A former Wimbledon junior champion who uploaded a topless photo of herself on Instagram swapped the courts for the cameras by becoming a model.
Sofya Zhuk won't be a name familiar to many casual tennis fans. But the Russian babe looked destined for big things in 2015 when she landed the girls' singles title at SW19, aged just 15. Unfortunately, her dreams of a successful career in the sport came to an end before they ever really got going after she suffered a back injury.
Now aged 22, Sofya lives in Miami after becoming a model. The blonde beauty has never been afraid of showing off her toned body, and two years ago posted a topless photoshoot on her Instagram.
The former world no.116 posted a tasteful image of herself with her back to camera while she covered her breasts. The snap was liked by over 4,500 people, but it didn't go down well in all quarters.
Speaking to RT, the former tennis prodigy revealed she had received a backlash after sharing the snap and said she didn't understand why it attracted so many negative comments.
"I didn't quite get what was the big deal," she told the channel. "I posted a photo, so what? When I share something, I'm not trying to send any message. I'm just posting a picture that I like.
"But when I shared that [topless] photo, I received an avalanche of messages. Normally I wouldn't bother about them, but this [time] around they were so aggressive.
"I just think people simply can't accept that I've found myself outside tennis, that I can live happily without sport and not sinking into depression."
Sofya certainly seems to have found her calling away tennis. Although she no longer appears to be a model, the Russian heartthrob still loves posting gorgeous snaps of herself out and about in Miami.
Earlier this year, she shared a pic of herself wearing a tiny blue bikini and jean shorts which set pulses racing. Before that she posted a throwback image of her peachy bottom on Miami Beach.
In one of her post popular snaps, Sofya is wearing a fresh white bikini and leaning back on the balcony of a property in Miami. She is no strange to a good bikini pic - and who could blame her given temperatures in Magic City regularly exceed 30 degrees.
These days, the former Wimbledon junior champion works in exotic car rentals. Her Instagram certainly backs that up, with her feed littered of snaps of Sofya alongside some gorgeous motors.
Although Sofya appears to be loving her new life Stateside, it's impossible to wonder what might have been had she managed to stay injury free.
In a lengthy Instagram post, shared in April 2020, she revealed: "Every day I get questions about if I stopped playing tennis and why and when or if I will be back.
"I want to make it clear that I understand why you want to know and my answer is - I have not played for seven months now because for a few years I've been struggling with serious injuries and always had to play with lots of pain.
"I loved tennis but it got to the point where I wanted to be pain free and mentally be able to live freely and think about my health and future."
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