US Open: The Leading ladies

1-Maria Sharapova (Russia)

Age 18

Grand Slam titles: One (Wimbledon 2004)

Sharapova became the first Russian woman to top the rankings this week and the new queen of women's tennis will be determined to live up to her billing in New York.

Tall, slender and elegant, Sharapova mixes a model's physique with thundering groundstrokes, a punishing serve and a desire born out of a tough childhood in industrial Siberia.

Although her build-up to the Open has been hampered by a chest muscle strain, she will come out firing when she begins her title charge.

US OPEN: THE LEADING MEN

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Photographs: AFP/Getty Images