Maria Sharapova in new Nike ads

Maria Sharapova and French Open 2011 champion Li Na has been started in a new advertising manufacture of sports clothing and footwear Nike.


Sharapova has first singed with Nike in 1999, where in early 2010 she had re-signed an eight year sponsorship contract with the Nike Company, which it was expected nearly 70 million dollars. Sharapova has become the lost highly paid athletes in the world by the Magazine Forbes from July 1st to June of 2010, where she earned around 24.5 million.


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Maria Sharapova Debuts Custom-Designed Nike Apparel At Miami's Nasdaq-100 Open This Week

Miami, FL (23 March, 2006) – Fresh off her win at last weekend’s Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Maria Sharapova will step onto the tennis court at the NASDAQ-100 Open tennis tournament in Miami, Fla., and debut new custom made Nike apparel that features a unique Dri-FIT sport corset and skirt that are adapted from Nike's fitness dance collection.

After learning of Maria's interest in Nike's fitness dance collection, Nike designers adapted two key pieces for Maria to wear on the tennis court. The Nike Speed Corset is pearl and black and features a state-of-the-art ventilation system in the front and back for breathability to keep Maria cool while playing in Miami's heat. The black Nike Shimmer Mix Skirt is made of moisture-wicking Dri-FIT fabric and features an adjustable roll top waist that allows for a custom fit. Nike’s proprietary, tested and re-tested, moisture-wicking technology, Nike Dri-FIT helps sustain body temperature by drawing sweat away from the skin and moving it to the outside of the fabric where it quickly evaporates.

Maria, who traditionally has preferred playing in dresses, was so pleased with corset and skirt design that she decided to wear the separates.

“The corset is definitely something you don’t see much on the tennis courts, but Nike made it very comfortable to wear and the vents keep me cool,” said Maria Sharapova. “I’m sure that my fans are going to think it’s different because I’ve never worn anything like this, but I’m excited about it and since it’s Miami you can get away with things being a little edgier.”

“Maria loved the current Nike fitness dance collection so for the NASDAQ-100 Open, we acted quickly to create a special look for Maria,” said Mindy Grossman, Vice President of Global Apparel for Nike. “Nike designers translated the fitness dance apparel into a corset and skirt that offer bold style, but also provide the performance features critical for the heat and elite level of play in Miami.”

Maria's Nike apparel will be available in a limited quantity at the NASDAQ-100 Open retail tent on site at the tournament and Nike’s current fitness dance collection is available at nikewomen.com and at sporting goods retailers across the country.

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Tennis: Sharapova a marketing executive's dream

Tennis: Sharapova a marketing executive's dream (By Paul Lewis and Agencies)

"She is the face of women's tennis. And the legs, and the body and, if you'd been in Toronto for a recent tournament, rather more of her chest than her Nike tennis dress designer would have wanted to see.


Maria Sharapova isn't just the world No 1 and favourite for the US Open which begins in New York tomorrow - she is also almost the complete antithesis of the woman who might be favoured to beat her for the title, Belgium's Kim Clijsters. While Sharapova is the femme fatale of women's tennis - Anna Kournikova with talent - and the new world No 1, Clijsters, a former world No 1, is maintaining her girl-next-door image, the unruly hair, the strong physique and an air of understatement. Sharapova, 18, won Wimbledon in 2004; Clijsters is recognised as maybe the best player never to win a Grand Slam event. Kind of like the Phil Mickelson of women's tennis - even though she is still only 22.

Sharapova wouldn't be out of place on on a catwalk. Clijsters wouldn't be out of place on a hockey field. Sharapova is already the most-photographed and most-interviewed female tennis player on the planet; Clijsters, while she does not avoid publicity, doesn't court it. Scarcely a word has ever passed her lips about the much-publicised but unexplained broken romance with the Australian uber-brat, Lleyton Hewitt. Sharapova now has a global following and a global marketing empire. She is the highest-paid sportswoman in the world, earning more than US$20 million for on- and off-court activity. In Japan, for instance, you can buy pillows shaped in the form of Sharapova's breasts and lap. The breast pillow by the firm Sharanpowan is made with a cover in the style of a tennis shirt that can be removed to reveal more intimate details. The breast pillow costs $17, the lap pillow $29. The Japanese appear to find the lower part of Sharapova's body more attractive than its upper part, according to a Russian newspaper which reported this phenomenon.


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