Born in the Soviet Union of paternal Ukrainian heritage, Kirilenko is a good friend to fellow WTA players Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, Ana Ivanović, Agnieszka Radwańska, and Marta Domachowska.
Maria Kirilenko started showing a passion towards tennis at age 5, but it was difficult to get practice in while still attending school. Her father enrolled her in a tennis school, and hours of training started to pay off as she won several tournaments.
When Kirilenko was twelve years old, an Honored Master of sports, Elena Brioukhovets, saw her while training. Brioukhovets watched Maria making progress offered to work with her. A three-year program was made and a special team was selected. In less than three years Maria became number one in her age group and number two in the 18 and under group. The well-known tennis-players who had created an organization supporting young tennis players included Yevgeni Kafelnikov, Andrei Olhovskiy and Max Mirnyi.
In 2002 Kirilenko became one of the youngest winners of the Canadian Open and the US Open Junior Tournaments.
In 2002, Kirilenko started participating in WTA events. She began moving up the rankings but was setback by an injury in 2004. At the end of 2005, she climbed back up the rankings and won her first title in Beijing. On 12 June 2006, she broke into the world's top 20 for the first time.
Kirilenko made her debut for Russia at the nation-based Fed Cup tournament in April 2006. In the World Group Quarter-Final tie against Belgium, Kirilenko lost her singles match against 2005 US Open champion Kim Clijsters, but partnering with Dinara Safina, won her doubles match against Justine Henin and Clijsters. However, Russia ended up losing 3–2.
At the 2006 US Open, Kirilenko was seeded 20th and reached the 3rd Round before losing to Aravane Rezaï.
Kirilenko is an aggressive baseliner, with both power and angle in her shots. She also has good speed around the court and can switch quickly between offensive and defensive play. Her forehand is her preferred shot, often setting up points and a great asset towards her game. Unlike many female players in recent years, Kirilenko is not afraid to come to the net. Her volleying skills are considered exceptional as she utilizes a drop volley, angled volley, and half volley all very well to quickly end the rally
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