Maria Sharapova to change her name to promote candy brand Sugarpova

Moscow, Aug 20 (IANS)

MADRID, SPAIN – MAY 08: Maria Sharapova of Russia poses for a photo as she visits the Sugarpova stand during day five of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica on May 8, 2013 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova has planned to temporarily change her last name to ‘Sugarpova’ to promote her candy brand.

Sharapova has applied to the Supreme Court of Florida, in the United States, for the two-week name change during the upcoming US Open tournament as a way to draw more attention to her sweets line.

Besides necessary legal procedures, the top athlete will also have to get approval of the US Open organisers to get her new name displayed during the tournament, reports Xinhua.

The Sugarpova company was founded by the former World No. 1 player in 2012 with some $500,000 of her own capital. There are various flavours of the sweets, including labels such as “flirty” and “smitten”. The line has a pair of pink lips as the symbol.

The 26-year-old Russian blonde led Forbes’ list of highest-paid female athletes this year, earning $29 million between June 2012 and June 2013. Sharapova was on top for the ninth straight year. She received that money from tournaments prizes and sponsorship endorsement deals.