Maria Sharapova of Russia returns the ball during her women's singles tennis match against Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, October 1, 2014. REUTERS/Jason Lee
Age: 27 Nationality: Russian Prize money: $2.4 million Endorsements: $22 millionAs of October 2014, Sharapova is ranked as the world no. 2 by the Women’s Tennis Association. Thus far, she has endorsements such as Nike, Head and she recently launched her own candy line Sugarpova. REUTERS

Maria Sharapova and Grigor Dimitrov are among the confirmed participants for the 2015 Brisbane International. The tennis couple joins reigning champion Lleyton Hewitt, 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, Kei Nishikori, 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic, and Sam Stosur. The tournament will run from Jan. 4 until Jan. 11 at Pat Rafter Arena in 2015.

Speaking via Brisbane International's official website, Sharapova said she was glad to have been able to compete in 2014. She said it was a great experience. "The fans were wonderful and the tournament organisation was great," Sharapova said. According to the Russian star, she was looking forward to playing in the Brisbane International and hopeful that she will be able to do better than her last participation.

Sharapova was slated make her debut at the 2012 Brisbane International. However, she has to pull out of the tournament due to her ankle injury. She was scheduled to start her 2013 season also in Brisbane, but she ended up withdrawing from the tournament citing a right collarbone injury. Sharapova was finally able to compete in Brisbane in 2014. She easily won in the early rounds and made it to the semifinals where she lost in straight sets, 6-2, 7(9)-6(7), to eventual winner Serena Williams.

Dimitrov, on the other hand, will be playing in Brisbane for the third time. The Bulgarian said that he has always been so excited to play and regards the tournament as one of the first big breakthrough tournaments for him. "To me, the ultimate goal is to win," Dimitrov said. "I love the tournament and I definitely want to win it one day, and why not next year," Dimitrov added.

Dimitrov played in the 2013 Brisbane International, where he reached his first Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles finals. He also became the first Bulgarian to reach an ATP final. In the finale, Dimitrov lost to Andy Murray in straight sets, 7(7)-6(0), 6-4.

Dimitrov began his 2014 season as the fifth seed in Brisbane, but he fell short of his goal to take the trophy because he was ousted in the second round of the tournament. He lost to Cilic in straight sets, 7-5, 7-5.

After Brisbane International, the next major tournament in Australia is the Australian Open. It is the first Grand Slam tournament of season, which will take place in Melbourne from Jan. 19 to Feb. 1.

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