Maria Kirilenko: Sport Hottie (Tennis)

Maria Kirilenko, or Makiri as she is called by close friends, is absolutely a hottie on the sports – Tennis. This professional tennis player was born in the Soviet Union of paternal Ukrainian heritage on January 25, 1987. Maria Kirilenko, like her good friend Maria Sharapova, she likes connecting to sports and fashion. In December 2004 she played in a tennis exhibition in Tampa, Florida to raise money for the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund.

She won her first WTA Tour Title in the China Open by beating Anna-Lena Groenefeld in the finals. Along with her friend of Maria Sharapova, she represents the new generation of a real sport hottie and a skillful female tennis player.



Maria Kirilenko started showing a passion towards tennis at age 5, but it was difficult to get the practice in while she was attending school. Her father enrolled her in a tennis school at the age of seven, and hours of fierce training started to pay off as she won several tournaments. He had used to play tennis and to really enjoy it - though he could not imagine that this sport will become such an important part of his family’s life.

When Maria was twelve years old, an Honored Master of sports, Elena Brioukhovets, saw her while training. She noticed her at once - if one could pay more attention to this girl, - Elena thought, - she might show very impressive results. All the next year Elena watched Maria making progress, and then offered her to work together. From now on tennis became not only a profession but sort of a life style for Maria. A three-year program was made, and a special team was selected. Uncertain romantic dreams of having a success turned into a strategic task - to be one of the best junior tennis-players in the world.



In the beginning of 2008, she went to the Australian Open and was ousted in the fourth round by Daniela Hantuchova. This is a milestone in her career because it’s her first time to reach fourth round in any Grand Slam Tournament. She competed in a Tier I event in Doha, Qatar and lost in the second round. After that, she lost four straight matches in tournaments in Dubai, Bangalore, Indian Wells and Miami. She broke her losing streak by winning a Tier IV event in Estoril. She won her fourth WTA title in Barcelona where she face Martinez-Sanchez in the finals.

Before there was Anna Kournikova and these days there are Maria Sharapova, Elena Dementieva, Tatiana Glovin and many more. It seems most of the tennis sport hotties these days are from Russia. Although, Maria Kirilenko may not be the best Russian player that has come along but she sure can make a claim to being one of the hottest players coming out of Russia.