Maria Sharapova exclusively opened up about 25 things you might know about her exclusively to Us — including the item she always travels with, the sentimental items she collects and her love for travel. Read on to learn more about the tennis pro and the Sugarpova candy creator.
1. I collected stamps and Beanie Babies when I was young. I’m pretty sure they’re still in my closet somewhere.
2. I have to take naps most afternoons to get through long days of training.
3. I love sweets. My current obsession is Sugarpova’s new line of all-natural gummies. Blue Raspberry is my favorite.
4. I’m constantly traveling. I spent only one full week at home this summer.
5. I couldn’t stop watching Chernobyl on HBO. I still can’t believe my mother was pregnant with me only 30 kilometers away when all of that was happening.
6. My passion is architecture/interior design, and if I had the time, I’d love to go to school for it.
7. My favorite gift to get is flowers.
8. I took two summer courses at Harvard Business School a few years ago.
9. My least-favorite workout is heavy weightlifting.
10. I love to travel — I’m planning to visit Africa and Cuba soon.
11. It took three years to build my home from the ground up, it was one of my favorite projects ever.
12. My favorite city in Europe is Amsterdam. I could live there, but only in the summer.
13. I don’t own any tennis memorabilia — well, except for my trophies.
14. My name in Russian is Masha. But when I moved to America, everyone pronounced it with an “r” — like Marcia, from The Brady Bunch. So I got ahead of it and used my nickname, Maria, instead.
15. My go-to karaoke song is “Believe” by Cher.
16. I’m a podcast nerd — I listen to one almost every day. My favorites are “WorkLife With Adam Grant,” “What It Takes” and NPR’s “How I Built This.”
17. I’m really not that good at other sports — especially Ping-Pong.
18. I love ballet and opera. One of the highlights of this year was seeing Aida at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia.
19. I own more than a dozen pairs of Nike Cortez sneakers. It’s my favorite style.
20. I love stand-up comedy. My boyfriend [Alexander Gilkes] and I love the work of Judah Friedlander.
21. I miss home cooking when I travel, especially my mother’s Russian pancakes with homemade cherry jam.
22. My least favorite color is purple. It just never looks that good on me.
23. I collect vintage rings. My favorite is my grandmother’s, which is rose gold with a red ruby.
24. I always travel with my own milk frother, just in case there’s a good coffee machine in the hotel room.
25. I’m obsessed with George Nakashima furniture.
