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She has been the best-paid female athlete in the world for 11 years, earning more off the tennis court than on it. Not any more. Maria Sharapova, 28, could now become the biggest financial loser in sporting history, missing out on estimated future earnings of as much as £100million ($142million). Her biggest sponsors Nike, Porsche, and TAG Heuer all moved to cut ties with the Russian tennis star after she failed a drug test. Sportswear giant Nike last night said it was putting its relationship with the five times Grand Slam winner on hold and was ‘saddened and surprised’ by...

Maria Sharapova's sponsors are quickly distancing themselves from the tennis star after after she said she tested positive for the recently banned drug meldonium. Nike was first to suspend its deal with the Russian athlete. That deal was worth at least $12.5 million a year, her most lucrative contract. UK-based sports marketing and sponsorship consultant Nigel Currie told Business Insider the deal was worth an estimated $100 million over eight years — Nike's biggest deal for a female athlete. There were most likely bonuses tied into the deal too, though no details on these have been published. Sharapova is the...

LONDON (Reuters) - British actress Keira Knightley was voted the world's sexiest woman in a magazine poll on Thursday, beating model Keeley Hazel and Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson into second and third place respectively. The poll, which British magazine FHM said was based on two million votes, saw homegrown model and TV presenter Kelly Brook slip to 5th from first last year, while Angelina Jolie, expecting a baby in mid-May, came fourth. Beyonce Knowles was the sexiest pop star at number seven and Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova the top sportswoman at number 56. FHM said the poll was the...

PARIS — Maria Sharapova won her second French Open on Saturday with a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4 victory over Simona Halep. The 6-foot-2 Sharapova and the 5-6 Halep presented a tantalizing matchup of power versus guile, experience versus new blood, and they did not disappoint, giving Roland Garros its first three-set women’s final since 2001. But just as she has all tournament, Sharapova raised her game when she was down. She was down a break early in the first set but rallied to win it. Halep served for the second set twice but could not close Sharapova out until a...

HT Drudge LONDON: Maria Sharapova blasted Serena Williams on Saturday for the American's controversial comments over a high-profile rape case and even criticised the Wimbledon champion's colourful private life. In an astonishing attack on the world number one, which comes just two days before Wimbledon gets underway, Sharapova told Williams to keep her opinions to herself as the bitter relationship between the two was laid bare.

PARIS — Ever since shoulder surgery nearly forced Maria Sharapova into early retirement, she occupied an odd space in both tennis and the wider world of sports. She remained among the most marketable female athletes on the planet, a superstar in every sense except the most important one. The gap between her game and her fame closed considerably Saturday, by virtue of a one-sided victory that left her knees down and crying on the red clay at Roland Garros, then bounding into the stands, where the Russian hugged her entourage and kissed not one but two babies. After Sharapova dismantled...

The editors of The Fashion Time Magazine present this week’s glamour girls, the most couture-pleasing, stylishly appealing, best dressed celebs that garnered our attention. Katie Cassidy regaled us with her sexiness at Nylon Magazine’s TV Issue Launch Party opting for an animal printed Nicole Miller dress. She completed her look with Rock & Republic raspberry pumps.

June 22 to July 5, 2009U.S. TV Schedule | Brackets & Results: Men Women | Wimbledon Blog | ESPN | BBC | Odds Checker: Men Women

Maria Sharapova is featured in the 2006 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, which hit the newstands on Tuesday. Sharapova is making her first appearance in what is billed to be the most widely read issue of any magazine in the world. The former world No.1 and current No.4 graces the cover of the swimsuit edition, on the lower right hand corner with the headline "Tennis Ace Maria Sharapova, As You've Never Seen Her." She is the only athlete pictured in the magazine, along with 26 supermodels, including Rebecca Romijn, Petra Nemcova, Rachel Hunter, Elle Macpherson and Heidi Klum. The photo shoots...

She is sensation personified. The Mirza girl called Sania is set to teach tennis to India. A living icon she has the youth of the country wowing her Indianness. Her being a Muslim adds substance to the matter. Carrying a basket of firsts she is the first sports Indian women to appear on Time, first female Indian to be ranked in the world 's top 40. She is again the first ever-Indian woman to reach the third round of Grand Slam and subsequently listed as one of the 10 people capable of changing the world by London's intellectual weekly New...

As Maria Sharapova prepared yesterday to defend her Wimbledon singles title, the All England Club confirmed that the tournament's most bankable star is being stalked. A British man has been banned from the club's grounds for previously lunging at her during a tournament in America. The Russian teenager said she was not worried about the threat from stalkers and felt "safe and secure" walking around Wimbledon. But she admitted that she would not feel comfortable being on her own. She is always accompanied by at least one minder and occasionally employs up to five bodyguards. "I'm always around someone, I'm...