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It looks like the announcers at the US Open won’t be shouting “Sugarpova” after all.
The Times of London had reported that Maria Sharapova was considering changing her name to that of her candy company for the tennis Grand Slam, but her agent, Max Eisenbud, told ESPN on Tuesday that she ended up deciding against it.
"Maria has pushed her team to do fun, out-of-the-box-type things to get the word out about Sugarpova," Eisenbud told ESPN. "In Miami, we're going to fill a glass truck full of candy and drive it around town. This was an idea that fell along those lines. But, at the end of the day, we would have to change all her identification, she has to travel to Japan and China right after the tournament and it was going to be very difficult."
ESPN reports that to change her name, the Russian citizen who has a green card and resides in Florida, “would have had to file a name change petition in the state, submit fingerprints, have a background check and have a hearing before a judge. If the judge signed an order, the name change would be official.”
Yahoo! Eurosport reported that “even with legal blessing she would likely also need the permission of the Grand Slam committee in order to see the thing all the way through, which would mean having stadium announcers, the umpire and even the scorecards address her as ‘Miss Sugarpova’ or ‘M. Sugarpova.’”
Sugarpova is a premium line of gummies, sours, licorice and gum. Each flavor is sold in a stand-up bag, and the packages all feature lips meant to represent the different sides of Sharapova. Some of the flavors include Flirty: Gummy lips; Flirty sour: Gummy lips, hearts and stars; Cheeky: Gummy bears.
The 2013 US Open is Aug. 26-Sept. 9. Sharapova won the Grand Slam in 2006.
