With so many great female tennis players out there, it’s difficult to settle on just who is the greatest of all time. It’s hard to compete with Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Zina Garrison. But one woman has the potential to fit in extremely well - hard-hitting Russian Maria Sharapova.

Not many would have expected Sharapova to claim her first Grand Slam when she was only 17, but in only her seventh Grand Slam appearance, she captured the Wimbledon crown - and in stunning fashion.

During her dream run she only dropped two sets, one in the quarter-finals to Ai Sugiyama and again in the semi-finals against Lindsay Davenport. Even though she narrowly squeezed past Davenport 2-6 7-6 6-1, she saved her best tennis for the final where she took on Serena Williams. Most expected Williams to win fairly convincingly but it’s was quit the opposite. Sharapova demolished her more experienced opponent 6-1 6-4.

'It's obvious she has what it takes to dominate on every surface and, even though she has fallen short on clay in the past, her future looks brighter than ever.'


Since her nearly perfect fortnight in SW1, Sharapova has claimed 18 tour titles. Among those titles are three Grand Slam trophies. The first was the aforementioned Wimbledon success, which she followed up with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Justin Henin in the 2006 US Open. Then, at the start of this year, she overcame Ana Ivanovic 7-5 6-3 in the  Australian Open. There can be no denying there is more Grand Slam success ahead of the tenacious Russian.

Although the French Open eludes Sharapova from completing a career Slam, it doesn’t mean she hasn’t been successful in Paris. In her five appearances to date she has advanced to the quarter-finals or beyond three times. It’s obvious she has what it takes to dominate on every surface and, even though she has fallen short on clay in the past, her future looks brighter then ever.

Already this season Sharapova has claimed two titles - in Melbourne and Doha - but more extraordinary is the winning streak she has accumulated. Even though she fell in the semi-finals in Indian Wells, she put together an 18-0 winning record.

On top of everything else, she has etched her way into the history books, becoming the first Russian to be ranked number one in the world - a position she held for a total of 14 weeks. This may not seem like the greatest record, but bear in mind the precocious Russian is just 20 years of age.

Sharapova has already earned more than $11million in prize money. Beyond that, she holds a 287-66 winning record in tour matches.  Most likely it will be a while before she accumulates 100 loses. With powerful groundstrokes, a booming serve, and the ability to never relent, there is no telling how far she could go. She certainly has what it takes to surpass Davenport on 55 career singles titles.

She may be extremely young, but she is an unbelievable champion already. In my view, she can be one of the greatest tennis players of all time and, with many years ahead of her, the Sharapova era is far from over.