Healthy Hollywood: Maria Sharapova’s Winning Spirit!

Tennis sensation Maria Sharapova is one busy lady. She’s a fierce competitor on the court. And, when the Russian stunner isn’t competing in matches worldwide, she’s got her candy line, Sugarpova and her expanding beauty/fashion empire to work on. She tops the 2014 Forbes list of the world’s highest paid female athletes. Not to mention, the 27-year-old is an absolute knockout on the red carpet. 

Healthy Hollywood got invited to SELF Magazine’s “How To Be Self Made” event with Maria in New York City. Maria is the magazine’s September cover star. Sharapova, along with magazine’s editor-in-chief, Joyce Chang, celebrated the debut of the magazine’s first “SELF Made” cover star, which features successful women who are pursuing their passion while also prioritizing a healthy lifestyle. In other words, a gal with a lot of balls in the air, like Maria!

Chang interviewed Maria in front of a group of professional women. “In today’s world all women have so many challenges, so many things to do on a daily basis from career to family. And, it’s always a juggling act. It’s always balancing yourself with other people around you. At the end of the day, I think SELF Made is that inner voice inside of you that keep you going, keep pushing you to strive for the best in everything that you do,” states Maria.

(Maria Sharapova and SELF Magazine’s Joyce Chang pose with her September 2014 cover – Access Hollywood)

Over the past decade, Maria says she went from being an unknown teenager with a dream to an international superstar. And, she thanks her parents for helping her make wise decisions. “I was exposed to so many things and you always have to make choices and at the end of the day you never quite know and you’re always questioning yourself whether it’s the right or wrong choice. But I try to always be me and be natural and you face expectations but you have to face them from within rather than from the outside world,” explained Maria. 

Maria describes herself as having “a fierce, ferocious and powerful competitive drive,” but says she’s actually shy and gets a lot of her intensity/anxiety out on the court.

“The good thing is I can expose all of that on the tennis court. And once I get off the court I can be a bit more mellow. And I have this little yellow fuzzy ball to hit as hard as I can which usually gets rid of a lot of emotions. It’s funny because when I go on the court, no matter what goes in life, I always use it as a learning experience for me. Even though I’ve been doing it since I was four years old. Of course, I take out everything.”

And, if life ever gets too overwhelming, the multi-tasking Maria has learned how to bring it all back into perspective. “Sometimes it all comes to a point where it’s too much or you let yourself get overly involved in things. I think everybody goes through it. I think the best way to out of it is perspective. It’s the toughest way to think of things. But, it’s a perspective on life. And you just need to turn on CNN to get a little bit of perspective in life, really. And I’ve been in enough hotel rooms in my life to see a lot of CNN,” states Maria. 

For more on Maria’s healthy living tips, check out the September issue of SELF Magazine

— Terri MacLeod

Copyright © 2024 by NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This material may not be republished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read More