Maria Sharapova wants equal prize money

Ex-Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova has called for women players to receive the same prize money as the men.

The 19-year-old world number three said: "I believe women deserve to be treated the same as men. "There has been a long debate about equal prize money but these things take time. If we keep pushing we'll eventually get there."

Of the four Grand Slam tournaments only Wimbledon awards its women's champion less money than their male equivalent. Maria Sharapova was speaking at a news conference for the WTA Tour's end-of-season championship, which is moving from Los Angeles to Madrid ...

Maria Sharapova takes her pick of male models in Madrid

Maria Sharapova has handpicked seven male models with tennis knowledge to act as ball-boys at the WTA Tour's end-of-season championships in Madrid.

The 19-year-old Russian was the center of attention at the casting event held in a Madrid hotel on Thursday.

A selection panel that included Maria Sharapova, former champion Aranta Sanchez-Vicario and film actress Natalia Verbeke was invited to narrow down a field of 15 hopefuls. The male models, wearing white shorts and tight t-shirts, were brought up one at a time and tested on their knowledge of tennis, among other things, in a tongue-in-cheek manner.

A number of contestants struggled to respond correctly to questions such as "What is a tie break?" and "What would you do if a player asked you for a towel?" Models who could get by in English seemed to win favor with Maria, who does not speak much Spanish.

Two candidates were marked down by the world number three after being asked who was their favorite female tennis player ...