Tennis ace changes name to launch Sugarpova candy

Former world Number 1 tennis player, Maria Sharapova, will change her name to Sugarpova to promote her own sweetie brand from August 26 to September 9.

The sweets come in a dozen different varieties including flavours; Smitten Sour, Quirky and Sporty.

Dentsu and Red Antler created the packaging launched in New York in 2012 and the distributors are Empire Foodbrokers in the UK.

It is estimated almost 2 million bags of the sweets were sold last year, topping up Sharapova's yearly earnings to £15million.

The promotion will coincide with Sharapova’s involvement in the US Open tournament and will revert back to her real name afterwards.

The 26-year-old spent more than £300,000 setting up Sugarpova and the logo of her company is a pair of red lips.