She is one of the world’s most successful female athletes.

With a clutch of major tennis titles – including a Wimbledon singles victory – under her belt and £20million in the bank, Maria Sharapova knows a thing or two about winning.

A combination of model girl looks and raw tennis talent have made her a sporting sensation.

And despite a string of lucrative advertising contracts, the 23-year-old is still keen to win on as well as off the court.

Now, as she prepares for a Wimbledon comeback, she is hoping to motivate others to follow in her footsteps.

Maria has been working with the UK’s Lawn Tennis Association to try and inspire young women from all walks of life to take up tennis – and to help find the British Sharapova of the future.

As she arrives for our interview and is quickly surrounded by hundreds of adoring fans, it’s clear she is already a real role model for our players.

But with so many young British tennis stars still not fulfilling their sporting potential, she hopes to motivate them further.

As she says: “Tennis has given me this wonderful life and I’m very grateful for it.

“There is so much new talent out there too and we have to find ways to nurture it and to encourage young girls to make the best of their abilities. I have had lots of luck in my career but there has also been a lot of hard work.

“It’s been about commitment and training. So when I go to Wimbledon, or any other tournament, I go there to win and to play great tennis because that is what I’ve worked for.

“Sometimes I’m still amazed at what I’ve been able to achieve. Sometimes I open my eyes and it’s like,’wow’.”

Maria’s rise to the top is the stuff of tennis legend.

Born in a remote area of Siberia, her dad, Yuri, spotted her natural talent as she played with a friend’s sawn-down racquet.

Scraping enough money together to pay for the then four-year-old to have lessons, he took her to an exhibition tournament in Moscow when she was just six, where she was spotted by legend, Martina Navratilova.

“She saw something that made me stand out from all the girls that were there,” she says.

“I was very competitive in everything that I did – that was just my character – so tennis suited me well.

“There were hundreds of girls there so I still don’t know what made her pick me out but I’m very glad she did.

“But maybe she saw that I wanted to succeed.”

Today, dressed down in linen shorts, striped vest and gladiator sandals – a pair of glittering diamond earrings the only hint at her wealth – she adds: “Martina told my dad we should do something about my playing – take it further. It was a great piece of advice and a great thing to hear at that age.”

Keen to further his daughter’s career, Maria’s dad moved with her to America when she was seven. They couldn’t afford to take her mum with them so they lived apart for the next two years.

“It was a huge step,” she says sadly. “But that was the only way. Tennis wasn’t that big a deal in Russia then.”

Enrolled in a specialist tennis school, she worked hard in the day, despite famously being bullied by some of the older girls there, and kept up her studies at night.

“I spent lots of days practising for eight hours a day, in the Florida sunshine,” she smiles. “I would study Russian after dinner and English and mathematics as well, so I was very busy. But without that level of dedication you won’t make it.

“Your mind has to be focused on that one thing – and for me that was tennis. That’s my thing and it was what I wanted to do more than anything in the world.”

Competing in her first tournament at nine, she went on to win her first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon in 2004, aged just 17, beating American star Serena Williams.

It’s only now she realises what a huge victory that was. “When you are that young you don’t realise the significance of what you’re doing,” she laughs.

“You just keep on training and competing, then one day you open your eyes and something amazing has happened.

“It’s only now I really understand how big that was.”

Since then she has enjoyed even greater success and become a truly international star.

But in the last couple of years a shoulder injury has taken its toll and she has had to rebuild her form after a gruelling operation to put it right.

“It’s always tough when you lose – you’ve worked so hard for that moment and it hasn’t gone the way you wanted,” she says.

“But you have to realise there’s always a bright side, you have to pick yourself up and get ready for the next game.

So, as her preparations for Wimbledon which begins on June 21 pick up pace – her pre-match ritual is to have a bowl of plain pasta then read a book – what advice does she have for today’s young hopefuls? A group of girl players –

Jessica Buchanan, Charlotte Murphy, Freya Siggerson, Kesia Schofield, Chelsey Venner, Aby Jackson and Annabel Lyle, all aged between eight and 10, have come to Cotteridge Park, in Birmingham, today, to find out.

They’ve all benefited from a local LTA scheme to offer tennis sessions for £1 and they’re keen to know what got Sharapova started.

“Well I loved sport but I liked tennis because it was a solo game,” she tells them. “I wanted to do that rather than be in a team, it suited my competitive nature.” Several others want to know her advice to aspiring tennis stars?

“You have to think like that to be the best. You have to give it all your attention and all your drive.”

And what, they want to know, does she plan to do next? “My main goal is to stay healthy because when you’re injured you realise how lucky you are to have your health. I’ve got Wimbledon coming up and I’m really looking forward to it,” says the former champ.

“I love Wimbledon, it’s really special – and it’s so great to be in that atmosphere. All I want to do is go out there and play some great tennis.”

With drive and ambition like that, we’re sure she will.

Why tennis is so ace

It’s sociable

You can’t play tennis on your own, so get your friends into it and make it a reason to get together regularly. Or if you can’t find anyone to play with, join a tennis club and make a whole new social circle.

See Get Involved, below, to find your nearest club.

It keeps you fit and healthy

Tennis not only gets you outside in the fresh air in summer, it’s also perfect for all round body fitness. It burns fat, stops weight gain, increases strength and agility, and improves your aerobic fitness.

It’s fun

Being a competitive sport, you’ll be more motivated to stick with it because you won’t want to let anyone down by cancelling a game. Plus, it’s a really fun way to stay in shape.

It’s a brain booster

Tennis requires focus; you have to anticipate your opponent’s moves, work out angles of shots and build a game strategy, so you’re exercising your brain as well as your body.

You’ll get the feel-good factor

It reduces stress and generates feel-good hormones. It increases energy levels and self-esteem, too, so you walk away from a game feeling on top form.

Get involved

Stars such as Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams prove that tennis really is a sport that women can excel at. To find local tennis facilities & clubs, visit www.lta.org.uk/playtennis.

Club membership costs on average £2.50 a week for adults, less than £1 for juniors and there are thousands of park courts that offer free tennis or affordable per-hour rates.

If traditional tennis isn’t for you, many clubs now offer Cardio Tennis, a tennis based workout set to music that’s suitable for players of all abilities.