Maria Sharapova - a star of women's tennis

With less than a month to go until the start of this year’s Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship, it’s time to take a look at some of the playersin contentionfor the most famous prize in tennis.

Roger Federer is the clear favourite toretainthe men’s’ title, with somebookmakersofferingoddsof 1-2 on another victorious campaign for the Swiss champion. The ladies’ event on the other hand is still very muchup for grabs. In fact, this year the ladies’ championship could be a moreattractive spectaclethan the traditionally dominant male event. So who are themain contendersin ladies’ tennis?

Thecurrentworld number one is Amelie Mauresmo from France. She won the Australian open in 2006, and reached the Wimbledon Doubles final last year. Although her busy tennis schedule doesn’t give her much time to relax, she doesn’twastewhat time she has. Amelie enjoys skiing, riding horses and listening to the music of Dido. She was also the first ever French woman to become world number one in September 2004.

World number two, Kim Clijsters, comes from a sporting family. Her father was a footballer, and was Belgium’s 1988 Player of the Year. Like Mauresmo, Kim enjoys playing sports and skiing in her free time, and her groups are Bon Jovi and Destiny’s Child. Thehighlightsof hercareerinclude winning the US Open in 2005.

One of the mostglamorousplayers is world number four Maria Sharapova. The Russian player began tennis at the age of four and then moved to the USA when she was nine. One of her main interestsoff the courtis fashion; she joined IMG Models, a modelling company, in September 2003.

Another Russian, Nadia Petrova,occupies third spot. She also comes from a sporting family - both her parents areathleticscoaches. Thisaggressiveplayer is sure to move up therankingsin 2006.

One player who is possibly less likely to win but is alwayswell-receivedat Wimbledon is Venus Williams. With her sister Serena, Venus has become one of the most famous players in modern tennis. She won the Wimbledon Singles title in 2000, 2001 and 2005, and the Wimbledon doubles, playing with her sister, in 2000 and 2002. Currently 13th in the world rankings, some think she may be past her best.