Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova

Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova (Russian: rnikova; born June 7, 1981) is a tennis player. She is one of the best known tennis players, especially among those who do not follow the game. Anna was born in Moscow, Russia to Alla and Sergei Kournikov; her family later emigrated to the United States, and she currently resides in Miami, Florida.

Tennis career

Anna dazzled the world at age 13 and 14 in international junior tennis, winning several tournaments including the 1995 Italian Open. Anna Kournikova ended that year as Junior European Champion and Junior World Champion.

Kournikova debuted in professional tennis at age 14 in the Fed Cup for Russia, the youngest player ever to participate. At age 15, she reached the fourth round of the 1996 U.S. Open, only to be stopped by then-top ranked player Steffi Graf.

Anna was a member of the Russian delegation to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. As a 16-year old, she reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon. Kournikova’s first of two Grand Slam doubles titles came in 1999 at the Australian Open in the Women’s Doubles event with partner Martina Hingis, with whom she played frequently.

Kournikova proved a successful doubles player on the senior circuit, winning sixteen doubles titles, including two Australian Opens and being a finalist in mixed doubles at the US Open and Wimbledon, and reaching #1 in doubles in the Women’s Tennis Association tour rankings. Her career doubles record was 200-71. However, while she was ranked as high as #8 as a singles player at one point, she only reached the finals four times in 130 singles tournaments, never won one, and spent the bulk of her career ranked out of the top thirty. She had a record of 209-129 as a singles player.

In 2001 Kournikova had ankle surgery and in 2003 she had complicated back surgery, causing her to announce her retirement from the WTA tour.

Media publicity

Anna Kournikova on the cover of Maxim magazine in 2004.

However, much of Anna’s fame – more, many have argued, than she ever gained in her tennis career – has come from publicity surrounding her personal life as well as numerous modelling shoots. A number of her relationships with other celebrities, including romantic involvement (and even rumors of marriage) with pop star Enrique Iglesias (in whose video, Escape, she appeared) and with hockey star Sergei Fedorov (to which he admits), have featured prominently in the tabloid press.

Photographs of her scantily-clad form have appeared in various men’s magazines, including a much-publicized Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and other popular publications such as FHM and Maxim. Kournikova was named one of People’s 50 Most Beautiful People in 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2003. She has also been voted “hottest athlete” on espn.com and “sexiest woman in the world” by FHM readers. By contrast, ESPN - citing the degree of hype as compared to actual accomplishments as a singles player – ranked Anna 18th in its “25 Biggest Sports Flops of the Past 25 Years”.

Although she has retired from the WTA tour, she still plays exhibition matches for charitable causes. In late 2004 she participated in three events organized by Elton John and by fellow tennis stars Serena Williams and Andy Roddick. She played for Tsunami relief January 2005 with John McEnroe, Andy Roddick and Chris Evert.

Kournikova had a small role (as a motel manager) in the 2000 film Me, Myself and Irene, starring Jim Carrey.

She has recently announced a desire to pursue a career in acting.

Books

Anna Kournikova by Susan Holden (2001)
Anna Kournikova (Women Who Win) by Connie Berman