Russian superheroine and part-time tennis champion Maria Sharapova has signed an endorsement deal with Samsung Electronics for the promotion of that company's cellphone, tablet, and TV products. While the contract is only for her native country and the Commonwealth of Independent States, her agent has told Bloomberg that it could expand to become global next year.

Sharapova has been a very active endorser of all things mobile, having previously been part of the Digital Sharapova Experience in aid of Motorola's mobile products and subsequently promoted Sony Ericsson's wares with unboxing videos and public appearances. Now she's upgraded to Samsung. It's a good match for her, but we're not sure Samsung is making the best choice here — Motorola's in the process of selling itself whole to Google and Sony Ericsson no longer exists as an independent entity, do you really want the same brand ambassador as those two companies when you're preparing to launch your most important smartphone ever?