Prince Announces Maria Sharapova Will Switch Racquets to the New O3 White

BORDENTOWN, N.J., Jan. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- This January, Prince Sports is
launching the newest member of its revolutionary O3 Engineered family of
tennis racquets -- O3 White. In an extraordinary move, the company announced
today that tennis superstar, Maria Sharapova, currently ranked number four in
the world, is switching to the new racquet.

Maria Sharapova and the new racquet
will make their debut at this year's Australian Open, from January 16 to 29
(http://www.australianopen.com).

"I have made the switch to the O3 White as it is much faster through the
air and allows me to generate more spin and power without losing control,"
Sharapova said. "It is a really stable racquet and I feel like I can go for
every shot and hit more winners."

"The fact that a player at the top of her game is switching to the
industry's hottest new technology makes a big statement about the power of
design and engineering to improve performance," said Doug Fonte, president of
Prince. "We are so proud to have Maria as part of our team. She's determined.
And her input has been invaluable as we've extended O3 technology to new
racquets in the line. We're looking forward to cheering for her through 2006.
She represents everything that Prince is about -- an integrity, fearlessness
and joy about the game that is inspirational."

Prince's Power Player goes beyond the Ordinary with O3 White
A Prince player since she was nine years old, Sharapova worked closely
with Prince to help refine the design of the new O3 White. "As soon as I
picked up the racquet it felt right," said Sharapova. "I played with it for
only a few days before I knew that O3 could make my game better. I'm happy to be working with such a great company. Prince has always been there for me; and now we're working even more closely together to help me win."

princetennis.com