When I'm down or maybe when it's close in the match, I feel like I'm still in it. I don't feel like I'm letting down. Mentally, I'm still really, really tough.
— Maria Sharapova
There are so many roads you can take that will lead you the wrong way, that nobody will hear your name.
I'm always that annoying person that pulls out the camera in the middle of dinner and starts taking candids.
Music is a part of my life all the time - on the plane, before matches, driving out to the court.
When I travel, I love speaking to women around the world about the things that inspire them, the fashions they like, what makes something good and what would make it even better.
My main goal is to stay healthy because when you're injured you realise how lucky you are to have your health.
No matter what you study, the thing that you know best is what you grew up with.
I love getting consumer reports. I think it's one of my favourite things, studying what people have to say about the product and then trying to make it better.
It's strange for my friends when they see me on TV and in magazines, because the person that they see doing interviews and pictures on the red carpet is not the person that they know.
I know my roots and I cannot forget the journey I made.
I love what I do and I love being an athlete, but I also love all the things that have come with it.
I don't get to do as much sightseeing as I would like to.
I want my handbags and my shoes to be stylish but I want to make sure that they're versatile. I travel and I have to make sure the pieces I put into my bag can go with a dress or with shorts or jeans.
I think when you know what you are going to wear, it fits and it's great material, then you feel confident in it.
I love jotting down ideas for my blog, so I doodle or take notes on all kinds of stuff that inspires me: the people I meet, boutiques I visit, a florist that just gave me a great idea for an interior-design project, things like that.
I help design my own tennis clothes.
I never really had an idol.
I love where I'm from. I don't live there because of the circumstances, but all my family is there. It's what's inside, it's not what's outside that determines the culture and the feeling.
If I loved a guy as much as I love my dog, the guy would be in serious trouble. Because I'm all over that dog, all the time.
After being on the court for six hours, being on TV is very glamorous and fun for me. But tennis is always going to be my priority. It's not going to be this thing when all of a sudden TV will get in the way of that.
I love to collect modern art.
Through my travels, I find inspiration in street style and how young women create their individual looks and identity.
Tennis has given me this wonderful life and I'm very grateful for it.
I find a lot of inspiration in street style and watching women walk, the way they wear things and what they're wearing.
I want my tennis to speak for everything.
I hit a ball for a living, but I have that passion to keep learning.
My family and I built my whole career from scratch.
I go to yoga classes and work on my core.
I have a very big sweet tooth and I love treating myself to something that I wouldn't necessarily eat during the tournament such as a nice-sized cake.
I love street style, seeing how girls wear pieces and how their pair accessories with their outfit. How they pair shoes with a bag and go to day to night and change things up.
Since I'm constantly in the sun, I use sunscreen daily.
There's not many firsts in my career, as I have been a part of many tournaments and fortunate enough to win many.
I love to eat, and if I could, I'd eat every second of my life.
Whenever I have friends over, we end up eating and talking and losing track of time, and, once in a while, singing karaoke. It reminds me of the family meals we had in Russia, which always lasted a very long time. That's a tradition I miss.
Of course, everyone knows my story of being born in Russia and moving to the United States at 7. For a few years people would say, 'Well, she's living in the United States, but she's Russian.'
Ever since I was young I loved making things and being part of the design process.
Whether you win a match or lose a match, in terms of your emotions, it's important to be pretty levelheaded.
I have always had an interest in fashion and design and I appreciate style and timelessness within my footwear and accessories both on and off the court.
It's always tough when you lose - you've worked so hard for that moment and it hasn't gone the way you wanted. But you have to realise there's always a bright side, you have to pick yourself up and get ready for the next game.
I owe a lot to my parents.
I don't spend a lot of my time in the locker room. That's my least favourite place in the world.
I don't need many things. I don't need glamour and attention to be happy. I'm very happy being settled and working my butt off and trying to win grand slams.
I spent a whole year when I was injured just trying to get my arm back to the point where I could hit a tennis ball for more than 30 minutes a day. I'd hit for 15 minutes and it would feel as if my arm was going to fall off.
I'm never standing still and that makes my life pretty exciting.
I don't do heavy weights at all.
I'm an afternoon tea type of girl. I come from a Russian background where we love our teas. So between lunch and dinner after training I come home and I love a nice cup of tea with jam in it, as we drink it there. Black English Breakfast with raspberry jam is my favorite.
I think it's so cool to be tall. Even when I'm not wearing heels people tell me I'm tall and I always take it as a complement. The good thing is I can always see everybody in the room.
I always have a Sharpie, because usually when someone asks me for an autograph, they don't have a pen. I carry one in my purse, as well as in my tennis bag.
When I make a commitment I stick to it.
Without my dad, I wouldn't be here.
