1 athlete in SI swimsuit edition: Sharapova

Russian tennis star follows in footsteps of Venus, Serena, Kournikova

Slide show

Maria Sharapova waves to the crowd as she's introduced for an exhibition tennis match in La Quinta, California

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	Love matches Take a look at a number of the players who found love -- at least temporarily -- with fellow tennis competitors.

updated 9:48 a.m. ET Feb. 17, 2006

NEW YORK - Maria Sharapova is the lone athlete in this year’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.

Sharapova, who won Wimbledon in 2004, is featured in photos taken in Turks & Caicos.

The magazine has featured athletes in the last nine editions, including tennis players Venus and Serena Williams and Anna Kournikova.

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This year's swimsuit edition features not one . . . not two . . . but eight supermodels on the cover. Veteran models Elle Macpherson, Rachel Hunter and Rebecca Romijn are joined by five newcomers.

A photo feature on the inside features Sharapova.

Although she enjoyed the photo shoot, Sharapova says she'll be sticking with tennis, because her personality comes out on center court.

SI readers can also get a look at actress Molly Sims wearing a skimpy, $30 million, 150-karat diamond bikini.