Sharapova to play in Family Circle Cup

The tall Russian tennis star has come a long way in the nearly four years since. Sharapova has just regained the world's No. 1 ranking.

She could lose her top ranking before the April 7-15 Family Circle Cup, but she'll still be the most marketable face in all of women's sports when she competes in the 35th annual Family Circle Cup.

The Post and Courier has learned that Sharapova has entered the Daniel Island tournament, giving the $1.3 million event five of the top six players in the world and four current or former No. 1 players. The 19-year-old blonde joins No. 2 Justine Henin-Hardenne, No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo, No. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 6 Martina Hingis. This group of players has won 15 Grand Slam titles and Kuznetsova is the lone member who hasn't tasted the No. 1 ranking.

Sharapova is fresh off of a runner-up finish in the Australian Open. Although she won only three games against Serena Williams in Saturday's final, it was Williams who gave Sharapova her breakthrough moment on the WTA Tour. That was the 2004 Wimbledon final when Sharapova did the unthinkable -- she defeated Williams.

Having matured to 6-2 in height, Sharapova has been women's tennis' covergirl ever since. And obviously, she has backed up her glamorous profile with success on the court. She became the world's top-ranked player in August of 2005, but lost the top spot after one week only to reclaim it two weeks later for another six weeks.

This time, Sharapova is a whopping 607 points ahead of Henin-Hardenne and more than a thousand points above Mauresmo. Thus, Sharapova isn't likely to lose the No. 1 ranking for awhile.

Sharapova didn't waste any time after the Australian Open final. She was already in Tokyo by Monday to compete in the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

Reach James Beck at jdbeck@postandcourier.com or (843) 937-5540.