Sex sells women's sports

And now we're hearing about how they're trying to market tennis phenom Maria Sharapova with an emphasis on her obvious appeal to members of the opposite sex.
(Read: to, ahem, those of us in the, you know, chauvinist-pig set.)

Here's an idea: Why not just put the focus on the fact that the 17-year-old can play the game? Because one, it's creepy as Hades that anybody would rightly try to push a teen as a sex kitten for the purposes of trying to put butts in seats.
Particularly given that there are laws regarding that sort of thing.
And two, when was it that we just up and decided that women's sports needs the extra boost that a slice of cheesecake can offer?
And that they won't survive without it?

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Sharapova-Myskina feud threatens Russian unity

A bitter feud between Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova and French Open winner Anastasia Myskina is threatening to sabotage Russia’s defence of their Fed Cup crown in 2005 at a time when the country’s tennis tsarinas are on top of the world. Myskina led Russia to their first ever Fed Cup title on Sunday to add to her Roland Garros crown. Maria, who was also overlooked for the Olympic Games, wasn’t selected, but the blonde bombshell was still at the centre of an explosive row which is tearing the Russia team apart. The fall-out had been simmering since Sharapova defeated Myskina in the semi-finals of the WTA Tour Championships in Los Angeles earlier this month when the Wimbledon champion was hit with a code violation for receiving coaching from father Yuri.

The 17-year-old Sharapova insists that she is on good terms with the Russian players although she can’t hide her love for the United States. “I feel a lot safer in America than I would be going back to Russia,” said the girl who left behind her impoverished upbringing in Sochi, when she was nine, to train at the Bolleteri Academy in Florida.

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The Russians are coming!

The Russian revolution in the women's game began at Paris in the absence of the Americans. Anastasia Myskina won the battle to become the first Russian female to land a grand slam singles title when she beat a tearful Elena Dementieva 6-1 6-2. That particular little civil war was nothing, however, compared to the stunning victory of Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon. The 17-year-old became the third youngest winner of the title, but it was the manner of her triumph that was most astonishing.

Facing two-times champion Serena Williams, probably the most powerful woman ever to wield a racket, Maria Sharapova matched her aggression shot for shot, then stepped up the ferocity of her hitting to leave the American looking overwhelmed. Afterwards, unfazed by what she had accomplished, Maria kept the Duke of Kent waiting with her trophy while she tried to send a text message to her mum in Florida. She looked forward, confidently, to years of rivalry with Williams. 'I'm taking it from you for one year. I'm sorry,' Sharapova told her opponent. As if to add insult to injury it was another Russian teenager, Svetlana Kuznetsova, who took Williams's US Open title.

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Anastasia Myskina Wins Three to Edge France for Fed Cup Victory!

In what many expected to be a 5-0 whitewash for the Russians, the Fed Cup finale came down to the final doubles match Sunday in Moscow, with Anastasia Myskina and Vera "The Crying Game" Zvonareva edging Marion "Roly Poly" Bartoli and Emilie Loit 7-6(5), 7-5 for a 3-2 win in the tie.

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Get in the swing with holiday gift ideas

Prince Shark tennis racket: This racket, one of the most popular on the market, is the same one used by Maria Sharapova to win Wimbledon and the WTA Championships. The racket is extremely flexible and generates adequate power.

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Anastasya Myskina leads Russia to first Fed Cup title

Anastasia Myskina and Vera Zvonareva powered Russia to their first Fed Cup title by winning the decisive doubles against holders France on Sunday.
Russia, the hot favourites, had Myskina to thank for a nervy 3-2 victory in the final which underlines the country's domination of the women's game.
The French Open champion gave the home team all three points by winning both her singles matches before teaming up with Zvonareva to beat Emilie Loit and Marion Bartoli 7-6 7-5.

As well as the Fed Cup title and grand slam triumphs for Myskina and Kuznetsova, Russia's Maria Sharapova was crowned Wimbledon champion in July.

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Russia, France reach Fed Cup final

Defending champion France and Russia swept their semifinals Thursday and will play for the Fed Cup championship. The Russian team faces a delicate matter after Myskina said she will quit the Fed Cup squad if Maria Sharapova joins the squad next year.

Maria Sharapova has never played for the team, and she wasn't invited because of her tight calendar, captain Shamil Tarpischev said.

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Anastasia Myskina says Maria Sharapova shows a lack of respect

Anastasia Myskina refused to back down on Thursday after saying she would not play for Russia if Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova joined the team.
"Why should I feel sorry for what I said yesterday?" Myskina said when asked if she regretted her words about the Florida-based teenager and her father.

"I don't want to be on the same team with people who don't show respect to me as a person. End of story." Sharapova has been kept out of this year's Fed Cup team by Myskina and U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, but Russian captain Shamil Tarpishchev has said he would welcome the 17-year-old next season.

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Count me out if Sharapova's father's there, says Myskina

Anastasia Myskina, spearheading Russia's challenge for their first Fed Cup title this week, says she will stop playing for her country if Maria Sharapova , in the company of her father, is invited to join the team next year.
"If she (Sharapova) joins our team next season you won't see me there for sure," the French Open champion told reporters after crushing Austria's Patricia Wartusch 6-0 6-0 on Wednesday.

Larisa Neiland, Tarpishchev's assistant, said she felt it would be difficult for the 17-year-old to break into the team because of her "nasty father".
"Maria's main problem is her father and I just don't see how he would co-exist with other girls' parents and team officials," six-times grand slam doubles champion Neiland told Reuters.
Pointing to the season-ending WTA Tour Championships, won by Florida-based Sharapova in Los Angeles, Neiland said: "Every time Maria was playing a Russian girl, her father's behaviour was simply outrageous, nasty and out of control."

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Russians dislike Sharapova's 'nasty' father, coach says

Russia Fed Cup coach Larisa Neiland feels it would be difficult for
Maria Sharapova to break into the Russian team next year because of her father.

"I don't think she'll find it easy being on the same team with all the rest of our girls," said Neiland, speaking on the eve of the Fed Cup Final Four.

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Holiday Handbook: Video Games

"Mario Power Tennis" (Nintendo for GameCube, rated "Everyone," $49.99) The polite, soft-spoken world of tennis gets a Mario Makeover in "Mario Power Tennis," an update of the popular Mario Tennis title for the N64. This time around, Mario, Luigi and the gang are granted over-the-top power shots, which spice up the game play significantly. DK gets blown out of a cannon for a forearm smash, and Waluigi, somehow, turns the tennis court into a swimming pool in order to fetch a wayward ball. In other words, look elsewhere for tennis realism. For nothing but fun-fun-fun on the courts, look no further. "Mario Power Tennis" is the best thing to happen to the sport since Maria Sharapova.

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Maria Sharapova to play in HK Champions Challenge 2004

Wimbeldon champion Maria Sharapova was confirmed to take part in the Hong Kong champions Challenge 2004, organizers announced in Hong Kong on November 22.

Besides the Russian talent, four-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams, World No. 2 player Amelie Mauresmo and the US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova will also attend the tournament slated for Jan. 5-8.
"Phones have been ringing hot as almost all the fans are asking where they can get tickets and what dates she is actually coming", said the tournament director Terry Catton.

Maria Sharapova honoured in ITWA's year-end awards!

Maria Sharapova won the women's Player of the Year award while, in an echo of their tight duel for the No. 1 ranking, Lindsay Davenport and Amelie Mauresmo were neck and neck in the voting for the women's Ambassador for Tennis award. The pair will share the honour after voting ended in a dead heat.

While she ended the year ranked No. 4, the 17-year-old Maria took the WTA Tour by storm this year, winning her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon and grabbing the season-ending WTA Championships, considered by many players to be the "fifth major." The Russian was the first player to accomplish the feat since former No. 1 Lindsay Davenport did it in 1999.
"Maria's rise to prominence has been nothing short of remarkable," said Matthew Cronin, co-president of ITWA. "She began the year ranked No. 32 with still a lot of holes in her game and ended the year as a gutsy, mature all-court player with enough weapons and determination to hang around the Top-5 for years to come."


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Grand Slam winners Myskina, Kuznetsova to lead Russia at Fed Cup semifinals

French Open champion Anastasia Myskina and U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova will lead Russia's Fed Cup team when it plays Austria in this month's semifinals.
Russia, hoping to win its first Fed Cup title, boasts two of the game's top five players - No. 3 Myskina and No. 4 Kuznetsova. Also on the team are No. 11 Vera Zvonareva and No. 24 Elena Likhovtseva. Another Russian star, Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova, was playing in the season-ending WTA Championships final Monday.

Russia should ease past Austria, which lost Barbara Schett and Barbara Schwartz, its two stars from the quarter-final upset of the United States. Schwartz has been injured since August, and Schett tore ligaments in her right ankle while training this month.



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Maria Sharapova to outstrip sex symbol Anna Kournikova!

The Russian tennis player will become the world's highest paid athlete, making up to $100 million every year. Russian girl Maria Sharapova has conquered the world of tennis. Nature has showered her with beauty, long legs, an incredible capacity for work and a huge sports potential. It took Mark McCormack really long to approve the Russian girl for the vacancy. IMG took hold of Maria and the project "Maria Sharapova, the Superstar" was launched. In about a year, the Russian tennis player will become the world's highest paid athlete, making up to $100 million every year.

When Maria Sharapova made her first appearance in a professional tournament, the President of the Russian tennis association Shamil Tarpischev said: "This would be a lot better than Kournikova." He said it right. The young Russian girl started realizing her working capacity from the very first moment, when she came to the world of professional sport. She became the world's champion and the Wimbledon winner at the age of 17. IMG agents are taking great care of Maria: the Siberian girl will help them earn millions of dollars.



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Maria Sharapova is out of this world, claims her rival :)

Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova's success this season has not only shot her to world number four from No. 32 at the end of last year, but onto another planet, French tennis rival Marion Bartoli claimed on Thursday.

“She doesn't really speak to anyone. When you pass on front of her it's as if you don't exist, you're invisible, especially now,” said Bartoli, who has been called in as a replacement for world number two Amelie Mauresmo in the French Fed Cup team for the final phase in Moscow from Nov 24-28.
“It's crazy because I remember really well having played her last year in the doubles in Quebec. She was quite nice."

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Velocity International Corp. Plans

TORONTO --(Business Wire)-- Nov. 18, 2004 -- On an Annualized Basis, Management Estimates the Revenue Contribution from the Three Proposed Acquisitions to Be $12 Million.

Velocity believes that the new Super Models and Role-Models for women are new talent such as the blonde 17-year-old Russian goddess Maria Sharapova. Maria graced the cover of Sports Illustrated July 4th issue celebrating with other Wimbledon winners. Maria has already been photographed for Gucci, Chanel and DKNY and she has signed contracts with Nike and Prince Racquets, appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine's August issue. Maria's spokesman at IMG Max Eisenbud said: "She loves fashion......Sometimes I think she will be spending most of her time on the catwalk, not on tennis courts." Mark Jacobs....."believes Maria Sharapova is a perfect face for Louis Vuitton, because she is not a commonplace beauty girl."


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For Maria a fantastic finish!

''I've had an amazing, amazing year,'' Maria said. ``I'm really speechless.''

She has won six titles in her young career, with the most important coming in a straight-set victory against Williams in this year's Wimbledon final, has captured attention for not only her talent for the game, but also her good looks.


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Russian press hails Maria Sharapova

Moscow - Russian newspapers lavished praise on Wednesday on 17-year-old Russian tennis sensation Maria Sharapova, saying her triumph over Serena Williams in the finals of the WTA Tour Championships was a victory for the history books and for her native country.

"Ave, Maria!" the centrist daily Izvestia proclaimed in a headline capping a page one package illustrated by a photograph of the Siberian-born Maria smiling timidly and clutching her crystal trophy after her win in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Izvestia compared her dramatic come-from-behind victory to a "high-budget thriller" that would go down in sports history because it was "even better than the legendary semifinal" between Maria and Lindsay Davenport at Wimbledon this year, a tournament also won by the Russian.

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Relieved Maria Sharapova ends 'amazing' year on women's tennis circuit

So what's a girl who loves to shop do with $1 million? "That's a lot of shoes," says Maria Sharapova, winner of Wimbledon and the year-end WTA Championships. The 17-year-old Russian is headed off to a "super-fantastic" vacation knowing she beat the world's top players over five consecutive days to earn one of the richest paycheques in women's tennis. "I certainly deserve a spot on that list," she said.

Maria rose to a career-high fourth in the year-end WTA rankings released Tuesday after starting the year at No. 32. She finished with a 55-15 match record and her fifth title after defeating an injured Serena Williams 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 Monday night.
"I've had an amazing year and accomplished so much," she said. "To achieve so much, I don't think a lot of people realize that I'm still 17."

Maria crowned queen of court

In a sport spoiled for tsarinas, one Russian tennis player has emerged as queen of the court. As comfortable gracing the catwalk as she is prowling the great sporting stages, Maria Sharapova's coronation at the WTA Tour Championships on Monday came as a timely shot in the arm to the sport's administrators and sponsors alike.

In just 12 short months Maria has become not only Wimbledon champion and winner of the season-ending jamboree, but the face of women's tennis.


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Maria - the first champion from Russia!

Maria Sharapova became the first champion from Russia, and only the second player to win the title on her debut in the event.

``I was thinking, `Oh my God, I'm not going to be out six months. I do not want this,''' she said. `Just go easy.' I wasn't going to go for any big serves. It's not worth it with the new year coming around the corner. I was just really trying to chill.''

Maria earned $1 million - tying the U.S. Open winner's check - for the second major title of her career. As well as the winner's cheque, Maria Sharapova also received a new car to donate to charity. She received a new SUV worth $56,300.
She said she planned to give the car or proceeds from its sale to the survivors of the September hostage-taking in Russia that left more than 300 people dead, half of them children.

Maria wins season's finale

Maria Sharapova came from a set down to win the season-ending WTA Tour Championships in Los Angeles.

Maria Sharapova overcame the early third-set mental lapse and beat Williams for the WTA Championships title 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 Monday night in a rematch of their Wimbledon final.
The 17-year-old Russian will rise to a career-high fourth when the year-end WTA rankings are released Tuesday.
``I don't think I could've asked for anything better this year,'' Maria said. ``It's been an extraordinary year for me. I know that I'm not showing a lot of emotion, but I'm sort of just speechless.''
Maria stunned Williams for the Wimbledon title in July, propelling the blond teenager to international stardom. She finished the year with five titles.

Maria meets Williams again

After the victory over Anastasya Myskina in a semifinal of tournament, Maria will meet in the ending with Williams (after Wimbledon in finale too ).

Go, Maria!

Semi-finals in L-A

Amelie Mauresmo (1) and Maria Sharapova (2) from "Black Group"

Anastasia Myskina (1) and Serena Williams (2) from "Red Group" reached the semi-finals of the season-ending WTA Tour Championships on Friday.

Sharapova eliminated Vera Zvonareva with a 6-4, 7-5 victory

Maria Sharapova eliminated Vera Zvonareva with a 6-4, 7-5 victory. She and Mauresmo are 2-0 in round-robin play and will meet Saturday, although both are already assured of semifinal berths.

Maria had losing records against Kuznetsova and Zvonareva, but beat both of them. "It's a good revenge," she said. "I got my whole game together.

Russians ruling the WTA

LOS ANGELES -- Look at the field at the WTA Championships, it looks more like the Kremlin Cup than a tennis tournament in Los Angeles.

Wednesday’s first day of action had four of the five Russian women in action for a tournament with only the top eight players from the points race qualify. It caps off an impressive year where not just a player, but a nation broke through with three different girls winning Grand Slam singles titles -- Anastasia Myskina in the French, Maria Sharapova taking Wimbledon and Svetlana Kuznetsova taking the U.S. Open.

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Maria Sharapova win big at WTA Tour!

Maria hit 23 winners in a 6-1, 6-4 victory over U.S. Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova at Staples Center.

"I love it here. The atmosphere is great," said Maria, making her debut in the tournament. "To be here where the Lakers play, you just feel that excitement. I love basketball."

Russian tennis girls to dominate?

Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova’s latest sponsorship deal with camera-copier manufacturer Canon Inc, following deals with phone company Motorola and perfume maker Parlux Fragrances Inc.

Canon confirmed Maria’s new multiyear worldwide marketing deal with Maria for global advertising and retail promotions with Canon is worth nearly $6million, slightly surpassing the deal that the 17-year-old signed with Motorola in August, ESPN.com reported.


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Maria Sharapova and Capriati will play for fundraiser

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Jennifer Capriati and Maria Sharapova will play an exhibition match Dec. 18 to raise money for the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund. The WTA Tour’s “Hurricane Tennis Slam,” at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, will be preceded by a children’s tennis clinic led by Nick Bollettieri.

The tour’s headquarters are in St. Petersburg; Capriati and Maria live in Florida. Four hurricanes hit the state in six weeks in August and September. “When it came about, it was something that I really wanted to do — to reach out and really try to help the victims,” Capriati said. “It was just a devastating event.”

Maria blasts WTA Tour balls :)

Reigning Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova believes that the official WTA Tour balls are too heavy. Maria has claimed that the Tretorn edition balls could have played a part in causing her recent chest and shoulder injuries.

Maria said: "They are heavy on my arm. It's something that the Tour and (CEO) Larry Scott have to look into. I'm sure the WTA doesn't want anyone to get injured." And the Russian, who wants to see a change in balls as soon as possible, added: "The most important thing is figuring out which ball isn't going to injure players,"
A Tour spokesman said that experts and other players were consulted after Maria recently made a private complaint.

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Serena Williams Says Russian Tennis Champ Maria Sharapova Is “Sexy”

She knows a thing or two about sex appeal. And the tennis star complimented Russian teenager Maria Sharapova on Tuesday for having lots of it.

"She's sexy," Williams said, smiling. Organizers of this week's WTA Championships have focused their advertising on Maria, the 17-year-old blond beauty who stunned tennis by winning Wimbledon in July . Her leggy image is featured in a tournament poster with the tag line, "The closer you sit the hotter she gets."
"I love her legs in this picture. Her legs are so sexy," Williams said, studying the black and white shot of Maria Sharapova sitting in a short skirt on a court. "She is not being sold in this picture. This is a hot picture. If you're not ready to sell pictures, then you shouldn't be part of the tournament. Unfortunately, I hate to say it, but sex sells."

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