Maria Sharapova

“I learned there's a big difference between juniors and the pros.”

“I have had lots of luck in my career but there has also been a lot of hard work.”

“I love yoga. I do yoga when I have time, which is not very often.”

“The more matches I play, the more confident I get.”

“When I need to push myself, I think of all those nicely polished trophies waiting to be lifted up by the winner - and how that winner might be me.”

“I love getting consumer reports. I think it's one of my favourite things, studying what people have to say about the product and then trying to make it better.”

“Sometimes I feel my arm is like a swan's neck - so weak.”

“I want my tennis to speak for everything.”

“I love jotting down ideas for my blog, so I doodle or take notes on all kinds of stuff that inspires me: the people I meet, boutiques I visit, a florist that just gave me a great idea for an interior-design project, things like that.”

“I don't worry about what my opponent is doing.”

“If I'm nervous, it means I had to work hard to get there, whether it's playing in a tournament or speaking at an event. So I try to stop and be proud of getting to live in that moment.”

“I spent a whole year when I was injured just trying to get my arm back to the point where I could hit a tennis ball for more than 30 minutes a day. I'd hit for 15 minutes and it would feel as if my arm was going to fall off.”

“My main goal is to stay healthy because when you're injured you realise how lucky you are to have your health.”

“Whether you win a match or lose a match, in terms of your emotions, it's important to be pretty levelheaded.”

“When I'm down or maybe when it's close in the match, I feel like I'm still in it. I don't feel like I'm letting down. Mentally, I'm still really, really tough.”

“I'm not the next anyone, I'm the first Maria Sharapova.”

“If I loved a guy as much as I love my dog, the guy would be in serious trouble. Because I'm all over that dog, all the time.”

“I'd like to have a family.”

“I love to collect modern art.”

“I'm an athlete. I go out there and fight my heart out.”