In pictures: Maria Sharapova dazzles in black suit at Porsche event in Paris

Former World No.1 and four-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova was seen attending the 50th Anniversary event of the Porsche 911 Carrera in Paris. She dazzled in a black suit from fashion designer Givenchy and sported a TagHuer watch on her wrist.

The Russian tennis icon has been a global brand ambassador for the German automobile manufacturer for almost a decade since she first signed with them in 2013.

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"I’m starting to understand that I had this incredible visual platform from a fan base for over 20 years" - Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova in action at the 2020 Australian Open.

Maria Sharapova stated that before she retired from the sport in 2020 that she used to interact with her fans in interviews and autograph signings through social media.

Now, speaking during an event for Web3, she said she can interact with her fans directly thanks to Web3.

"For me, it’s a little bit different because I retired a couple of years ago, and I’m starting to understand that I had this incredible visual platform from a fan base for over 20 years of my career where the fans got to see me compete and give interviews," she said.

"And so they were interacting with me but my only interaction with them was through social media essentially or some of the autograph sessions that I do, but they were very quick, and this world of Web3 allows me to have this interaction to them now following my career,” she added.

She recently opened up about the rising importance of social media over the last 15 years and how she took her time to get used to it. Using her own experience as an example, the tennis great is hoping to make things easier for women aiming to enter the Web3 space.

"I want to allow women to have a space where they experiment with Web3. For example, I was 17 when I won my first Grand Slam and social media was in no way part of that experience. It took years for me to get comfortable with social media over time. I think Web3 is also an area where one has to get out there in order to learn and grow from it," she said.

Sharapova has been highly active on social media over the years, and currently has over 4 million followers on Instagram and more than 8 million on Twitter. As her career progressed, Sharapova's off-court personality also drew a lot of attention along with her on-court performances.