Monday, August 24, 2009

Sharapova Russian or American?

Maria Yuryevna Sharapova is a former World No. 1 "Russian" professional tennis player and three time Grand Slam singles champion. When Sharapova was seven, she and her father moved from their life of poverty in Russia to the United States, to enroll in the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. Her life of poverty was certainly changed when she moved to America-that was 17 years ago. The Academy is not cheap so I assume she either was not that poor or they found a big investor.

It seems that Russian athletes should give equitable attribution to American training somewhere in their resume. I doubt if she would ever be the star she is today without the transfer to America and the Academy. As usual, just like our university education, we sell out American heritage and training without proper footnotes for accreditation.

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