Tennis star Maria Sharapova at the Sugarpova Launch at Henri Bendel on August 20, 2012 in New York City. 
 
 Tennis star Maria Sharapova at the Sugarpova Launch at Henri Bendel on August 20, 2012 in New York City. 
 
 Tennis star Maria Sharapova at the Sugarpova Launch at Henri Bendel on August 20, 2012 in New York City. Close 
 
 Maria Sharapova learned so much promoting other people’s products in her first 10 years on the WTA tour that she decided it was time to start selling her own. 
 
 Sharapova this week introduced Sugarpova, her own candy brand comprising a dozen sweet and sour flavors with names such as Sporty, Cheeky and Flirty. The line of gummies is the result of experience Sharapova gained through sponsorships with companies such as Tag Heuer, Tiffany & Co. (TIF), Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) and Nike Inc. (NKE), the 25-year-old tennis player said at the product’s introduction in New York. 
 
 “I’ve learned so much from different brands, whether it’s advertising or marketing,” Sharapova said in an interview this week in New York. “Their knowledge kind of came together in my brain and it was that inspiration that led me here.” 
 
 With earnings from endorsements of $22 million in the year through June, Sharapova is the world’s highest-paid female athlete, according to Forbes magazine. Sharapova introduced the candy on Aug. 20, did an event with sponsor Danone SA (BN)’s Evian water the next day and was to spend time today with Nike unit Cole Haan, with which she has a shoe collection. 
 
 In between, she’ll prepare for the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 27 at the National Tennis Center in New York. Sharapova won the final Grand Slam of the tennis season in 2006, the second of her four major titles. 
 
 Photographer: Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Hamptons Magazine Maria Sharapova learned so much promoting other people’s products in her first 10 years on the WTA tour that she decided it was time to start selling her own. Close Maria Sharapova learned so much promoting other people’s products in her first 10 years... Read More Close Open Photographer: Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Hamptons Magazine Maria Sharapova learned so much promoting other people’s products in her first 10 years on the WTA tour that she decided it was time to start selling her own. 
 
 “The life of a tennis player is very short,” said 18-time Grand Slam champion Chris Evert, who retired in 1989 at age 34. “It’s smart to think early and make decisions early on regarding what you want to do once you retire, because the opportunities might not always be there.” 
 
 Top Earner 
 
 With total income of $27.9 million in the year through June, Sharapova has been the highest-paid female athlete for eight straight years, according to Forbes. 
 
 The 6-foot-2 (1.88 meter) right-hander has made $4.49 million in prize money this year and in June won the French Open to complete her career Grand Slam. 
 
 In July, she became the first woman to carry the Russian flag at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games and eight days later won a silver medal in London, losing in the final to Serena Williams of the U.S. 
 
 Sharapova said her off-court business interests, which also include fashion and jewelry, help her game. 
 
 “When I go back on the court, it keeps my mind fresh and energized,” she said. 
 
 The third-ranked player can better manage her schedule as she gets older and becomes more acquainted with business, said Max Eisenbud, her agent for 14 years, vice president of IMG Tennis and chief executive officer of Sugarpova. 
 
 Design Ideas 
 
 After she won Wimbledon in 2004, Sharapova dedicated about 15 days a year to eight-hour photo shoots with sponsors, Eisenbud said. That total is now much lower, though Sharapova’s room during tournaments remains littered with sketches for clothing and shoe lines, he said. 
 
 Sharapova tops the earnings league without having reached the elite level of endorsers in the U.S., where she’s known by about 44 percent of the public, said Matt Fleming, a senior account manager at the Dallas-based Marketing Arm. By contrast, 91 percent are aware of Williams, he said. 
 
 “Winning another U.S. Open title will help her,” Fleming said in a telephone interview. “As will being relevant outside of the tennis world. The launching of the candy company may be a starting point for that.” 
 
 Strength, Femininity 
 
 Awareness of Sharapova -- Bing.com’s most-searched-for athlete last year -- is probably higher in countries other than the U.S. where tennis is more popular, said Evert, a tennis analyst for ESPN. Much of Sharapova’s appeal comes from her ability to balance power and strength with femininity, according to Evert. 
 
 “Plus she has business savvy and smarts when it comes to which products to choose and how much time to give,” Evert said in a telephone interview. 
 
 Jeff Rubin, a Sugarpova business partner and the creator of FAO Schweetz and Dylan’s Candy Bar, said he was impressed by Sharapova’s involvement during the brand’s 18-month development. 
 
 “She demanded to taste the product for quality assurance, helped with the packaging design, she’s been involved from the beginning in every aspect of its creation,” Rubin said. 
 
 She introduced her candy line at Rubin’s IT’SUGAR store in Manhattan this week. 
 
 Sharapova invested “a few hundred thousand dollars” in Sugarpova, which may expand into cosmetics, fragrances and other products, said Eisenbud. 
 
 “I really wanted to be involved in something from the beginning to the end, I wanted to own it 100 percent,” Sharapova said. “It’s fun seeing it actually on the shelf.” 
 
 To contact the reporter on this story: Eben Novy-Williams in New York at enovywilliam@bloomberg.net 
 
 To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "I did fail the test and take full responsibility for it," said Sharapova at a news conference in Los Angeles 
 
 Sponsors have moved quickly to distance themselves from Maria Sharapova after the five-time Grand Slam tennis champion admitted failing a drug test. 
 
 Nike has suspended its relationship, while Tag Heuer has cut its ties. 
 
 Nike said it was "saddened and surprised" at her admission that she tested positive for a banned substance at the Australian Open in January. 
 
 Ms Sharapova said she had been taking meldonium since 2006, on the advice of her family doctor. 
 
 She is one of the highest paid female athletes with earnings of over $30m last year from winnings and endorsements. 
 
 In addition to the moves from Nike and Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer, German carmaker Porsche said it was "postponing planned activities" with Ms Sharapova until the situation became clearer. 
 
 Nigel Currie, an independent sports consultant, said brands would not have responded so quickly five years ago, but they now have to react faster in the modern, social media environment. 
 
 "They are paranoid about their image, and the slightest risk to their image, they run to the hills." 
 
 Are Sharapova and sponsors heading for break point? 
 
 Sharapova case: How athletes have fallen foul of the rules 
 
 Sharapova's drugs test announcement polarises opinions 
 
 How Sharapova's drugs admission sparked a race row 
 
 Nike 'monitoring situation' 
 
 Maria Sharapova's relationship with Nike dates back to when she was 11 years old. 
 
 Nike said: "We have decided to suspend our relationship with Maria while the investigation continues. 
 
 "We will continue to monitor the situation." 
 
 In 2010, the 28-year-old Russian tennis player signed a new eight-year contract with the US sportswear giant worth $70m (£49m) as well as a cut on sales of her own branded clothes. 
 
 Image copyright Dan Kitwood/Getty Images 
 
 Tag Heuer was in talks to extend its deal with Ms Sharapova, which ran out at the end of last year. 
 
 But the Swiss watchmaker said those talks had now been suspended and the company had decided not to renew the contract. 
 
 In 2014, Porsche named her as its first female ambassador and she signed a three-year deal with the car company. 
 
 That contract is due to end at the end of this year. 
 
 In a statement, the carmaker said: "We are saddened by the recent news announced by Maria Sharapova. Until further details are released and we can analyse the situation, we have chosen to postpone planned activities." 
 
 Ms Sharapova is also the face of Avon perfume, Luck, and the water company Evian. They have yet to comment on the matter. 
 
 Sponsors 'burned' 
 
 Paul Swangaurd, from the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon, said Nike's decision reflected a "new era" for the way sponsors deal with these issues. 
 
 Nike is taking a "very proactive approach", which resulted from "them being burned by a lot of athletes over the years, and growing impatient with putting so much investment behind athletes that potentially comes back to bite them in the court of public opinion". 
 
 Last month, Nike dropped Manny Pacquiao after the boxer said homosexual people were "worse than animals". 
 
 The company also severed ties with cyclist and drugs cheat Lance Armstrong as well as athlete Oscar Pistorius, who killed his girlfriend. 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Maria Sharapova is a brand ambassador for Porsche 
 
 Failed test 
 
 Ms Sharapova tested positive for meldonium, a substance she said she had been taking since 2006 for health issues. 
 
 The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said she would be provisionally suspended from 12 March. 
 
 Ms Sharapova said: "I did fail the test and take full responsibility for it." 
 
 She said she had taken meldonium after being given it by her family doctor and had known the drug by the name mildronate. 
 
 "A few days ago, after I received a letter from the ITF, I found out it also has another name of meldonium, which I did not know," she said. 
 
 What is meldonium? 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Professor John Brewer says the drug is usually used to treat heart conditions 
 
 It is meant for angina patients but athletes like it because it helps their endurance and ability to recover from intensive exercise. 
 
 It is on the banned list now because Wada started seeing it in lots of samples and found it does have performance-enhancing properties. 
 
 It was on Wada's 'watchlist' for over a year and added to the banned list on 1 January. 
 
 Made in Latvia, it is widely available - without prescription and at low cost - in many east European countries, but it is not licensed in most western countries, including the United States. 
 
 It is thought that hundreds of athletes have been using it and there are a lot more cases in the pipeline.
– Maria Sharapova is taking the logical next step for a star athlete: Launch a line of … candy. She introduced Sugarpova this week, Bloomberg reports; the line of sweet and sour gummy candies has flavor names like Sporty, Cheeky, and Flirty. Sharapova, 25, has long been endorsing products for other companies, leading to her Forbes ranking as the highest-paid female athlete in the world for eight consecutive years. "I really wanted to be involved in something from the beginning to the end, I wanted to own it 100%," Sharapova says. Adds a business partner, "She demanded to taste the product for quality assurance, helped with the packaging design, she’s been involved from the beginning in every aspect of its creation." The candy line may eventually expand to include other products like cosmetics and fragrances.