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Sai International School
Class IX – English
Module No. 22- Reach for the Top-II (Maria Sharapova)

Introduction

This biographical sketch briefly
describes the world renowned

tennis player Maria Sherapova’s
rise to the top in the world of
tennis. It also tries to unravel the

secret behind her phenomenal
success – rigour, labour and
immense sacrifice on her and her

parent’s part.

Summary

Reach for the Top (Part II) briefly narrates the life and career of Maria
Sharapova, one of the world’s best-known tennis stars.

Maria’s father brought her to the U.S. to be trained in tennis when she
was barely nine. Her mother Yelena could not accompany her due to
Visa restrictions. In the U.S. she missed her mother badly but she knew
that the sacrifice was an inevitable part of her big aspirations.

Apart from the pangs of separation from the mother, the child also
suffered harassment from her inconsiderate fellow trainees, who were
older in age. At the training academy, Maria would go to bed at 8 pm as
she was very young. Her fellow trainees would return at 11 p.m. and to
bully her, would wake her up and make her tidy the room. Instead of
getting frustrated at this treatment, Maria saw its positive side and drew
mental strength from this humiliation. This mental toughness gradually
became a trait of her personality that helped her both as a person and
as a sportswoman. It proved to be instrumental in helping her to reach
the zenith of glory in the world of tennis. She bagged the women’s
singles crown at Wimbledon in 2004 and became the number one tennis
player in the world.

Hard work, dedication, and mental courage paved the way to success
for Sharapova. Imbued with patriotic sentiments, she feels proud to be a