Sharapova's parents moved from Homel, Belarus, to Siberia, Russia, in 1986, after the Chernobyl nuclear accident. She was born the following year in Nyagan, Russia.
Sharapova's father, Yuri Sharapov, brought Maria to the United States to attend the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida when she was 7 years old. She speaks accentless English. Her mother, Yelena, who could not come with them because of visa restrictions, followed a few years later. Sharapova has lived in the United States since then but retains her Russian citizenship.
Until recently, Sharapova lived most of the year near the IMG training facility in Bradenton with her pomeranian, Dolce, who is featured in one of her advertisements for Canon PowerShot. She has moved to Southern California.
Sharapova is good friends with other tennis players on the WTA tour: childhood friend and fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko, French player Tatiana Golovin, Serbian player Jelena Janković, and Slovak Daniela Hantuchova. She has called actress Camilla Belle her best friend. She has dated Adam Levine, the lead singer of Maroon 5.
