Maria Sharapova Built a Business Empire Thanks to Her Winning TeamFor the tennis champ and entrepreneur, teamwork is the key to success.

Even in black sweatpants and basic white sneakers, Maria Sharapova is impossible to miss. We meet in late spring in Sarasota, Fla., at the IMG Academy Bollettieri, named for the tenniscoachwho helped make her famous. His name, this place, are very much part of Sharapova's often-told rags-to-riches story. Here is where she came -- straight from Russia, with her father, Yuri, neither of them knowing much English -- to become a tennis star at the age of seven. They had just $700 to their name and got to practice by bicycle because they couldn't afford a car. Turned out that at seven, Sharapova was still tooyoungto even attend the academy, but Yuri took odd jobs to help keep them afloat until she was, at nine, when she entered with a full ride. When her mother finally arrived, a year later, Sharapova was homeschooled so she couldfocuson tennis.

It was sacrifice that paid off, of course. By 18, Sharapova was the world's highest-paid female athlete, a title she held for the 11 years following, a silver Olympic medalist and one of only 10 women to win a career Grand Slam in tennis. Her talent made her bankable, but so did, ironically, her "all-American" good looks -- six-foot-two with long, golden hair. Eventually, multimillion-dollar endorsements from brands like Canon, Porsche, Nike, Head, and Evian overtook tournament prize money. The fashion industry grabbed hold, too, bolstered by early support from tennis fan Anna Wintour, who put her on the cover ofTeen Vogue.Her 18th birthday was sponsored by Motorola.