The Sports Truth

Terrible news out of the mouth of Maria Sharapova this weekend:

The tennis beauty that’s known almost as much for her legs as her forehand will be abandoning her short skirts at Wimbledon this year.

“I’m going with the traditional shorts, believe it or not,” said Sharapova, the event’s 2004 champion. “I’ve never worn shorts at a Grand Slam… Call it menswear, obviously. It’s kind of like a tuxedo look, very simple lines, classic.”

Fret not, fans. There’s always this Maria Sharapova upskirt shot to enjoy.

Even in shorts, Maria Sharapova’s cleavage should still be prominent at Wimbledon.

The world may be buzzing about Vanessa Hudgens nude photos, but a tennis beauty is trying to get herself back in the news with a sort of similar shot.

Below, Maria Sharapova is showing what she’s got in a rather personal picture:

Maria Sharapova made quite a splash at this year’s U.S. Open. Her face was plastered on every billboard, magazine, and TV commercial. Oh, and the 19-year-old Russian also won the tournament.

Young, beautiful and Russian, the temptation is to compare Sharapova to Anna Kournikova. Only Maria can actually play, and clearly has a firm grasp of her priorities, despite an incredible marketing blitz and the throng of photographers she commands at every turn.

Anna was big, but never won a single tournament. Maria, who reportedly will earn $20M this year in endorsements, has 13 titles, two of them majors (the 2004 Wimbledon crown being the other).

Much to Andy Roddick’s agents’ consternation, players rarely dominate on and off the court. Even the great Andre Agassi only evolved into a champion once his image-driven, early-career ad assault fizzled. Incredible and classy as Roger Federer is, he’s low on the buzz index. Rafael Nadal (Spain), Andy Murray (Great Britain) and James Blake (U.S.) are all charismatic, but not established enough.

If Sharapova keeps playing like she did in ousting the two women seeded above her at the Open, Amelie Mauresmo (6-0, 4-6, 6-0) and Justine Henin-Hardenne (6-4, 6-4), we could be witnessing not only a great champion, but the rise of biggest star in the history of women’s tennis.