Early this month, Maria Sharapova has signed a two-year contract with Tiffany & Co. to become the ambassador of the latest line of one of the world's biggest jewelers. This contract for endorsement is already the second for the tennis superstar this year as she already signed up with in Sony Ericsson for a four-year sponsorship agreement. Tiffany & Co. has sponsored Sharapova in the past but this is the company's first formal partnership with the Russian athlete.

As the World No. 1 in tennis, Sharapova will be wearing 8 sets of Tiffany & Co. earrings during the four Grand Slam tennis events for 2 consecutive years – Wimbledon and the U.S., French and Australian Opens.

The earrings Sharapova will be wearing in every event will go on sale at Tiffany & Co. at the same time and shall form part of the collection "Tiffany for Maria Sharapova".

The first set of earrings the three Grand Slam winner will wear are the 18K gold Wave earrings designed by Tiffany designer Elsa Perettiâ. She will be sporting the earrings at the French Open in Paris from May 25 to June 8, 2008.

Sharapova at the present is the richest Russian athlete and according to Forbes magazine in 2005, she is the highest paid female athlete in the world, bagging an average of US$18 million every year; although some value her yearly earnings to US$25 million. It is noteworthy that Sharapova's skills in tennis bring her US$2 million only and that majority of her income is brought by her endorsements.

When asked about her charm on advertisers, Sharapova had this to say - "Beauty sells. I have to realize that's part of why people want me. I understand it. It's fine. I'm not going to make myself ugly."

Her endorsement of Tiffany & Co. is another addition to the list of sponsors in the Sharapova team. She also promotes drinks, watches, sports gears, cell phones cameras, cars, and personal care products.

One interesting endorsement by Sharapova is her lifetime commitment of loyalty to Prince Sports, Inc., the only brand of tennis racket that she has used since she turned pro. Her 3-year deal with Land Rover is also rumored to value at $2 million annually. She is also one of the highest paid endorsers of Gatorade, which is paying her US$1 million a year. Her most stirring project so far was when she posed in bikini for a photo shoot for 6 pages in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2006.