The tennis star is hoping to promote her range of sweets in an unusual way at the US Open.
Some sporting name changes go down in history (Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali), some are just plain odd (Ron Artest to Metta World Peace) and some are just pure marketing. It seems that Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova’s latest idea definitely falls into the latter category.
The US Open gets underway next week and according to the London Times, an unusual name could be in the draw. The English paper reports that Sharapova is trying to legally change her name for a fortnight to ‘Sugarpova’.
That just happens to be the brand name of the Russian’s line of ‘premium gummy candy’, or sweets to you and me. The world No 3 also intends to wear the brand’s red lip symbol on her gear during the fortnight, if she lasts that long of course.
The authorities at the US Open will have to approve any name change too and for now the request is at a Florida Supreme Court. Sharapova is reported to intend to switch back to her more familiar name after the event, though if she manages to win the tournament, maybe she’ll stick with it.
