Anna Kournikova

Name: Anna Kournikova
Birth Name: Anya Sergeyevna Kournikova
Height: 5 feet, 8 ¼ inches (1.73 m)
Sex: Female
Nationality: Russian
Birth Date: June 7, 1981
Birth Place: Moscow, Russia
Occupation: Athlete, Model
Education: Russian high school (graduated in 1997); Physical Culture Russian University (started in September 1997)
Relationship: Enrique Iglesias (musician; dating since 2002; rumored to have married in secret Mexico ceremony December 2004); Sergei Federov (NHL hockey player; married in 2001; union made public after divorce), dated Pavel Bure (NHL hockey player)
Father: Sergei Kournikova, an athlete who wrestled professionally and coached tennis part-time
Mother: Alla Kournikova
Claim to fame: The often downloaded tennis star reached the fourth round of the 1996 US Open, only to be stopped by world no. 1, Steffi Graf, when she was only 15 years old.
Facts: At age 14, became the youngest player to compete and win in Fed Cup competition in the first tie of 1996, helping Russia defeat Sweden 3-0. Ended 1999 as the world's No. 1-ranked doubles player; stretched world No. 2 Martina Hingis to three sets in the quarterfinals of 2000 Hamburg, and won the doubles title. Semifinalist at 2000 Sydney with wins over Sabine Appelmans, Jennifer Capriati and Alexandra Stevenson. Retired from professional tennis in March 2004 after chronic back trouble hindered her games.
Awards: Kournikova's first Grand Slam title came in 1999 at the Australian Open in the Women's Doubles event with first-time partner Martina Hingis. Kournikova never won a WTA singles title but won 16 doubles WTA titles, including three Grand Slams. Kournikova was named one of People Magazine's 50 most beautiful people in 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2003. In 2003, readers of FHM magazine voted Anna the sexiest woman in the world.
Facts: Collects dolls from every country she visits. Has a tattoo of a sun design on her lower back, which made its "debut" at the 2003 Australian Open.
Filmography: Actress
• Me, Myself & Irene (2000)


This world-famous tennis player was born as Anya Sergeyevna Kournikova in Moscow, Russia, June 7, 1981. Anna is a world class star professional tennis player with a lean athletic body that is truly distracting. Anna's parents who travel with her, are Alla and Sergei, and they refer to her as "Murzik," which means "my little pet" in Russian.

Her father Sergei, a lecturer at the sports university in Moscow and a part-time tennis coach, and mother Alla, did not encourage Anna to play tennis for the fame, but rather for the health benefits of the sport. At age five, Anna received her first tennis racquet when her parents sold their TV to buy her a present for Christmas. In 1997, she graduated from a Russian high school.
While still in Moscow, Anna's first tennis coach was Larissa Preobraschenskaja, who taught her from 1985 to 1989. She began playing at Soklniki Park in Russia and was accepted as a member of the very selective Spartak Tennis Club. At the tender age of eight, Anna competed in the juniors and was beginning to be a well-watched athlete in Russia. At nine years old, she was spotted playing in the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, and was offered the chance to train at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
In 1992, 11-year-old Anna moved to Florida with her mother to attend the renowned Tennis Academy in Bradenton. The tennis facilities made it easier for Anna, who had to commute from the gym to the tennis court to school while living in Moscow.

When Anna was just 13 years old she made it to the finals of the Rolex Orange Bowl tournament. She lost to 18 year old Spaniard Marion Ramon but revenge for Anna would come as soon as the next year. Anna made it all the way to the finals again and there she defeated Sandra Nacuk of Yugoslavia.
At 14, Anna became the youngest player ever to win a Fed Cup match and captured the European Championships and Italian Open juniors. At the close of 1995, she was ranked number 1 and crowned as ITF Junior World Champion. Her record indicated that she was ready to hit the professional circuit.

Anna turned pro on October 1995, at a time when most kids her age were just discovering the ninth grade. Since turning pro, however, the matches haven't been easy. Expectations were high and Kournikova delivered: she reached the fourth round in the 1996 US Open, only to be stopped by world no. 1, Steffi Graf. That same year Anna was a member of the Russian delegation that participated in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. As a 16-year old, she reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 1997.
1998 was a big year for the blonde beauty: Anna became the first Russian female to be seeded at the U.S. Open since 1976, reached the Top 10 of the singles rankings, and upset Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals at the 1998 German Open, becoming the ninth-youngest player to defeat a number 1 tennis player before turning 17 (since 1968).

The next year, Kournikova won her first Grand Slam doubles title at the 1999 Australian Open, with partner Hingis. Kournikova managed to reach the fourth round in singles at all three Grand Slams, two Grand Slam doubles finals and one Grand Slam mixed doubles final.
While consistently ranked in the top 20 in the WTA tour rankings, she never won a professional singles tournament (although she made the semi-finals and finals of many).

In 2000, Kournikova and Hingis continued to play frequently as doubles partners, and ended the season with a career ranking of No. 8. Anna even defeated Lindsay Davenport and Nathalie Tauziat on the way to the fifth semifinal of that year, in San Diego. She later moved down the rankings to No. 19 and beat Sandrine Testud before eventually losing to Venus Williams. At the German Open held last May 2000, Anna experienced the first in what would become a string of injuries.
Kornikova continued to make appearances in high-profile tournaments, drawing in big crowds but unluckily, not as many titles or wins. Perhaps the most heavily sponsored and marketed female athlete in sport today, Anna ranks as one of the biggest draws on the entire tennis tour, commanding Standing-Room-Only crowds for her Grand Slam appearances and often selling out exhibitions from Mahwah, N.J. to Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The following year she had ankle surgery and in 2003 she had complicated back surgery. Although she is no longer playing on the WTA tour due to these injuries, she still plays exhibition matches for a good cause. In late 2004, she participated in three charity events organized by Elton John, good friend Serena Williams and Andy Roddick.

After 2003's Australian Open, she suffered a back injury that led to her withdrawal from that year's Wimbledon games. Even though Kournikova hasn't been on the tennis scene, she's still everywhere else – in ads, billboards and magazine covers.
In 2001, Kournikova had a bit part in the Jim Carrey comedy, Me, Myself & Irene, as a motel manager. The following year, she starred opposite Enrique Iglesias in the pop singer's music video for "Escape." She has been dating the Spanish singer since 2002 and in December 2004 it was widely reported, but not confirmed, that Kournikova had married Iglesias in Mexico. A number of her relationships have been featured prominently in the tabloid press, and photographs of her scantily-clad form have appeared in various "men’s magazines," including a much publicized Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She was named one of People Magazine's 50 most beautiful people in 1998, 2000 and 2002 and was voted hottest athlete for consecutive years on espn.com. In 2003, readers of FHM magazine voted Kournikova the sexiest woman in the world. FHM's "Sexiest Woman in the World" also made headlines thanks to her relationships with fellow Russians Pavel Bure (who is a Florida Panthers hockey player in the NHL) and Sergei Fedorov (whom she was allegedly married in 2001), as well as her on-again, off-again romance with Iglesias.

Anna has also proven her earning power by being one of the richest women in sports, thanks to lucrative contracts with companies such as Adidas, Yonex, Berlei (the sports bra), Omega (also the choice of Cindy Crawford and Pierce Brosnan), and Lycos (the web portal that named her the Internet's most-searched athlete in 2000, moving Michael Jordan to the No. 2 spot). Since a contract with Adidas depended on victories and high rankings, she didn't reach her market potential, but she is reportedly raking in $3 million with the athletic wear manufacturer. Now considered as the world’s highest paid female tennis player with her million-dollar endorsements, Anna has certainly come a long way from the days when her parents could hardly afford to buy her a tennis racket.
By 2002, she was reportedly making $10 million a year, and she continues to be the most photographed and recognizable woman in sports -- even though her ranking and stats are nothing to write about. In fact, Anna’s rankings slumped to 70th in the female singles ranking, but she has posed in more magazines and generates more buzz than players who rank from 1 to 10.

Also stretching her modeling muscle, this talented tennis player graced the cover of Sports Illustrated's June 2000 edition, and was featured in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Edition in 2004. Although she wasn’t a strong force on the courts, Anna still claims that her top dedication in life remains the sport that made her famous: tennis. However, her fame has less to do with Anna’s accomplishments on the court and has more to do with her sex appeal, attitude and antics. Anna has raised the profile of the ladies game to new levels, and she is a major global celebrity, with a lifestyle to match her supermodel looks. Not only does she remain one of the top searches on the Internet, someone even named a widespread virus in her honor, which wreaked havoc on the World Wide Web in 2001.
Anna Kournikova isn't just a tennis player or a pretty blonde model. Anna has become an icon; a symbol of modern society's values; a tool used to entice otherwise indifferent men (and women too, surprisingly enough) to women's tennis -- the "lite" version of the testosterone-driven men's tennis tour.
For now, we will have to settle for seeing Anna on billboards and in magazines, at least until she returns to the courts, as she has been enjoying a semi-retirement due to chronic lower back pain. Kournikova last competed professionally in April 2003.