Last night Grazia Daily had a one on one with the female powerhouse that is, Maria Sharapova at the launch of her new sweet range, Sugarpova at Selfridges. Looking divine in Pre Fall Chloe and some super high yellow Christian Louboutins we were mesmerised by the woman who has become a one woman brand. Last year Maria set up her sweet line, was the face of Tag Heur, became the first female Russian flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Olympic games, continued to design her own line for Nike and became only the tenth woman to win all four tennis grand slams. Casual! Its safe to say we are in complete awe, plus her team confessed that Maria was a major Grazia fan!
So what did we ask the highest paid sportswoman in the world? Well we talked *Charlie and The Chocolate Factory *inspirations, Anna Wintour and just how simple her pre-court beauty ritual is. Check out the top ten things we found out from the tennis ace and scroll down to see her on and off court style file.
1. Maria sees herself as a Willy Wonka of the future….
I did really love that movie (Charlie and The Chocolate Factory) you might call it an early inspiration for Sugarpova! I have watched it hundreds of times, not recently though but I have watched it many, many times! I have always loved it and the whole experience of candy and that comes from having such a sweet tooth and the love of the candy experience.
2. In a Willy Wonka esque ‘Maria Sharapova and The Sweet Factory’ musical guess who Maria would want to play her…
Oh gosh, I love Gwyneth Paltrow! It would have to be her. And we are almost the same height!
**3. Anna Wintour is her go to guru…. **
She gives me great advice on the different projects I have done in my career and when I first thought about Sugarpova I went into her offices to pick her brain, discussed my vision and how I saw it and she gave incredible input. You know she has been in the business for so many years so its nice to have her support definitely.
4. Wintour is also her dream fashion doubles partner….
Well Anna plays a lot so she’s secretly an incredible player and would be great around the court!
5. And with Anna on her team she would want to compete against…
Oh gosh! That would be fun. Maybe Tom Ford and Mario Testino. That would be a good one! (How chic!!!!)
Frowing with Anna Wintour
*** ***6. How she dresses on court is crucial to her performance…
It’s good to feel comfortable with what you are wearing, because you obviously don’t want to worry about anything except the match and how you play. So with what you are wearing it’s just extremely important to be comfortable and confident.
7. She wants to push the boundaries with her tennis wear…
I like to be unique to what’s out there on the market. I have had my own collection with Nike for a couple of years now so we try to create pieces that are unexpected to the eye and they are maybe not the best seller, you know a polo shirt in tennis will always be a best seller because you go to a traditional club and everyone is playing in a polo and a skirt. But we want to push the boundaries and do something interesting and exciting and that’s always been my goal in life in general!
8. She is thankful for the legacy of Billie Jean King (our hero of the moment!)…
I feel really proud to be in the position I am in today and to help the generation ahead of me. I had Billie Jean King who helped so much when I was a junior, she saw the generation coming up and she knew they would be the ones facing today’s world and she created this opportunity for us. I am so pleased to be part of the 40th Anniversary celebration of the WTA (which Billie Jean King was instrumental in setting up!).
Sugarpova is avaliable exclusively at Selfridges, £4.99 per pack
9. Her pre match beauty ritual consists of….
It’s so simple, it’s a pony tail and sun screen. I always practice outside so sunscreen is so important, if I had to get rid of everything from my beauty bag and only have one product left it would be sunscreen!
**10. Maria won’t be doing a ‘Victoria Beckham’ anytime soon. **
I have been really fortunate to be part of different collaborations (Maria is the face of Tag Heur) but at the end of the day I only just started Sugarpova last year, I want to build this into a world-wide brand. There are still so many countries I want to see it in. It’s import to keep my feet on the ground before exploring other areas.
It’s safe to say Maria is our girl crush of the moment. We will be your towel girls at Wimbledon next week Maria, for sure! Take a look at the gallery below to see Maria’s on court and off court style.
Sugarpova is available exclusively at Selfridges for £4.99 per pack.