey friends. It’s widely know the close relationship between female tennis and the world of fashion. Everything started with Anna Kournikova. She was the forerunner of the new breed of young beautiful tennis players -most of them coming from Eastern Europe- that, when out of the court, love fashion and modeling. Anna Kournikova never won a WTA Tournament but became a sex symbol and a fashion icon. Since then many female players have followed her steps. Perhaps her most advanced pupil is her fellow countrywoman the gourgeous and sexy Russian babe Maria Sharapova. Maria Sharapova is not only one of the sexiest and most beautiful athletes in the world but also plays tennis beautifully.

Maria Yuryevna Sharapova was born in 1987 to Yuri and Yelena in the town of Nyagan in Siberia, Russia. Previously her parents had lived in Gomel, Belarus, but were compelled to move after the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986. At the age of two her family moved to Sochi. There, Sharapova‘s father befriended Yevgeny’s Kafelnikov father, Aleksandre, who gave Sharapova her first tennis racket at the age of four. At the age of six, Sharapova attended a tennis clinic run by Martina Navratilova during the Kremlim Cup in Moscow. Martina noted Sharapova was talented but required professional training, recommending the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida. Sharapova and her father, neither of whom could speak English, moved to Florida in 1994 with only 700$ in their pockets. Several days after their arrival father and daughter showed up at the IMG's Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida and in December 1995 Maria received a scholarship to the Academy and became a full-time student. Sharapova turned professional in 2001, although she played a total of just two WTA tournaments in 2001 and 2002 plus six challenger events. She became the youngest girl to reach the final at the junior Australian Open in 2002, and repeated this feat at Wimbledon later in the same year.

Shortly after Wimbledon 2008 a magnetic resonance imaging scan revealed Maria Sharapova had been suffering from a torn rotator cuff since April, and consequently, she announced she was to take a break of two to three months, ruling her out of both the Beijing Olympics and the US Open. What a pity for her numerous supporters!! Throughout her career Maria has won 19 singles and 3 doubles titles. This is the list of Maria Sharapova's titles.

2003:
- Japan Open Tennis Championships, Tokyo (singles and doubles)
- Bell Challenge, Quebec City, Canada
- Fortis Championships, Luxembourg, Luxembourg (doubles)

2004:
- DFS Classic, Birmingham, United Kingdom (singles and doubles)
- Wimbledon, London
- Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships, Seoul
- Japan Open Tennis Championships, Tokyo
- WTA Championships, Los Angeles

2005:
- Toray Pan Pacific Open, Tokyo
- Qatar Total Open, Doha
- DFS Classic, Birmingham, United Kingdom

2006:
- Pacific Life Open, Indian Wells, California, U.S.
- Acura Classic, San Diego, California, U.S.
- US Open, New York City
- Zürich Open, Zürich, Switzerland
- Generali Ladies Linz, Linz, Austria

2007:
- Acura Classic, San Diego, California, U.S.

2008:
- Australian Open, Melbourne
- Qatar Total Open, Doha
- Bausch & Lomb Championships, Amelia Island, Florida, U.S.

Sharapova is visible in and outside of the court for her looks. She might well work as a model and, in fact, she has already done some modeling. She is 187 centimeters high and her measurements are (US) 32.5-24-34 ; (EU) 82-61-86.5. Sharapova posed in a six-page bikini photoshoot spread in the 2006 issue of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. In April 2005, Sharapova was listed by People Magazine as among the 50 most beautiful celebrities in the World and in 2006, Maxim magazine named Sharapova the hottest athlete in the world for the fourth consecutive year. She’s been signed by many companies to advertise their products. Amongst them we can quote the tennis racket brand Prince, car makers Honda and Land Rover, Motorola, Gatorade, Tropicana, Swiss sports match maker TAG Heder, Cannon Inc and the sportsclothing manufacturer giant Nike. I'll finish this post leaving a slideshow of the best Maria Sharapova's pictures and a video of Maria doing her best on a tennis court. Best regards.

AMANDA BEARD PRETTIEST FEMALE SWIMMER OF ALL TIMES

Dear readers of Sport & Beauty. Sport and fashion are closely related. Female sport stars sometimes try to pursue a career in modeling or occassionally work as models. Perhaps the most famous example are Russian players Anna Kournikova and Maria Sharapova. But there are also sexy and gourgeous sportwomen in other sports. Today we are going to dedicate this post to the world’s sexiest female swimmer of all time: Amanda Beard. Amanda Ray Beard was born on October 29, 1981, in Irvine, California, United States of America. Both her sisters, Leah and Taryn, swam at local clubs and to impress them, Amanda Beard began jumping in the pool as early as four years of age. Eventually Amanda joined a swimming club and she soon started to stand out amongst her mates.In 1995, she earned a U.S. National Title in the 100-meter breaststroke, was named a National A team member, and took second place in the Pan Pacific Championships for the 400-meter medley relay. Amanda Beard was selected for the U.S. National Team that was gearing up for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. At the Games, Amanda Beard didn't disappoint. She took the silver medal in both the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke, and the gold for her contribution in the breaststroke leg of the 400-meter medley relay. In doing so, she became the second-youngest American gold medalist in swimming history (Pokey Watson still retains the top title from her 1964 win). Amanda Beard graduated from high school in 1999 and enrolled at the University of Arizona, where she flourished even more under a new swimming coach. She took the silver at the 1999 World University Games in the 100-meter breaststroke, and the following year won the silver in the 200-meter at the NCAA Championships. She would take the event's top medal in 2001.

Amanda's performance at the 2000 Sydney Games was largely ignored by the media. She took the bronze in the 200-meter breaststroke (her fourth Olympic medal) but this latest accomplishment didn't grab any headlines. Nonetheless, the sporting world continued to view Amanda Beard as a hero. When she took a year off school in 2001 to travel the world to swim professionally, clubs throughout the world invited her to lead clinics and give motivational speeches. She wasn't just a pretty swimmer. She was a smart, inspiring pretty swimmer. In 2002, she broke the American record in the 200-meter breaststroke at the Swimming World Cup, and bagged two gold medals in the Pan Pacific Championships. In 2003, she scored the highest honor of her still-burgeoning career. At the World Championships in Barcelona, she broke the world record in the 200-meter, becoming the No. 1 breaststroke swimmer throughout the world and history. At the 2004 Athens Games Amanda took the gold in the 200-meter breaststroke and the 400-meter relay. Away from the swimming pool Amanda Beard has also done some modeling. She has graced different issues of FHM and Playboy and has also modeled for the 2006 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. I personally prefer her photo shooting for FHM (you can see the pictures in the slide at the end of the post). Like Pamela Anderson, Joanna Krupa and Fernanda Tavares amongst many others, Amanda is also an enthusiastic environmentalist and she usually cooperates with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) in campaigns against the use of fur for clothing. Under the slogan “I’d rather be naked than wear fur” she tried to pose naked for PETA last week in Beijing but she had to give up since Chinese authorities banned the protest for public security reasons. Maybe Chinese authorities feared thousands of excited Amanda’s fans jumping at her. To finish with the post I’ll leave a slideshow with Amanda's pictures and a video where you can see this pretty American swimmer being interviewed. We sincerely wish her all the best at the Beijing Olympic Games. Best Regards.