Sharapova showcases her latest Nike dress... and..

It wouldn't go down very well at Wimbledon, but Maria Sharapova's 2011 Australian Open dress is already a huge improvement on what she wore in Melbourne last year.

The tennis ace signed an eight year contract with Nike worth £43 million in January, 2010 making her the world's most lucratively endorsed sportswoman.
This grey and orange dress with a racing back and adjustable straps, is one of the outfits from her 2011 Nike collection - which she helps to design.

Model tennis player: Maria Sharapova designs sportswear for Nike as part of a £43 million eight year deal

The Maria Sharapova Open Ace Women's Tennis Dress is already on sale for £57 on Nike's website.
It is unusually traditional for the tennis player who has a reputation for daring outfits.

 

She wore a strangely formal blue dress with a stripey green netting over the top in Australia last year, and has even surprised at Wimbledon - a tournament she won in 2004 when she was just 17 years old.

Although she she always wears white at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, last year Sharapova raised eyebrows by not wearing much underneath.
We will have to wait until the Open starts on Monday to see what the tennis player is wearing under her grey and orange dress this time - and her choice of accessories.

Big improvement: Even Sharapova does not look convinced by the Nike outfit she wore to last year's Australian Open

At the 2010 Australian open she accessorised her green dress with 18 karat gold Tiffany & Co.earrings worth £1,000.

This year, she might just stick to her sparkling new diamond engagement ring, rumoured to be worth £250,000.
In October the Russian got engaged to her boyfriend of one year, Serbian New Jersey Nets star Sasha Vujacic. They dated for about a year before he popped the question.

Centre court: Sharapova showing off her Wimbledon trophy in 2004 and... something else last year

Sharapova has always attracted as much, if not more, attention for her looks as for her tennis playing. Despite being placed No. 1 in the world four times.
The 23-year-old makes considerably more money as a model than as a tennis player.
Forbes estimates that last year Sharapova earned more than $24 million. Less than $700,000 of that came in prize money.




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