Maria Sharapova Splurges Big Time

Maria Sharapova is a vision in a brown Lanvin dress with black sleeve to mask her shoulder injury during the launch party for Canon PowerShot held at South Street Seaport in NYC.

The 6’2” tennis phenom towers over everyone with her inches-adding Giuseppe Zanotti heels. She’s blinging thanks to Tiffany, and it’s a perfect fit because the lenses of these cameras are accented with three diamond circles.

It’s just another day for the highest-paid female athlete, 21, who raked in $26 million this year.

“My biggest splurge ever in my career is being able to fly on a private plane,” she tells me. “Especially as an athlete, it makes your life so much easier to be able to finish your match, call up NetJets and you’re like ‘I need a plane in a few hours, and I’m going here and here’ whereas on other things you have to wait for availability, if the seat’s available, what time it is. That’s been probably the best luxury that I could have as a tennis player.”

The blonde beauty won’t fess up to dating or celebrity crushes, but she will tell me what she looks for in a man.

“Just like any other woman, I want them to be their normal self, I want them to have their own life and to respect the business that I’m in,” she says. “Obviously, understand that it’s going to be a long-distance relationship but the charm and the characteristics of them being funny is always intriguing.”

Even Greatest American Dog host Wendy Diamond brings her pooch out to celebrate. Lucky gets the star treatment as she’s placed into Maria’s arms before she heads back into the dog carrier that doubles as a black purse.

Time to head inside to enjoy vegetable dumplings, chicken on a stick and chillied shrimp with avocado. Mmm.