Maria Sharapova is spending her summer as an intern

Maria Sharapova was in New York City this month on a sports venture that had nothing to do with tennis or the U.S. Open.

As Sharapova prepares for her post-playing career, the Russian tennis star completed a three-day informal internship with the NBA in Manhattan, working closely with commissioner Adam Silver.

Sharapova is barred from the U.S. Open after testing positive for a drug — meldonium — that’s deemed a performance-enhancer and recently was placed on the WTA’s banned list. The two-year suspension currently is under appeal.

The 2006 Open champion attended several high-level meetings and met with executives for the NBA, WNBA and D-League. She was recommended for the internship by a friend, Sophie Goldschmidt, who formerly ran the league’s European office.

“She took part in many of our department meetings to learn about the NBA operations,” Mike Bass, a spokesman for Silver, told The Post. “She’s very smart, incredibly inquisitive about our process and initiatives.”

According to an NBA source, meldonium will be placed on the NBA’s banned list in time for the coming season.

Sharapova has kept busy since her ban, which began in June, diving into academia. She took a two-week class at the Harvard Business School in July and had an internship this summer at an ad agency and Nike.

She already is running one business, candy company Sugarpova. Her agent, Max Eisenbud, said she’s focused on a business career after she retires.

She will not be in New York during the Open.

Australian Open: Williams beats Hsieh 6-1, 6-2

At the Australian Open, Serena Williams is looking to defend her title while she also seeks a seventh crown at the year's first grand slam. There have been some concerns about her health as the highly dominant world number one has been bothered by her knee, but that would be hard to tell as she wipes the floor with Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei.  

Serena Williams

Williams has only fallen in the second round of a grand Slam tournament twice in her career. And to no one's surprises, the American takes a 5-1 lead in the opening set, and with that backhand winner she seals the first frame with ease.

Williams had 26 winners, including seven aces in the match. And that includes this big overhead as she looks to serve out the match. And Williams would wrap it up exactly on the one hour mark with a stylish ace. The top seed will face Russia's Daria Kasatkina next, an 18-year-old who was interestingly born the year before Williams' first Australian Open.

Fifth seeded Russian gets her 50th win at tournament

Ealier Maria Sharapova was taking on Aliaksandra Sasnovich, The audible Russian would take a 5-1 lead in the first set, but a bit of confusion would ensue here on her first serve when the unpire first awards the game to Sasnovich. Maria doesn't say a word, just stares him down and the ump quickly corrects himself, and Sharapova serves her second and later wins the set 6-2.

The second frame would be similar and Sharapova now has match point. Sasnovich returns long and the Russian takes it 6-1 for a straight sets victory. Sharapova, who won the title in 2008 and has reached three other finals, completed the win in 71 minutes and is moving on to the third round.

Chinese qualifier eliminated in second round

Chinese qualifier Wang Qiang had a sensational opening round upset over Sloane Stephens, taking on Anna-Lena Friedsam, and the German wins the first set 6-3.

Ties at 2-2 in the second, Wang comes in for the kill, but instead finds the net. On match point, a big serve from Friedsam and Wang pops it up, and the German takes it in straight sets.

China's Han Xinyue is facing Russia's Yulia Putintseva right now on the the court, and Putintseva is leading 3-2 in the first set. Earlier Italy's Roberta Vinci beat Irina Falconi 6-2, 6-3. Kateryna Bondarenko notched one of her biggest wins, beating two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 7-5.

Swiss reaches third round with 25 ace domination

To the men's side now where Roger Federer aces Alexandr Dolgopolov to take the first set 6-3. The 27 year old Ukrainian would put up more of a fight in the second, but Feds still takes it 7-5.

It would be all Roger in the third as the Swiss sends a winner down the line to win the match in straight sets on the back of a beastly 25 aces as he seeks a fifth title in Melbourne.

Seventh seed into 3rd round for sixth-straight year

Japanese hope Kei Nishikori came out on top of an awkward match with his practice partner Austin Krajicek to reach the third round at the Australian Open.

The 7th seed advanced but not before a second set struggle, which wins here in a tiebreaker. And the Japanese would finish the 1 hr 53 min match on Margaret Court Arena with an ace. Nishikori will play either Spain's 26th seed Guillermo Garcia Lopez or German qualifier Daniel Brands next.

And 6th seeded Tom Berdych would easily handle qualifier Mirza Basic 6-4, 6-0, 6-3. Marin Cilic took down Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4,6-3,7-6 and while David Goffin beat Damir Dzumhur in four sets.

Why does Maria Sharapova earn $10 million more in endorsements than Serena Williams?

Recently, a controversy involved in the disparity in endorsement pay between Serena Williams ($13 million) and Maria Sharapova ($23 million) hit a place where the debate is always respectful and reasonable: Twitter.

The argument goes that since Serena is so much better on the court than Sharapova, she deserves more money from companies, a belief so deluded and so at odds with everything we know about sports, entertainment and business that it boggles the mind. (Meryl Streep is the best actress, how dare she not get salary of a Jennifer Lawrence!)

And then the topic quickly turned to race, with the suggestion that Serena doesn’t earn more because she’s black, something that Michael Jordan, the all-time biggest sports endorser, and Tiger Woods, the most apt comparison to Serena (non-white star dominating a traditionally white sport), surely would scoff at.

Serena was asked about this, in a brilliant cover story for The New York Times magazine.

If they want to market someone who is white and blond, that’s their choice. I have a lot of partners who are very happy to work with me. I can’t sit here and say I should be higher on the list because I have won more. I’m happy for her, because she worked hard, too. There is enough at the table for everyone. We have to be thankful, and we also have to be positive about it so the next black person can be No. 1 on that list.

Serena sounds mostly gracious, as she should be. But the entire idea that someone who is better than someone else deserves more in endorsement money is preposterous. Look at Tiger Woods, ranked No. 266 in the world in a single sport but getting the third-most money in endorsements. It’s not outrageous because Tiger’s name still sells things, even if his game is in the toilet and his reputation is right there with it. The market doesn’t care.

Phil Mickelson is maybe the 20th best player in the game and there he is, right below Tiger. How can Phil sleep at night, with Brooks Koepka getting nothing even though he’s ranked five spots ahead of him! Kobe Bryant, who can barely jump anymore, brings in more four times the endorsement money than Chris Paul, another L.A. basketball hero. This is the way it goes in sports and business.

Look at Li Na, a female tennis player who was good for about a few years and earned $5 million more in endorsements than Serena when she was active, not because she was “white and blond” but because she was Chinese and American companies fall all over themselves to get their foot in the door in that untapped market.

There are so many extenuating circumstances that dictate why one athlete makes more in endorsements: a willingness to shill, worldwide appeal, better agents, being multi-lingual, playing a sport that is marketable. I mean, look at the NFL, in which stars barely make any money off the field. They play the most popular sport in America yet Rory McIlroy earns 10 time more in endorsements? He can barely throw a ball!

Is it fair that the best don’t earn the most? Yes. It’s not about being good, it’s about selling product. The bigger concern is that there are only two women (Sharapova and Serena) on the Forbes’ Top 100. But capitalism doesn’t concern itself with such things as equality. Green is all that will ever matter.

Sharapova, Serena, Rousey among Forbes' highest-paid female athletes

Maria Sharapova may sit a distant No. 2 to Serena Williams on the tennis courts, but the Russian star beat out her competitor on Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid female athletes for the 11th straight year, the magazine announced Wednesday. 

The five-time Grand Slam title-winning Sharapova earned $29.7 million in prize money and endorsements between June 2014 and June 2015. The 21-time Grand Slam title-winning Williams, who is looking to win her fourth Grand Slam title this year at the U.S. Open, earned $24.6 million.

Caroline Wozniacki came in third on Forbes' list with $14.6 million in earnings ($11 million of it off the court).

Tennis players dominated the list this year, as WTP pros comprised seven of the top 10 entrants.

The only newbie in the top 10 was MMA breakout Ronda Rousey, who punched in at No. 8 on a wave of publicity and endorsement deals with the likes of Reebok, Monster headphones and Carl's Jr.

#TBT: SERENA VS SHARAPOVA, WIMBLEDON '04

Eleven years ago on the pristine lawns of the All-England Club, a star - one of the biggest stars the WTA would ever see - was born, as Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon.

Published July 09, 2015 12:13

LONDON, England - Eleven years ago on the pristine lawns of the All-England Club, a star - one of the biggest WTA stars - was born. Maria Sharapova, who went into the fortnight as a 17-year-old, No.15-ranked up-and-comer, left as a Grand Slam champion, making headlines around the world.

She did come in on some grass court momentum - she won the lead-up tournament in Birmingham.

And round by round she kept building steam, taking out her first four opponents of the fortnight in straight sets, and after battling past Ai Sugiyama in three sets to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal, she then pulled off a massive surprise in those semis, beating Lindsay Davenport, 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-1.

She did it in dramatic fashion, too - she rallied from a 6-2, 3-1 deficit to make it past the American.

And then another American in the final. She took on Serena Williams, who wasn't just the No.1 seed, but the two-time defending champion too - she had won 20 straight matches at Wimbledon too.

But with nothing to lose and everything to gain, the No.13-seeded Sharapova swung away, storming through the first set, 6-1, and then rallied from 2-4 in the second set to outdo Williams, 6-1, 6-4.

"It's amazing, really," Sharapova would say after winning the first of her five Grand Slam titles.

"I'm absolutely speechless. I never, never in my life expected this to happen so fast. And it's always been my dream to come here and to win, but it was never in my mind that I would do it this year."

At 17 years and 2 months, Sharapova became the third-youngest Wimbledon champion in history after Lottie Dod (15 years and 9 months in 1887) and Martina Hingis (16 years and 9 months in 1997).

The victory propelled Sharapova into the Top 10, from No.15 to No.8. But she didn't want to stop there.

"I thought winning Wimbledon was just my dream. Now, of course, my goal is to be No.1 in the world."

SHARAPOVA: I KNOW MY LEVEL CAN BE THERE

Maria Sharapova gave Serena Williams all kinds of props after their Wimbledon semifinal, but the five-time Grand Slam champion and former No.1 knows she can turn the tide.

Published July 09, 2015 12:15

Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams

LONDON, England - It was competitive, especially the second set, but in the end Serena Williamswas just too good for Maria Sharapova, winning, 6-2, 6-4 - her 17th straight win over her longtime rival.

Sharapova met the press afterwards and gave all kinds of props to the World No.1's level of play.

"I never found myself in a position to break her today. I didn't get any looks at break points, so that was quite difficult," she said. "Her serve is one of her biggest strengths. That's one of the reasons she's in the position she's in today. She comes up with the goods from that serve when she's down. And obviously when she's ahead, it makes it a lot easier for her. That was definitely the case today."

What about beyond the serve - how did Sharapova feel about Williams in the rallies?

"I think she had better depth than I did on her shots. That certainly makes a big difference," the Russian said. "I think one of the things she does extremely well when she plays is takes herself from a defensive position into an offensive position again. I was not able to do that in today's match."

At the end of it all, though, Williams now leads Sharapova in their head-to-head, 18-2, and it's not Williams' only lopsided head-to-head - a round earlier she improved to 17-3 against Victoria Azarenka.

"I always expect her to play her best tennis against myself and a few other elite players," Sharapova said. "I don't think it's a secret. I think she knows against certain players she needs to bring out her best. The way that she plays Azarenka, myself, maybe a few others, she has to bring it on the line.

"You can't just produce your best tennis, but more. Obviously it hasn't happened for me."

What does she need to do to close the gap?

"A lot more than I'm doing," she said.

But it's not all negative - looking back at the entire fortnight, this was Sharapova's second time making the quarterfinals or better here in the last nine years, going along with the 2011 final, and by virtue of the result she'll now move back up to No.2 on both the WTA Rankings and the Road To Singapore leaderboard, the journey to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

"It's never easy to be the one on the losing end of an event, especially at Wimbledon, but to look at things in perspective, to see where I was a few weeks ago, I had no idea what my result would be here.

"But I expect myself to be a champion of these events. It's disappointing to come out a loser because I know my level can be there, and my level can be at the point of holding these championship trophies.

"I know that's what keeps me going forward."

SERENA BEATS SHARAPOVA AT WIMBLEDON

Serena Williams kept her dominance over Maria Sharapova going on Thursday, defeating her longtime rival in straight sets to reach her milestone 25th Grand Slam final.

Published July 09, 2015 12:15

Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova

LONDON, England - Serena Williams kept her dominance over Maria Sharapova going on Thursday, beating her longtime rival in straight sets to reach her milestone 25th Grand Slam final at Wimbledon.

Williams had beaten Sharapova 16 times in a row going in and with her legendary brand of power and accuracy extended that to 17 in a row, rushing out to a 6-2, 5-3 lead and, after Sharapova fought off a match point to hold serve for 6-2, 5-4, Williams calmly stepped up to the line and served it out.

The No.1-seeded Williams finished the No.4-seeded Sharapova off with a flurry of aces, 6-2, 6-4.

Williams finished the match with almost twice as many winners to unforced errors, 29 to 15.

"I'm really excited," the World No.1 told the BBC right after the match. "I was a little nervous out there. The semifinals of Wimbledon - it's been a long time since I've been this far in this tournament!

"I think Maria played really well. She stepped up her game, and I was able to step mine up as well. And it's the semifinals of Wimbledon - you never want to lose, and you want to do the best you can."

She's now into the 25th Grand Slam final of her illustrious career, putting together a 20-4 record in the first 24, winning six Australian Opens, three French Opens, five Wimbledons and six US Opens.

The four losses? Venus Williams twice (US Open in 2001 and Wimbledon in 2008), Sharapova once (Wimbledon in 2004) and Sam Stosur once (US Open in 2011). She's won her last seven major finals.

This one could be a little different, though. Awaiting her in this final is the No.20-seeded Garbiñe Muguruza, who beat No.13-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska in the other semifinal (read more here).

The Spanish WTA Rising Star has a win over Williams, too, a very famous one in fact - she beat her in the second round of the 2014 French Open, 6-2, 6-2, the worst Grand Slam loss of her entire career.

Williams leads Muguruza in the head-to-head, 2-1, including a win since that French Open stunner.

"She's beaten me before, and she's improved too," Williams said. "It's not going to be an easy match."

"It's the best final you can play," Muguruza said. "Serena in the Wimbledon final is the hardest match you can have. If you want to win a Grand Slam, when you dream, you say, 'I want Serena in the final.'

"She's one of the best players in all these years. So it's obviously the best challenge to have."