Maria Sharapova

The current world No. 1, Sharapova is a winner of four major titles, most recently the 2012 French Open to complete the career Grand Slam. Her initial one came in 2004 at Wimbledon at the age of 17 with an impressive 6-1, 6-4 win over Serena Williams. She captured the 2006 U.S. Open with a straight-set victory over Justine Henin. Sharapova, who lives in Florida, is also one of the most marketable female athletes in history with a reported net worth of close to $90 million. She has never played in the Olympics and created a bit of a controversy among her Russian teammates when she played in the Fed Cup for the first time in 2008 after withdrawing the two previous years. Fed Cup participation is mandatory to play in the Olympics, but a shoulder injury kept her out of the Beijing Games. That led to a nine-month layoff in 2009 that saw her drop out of the top 100 but she has since regained her form. Sharapova reached the finals last year at Wimbledon and this year at the Australian Open, and is eager to represent Russia for the first time. Said Sharapova in March: “It's just always been a dream of mine since I was young. Even though we represent our country on a daily basis, this is an individual sport. I don't think you really get that feeling (on the WTA Tour) like you're representing your country at the Olympics. So that's what I'm looking forward towards.”