Maria Sharapova’s favourite black dress! Tennis star reveals her favorite outfit

Maria Sharapova’s iconic dress at the 2006 US Open. Pic/AFP

Former World No. 1 tennis star Maria Sharapova, 39, revealed that the iconic black dress she wore en route to winning the 2006 US Open was the result of a battle between Nike's designers.

In the latest episode of her podcast, Pretty Tough with Maria Sharapova, she said: "It was a ‘design-off.' They asked three designers to design a night-match outfit. It was the first time a player had different dresses for a day and night match."

The Russian had described the outfit as "one of my favourites" after winning the title.