Maria Sharapova eyes number one spot

Maria Sharapova took women's tennis by storm when she won Wimbledon in July last year. The Russian, who turned professional at the tender age of 14 in 2001, ended last year as the world number four and topped $2 million in career earnings. The 17-year-old now aims to be world number one as the new season gets underway.

It is very important, but you know at this stage I'm only 17 and you know I obviously didn't think I could win Wimbledon at 17," Sharapova said. Maria has so far won seven tour titles and with the Williams sisters seemingly in decline and Lindsay Davenport a step away from retirement, Sharapova and a bunch of other Russian girls look set to be the leading players in women's tennis. The 17-year-old started playing tennis when she was only four-years-old. And she's come a long way since then. Not only as a talented tennis player but also as a glamorous model. "I've always been sort of glamorous. Lot of people have told me that. But I'm like a renaissance woman, except tennis I love doing other different things," she said. With Sharapova's resolve, a world number one ranking will only be a matter of time for this 17-year-old Russian star.