Anna Kournikova

• Anva (Anna) Kournikova was born on June 7, 1981 in Moscow, Russia to Alla and Sergei Kournikova.

•  Anna started playing tennis at age five and soon began to enter competitions (she received her first tennis racquet as a Christmas present from her parents).  Her talent was noticed early and she soon bgan playing at the exclusive Spartak Tennis Club and was coached by Larissa Preobraschenskaja.  At nine years old, she impressed people on an international level when she competed in the ATP tour when it came to Moscow.

• In 1992, at age 11, she moved to Bradenton, Florida so she could be coached by Nick Bolletierri at his tennis academy.

• At age 14, she was the youngest player to win the Fed Cup. She followed this up by also winning the European Championship and the Italian Open for the junior bracket.  By the end of 1995, she was ranked number one in the Junior Circuit (ITF Junior World Champion) and was ready for the big time.

• In 1996, she reached the fourth round in the U.S. Open (her first Grand Slam tournament) and reached the semifinals the following year at Wimbledon. She also played on the Russian Olympic Tennis Team that year.

• When she paired up with Martina Hingis for the 1999 Australian Open, they came home with the Grand Slam Doubles title.  She also managed to reach the fourth round of three Grand Slam singles tournaments.

• By 2000, she was dominating most female pros, and ended the season ranked 8^th in the world.

• In 2001, she began to be plagued by injuries that severely affected her playing abilities.  It was also about this time that the young beauty began to do advertisements (prompted by the huge positive reaction to her gracing the cover of the June 2000 Sports Illustrated).  By 2002, she was making over ten million dollars in endorsement deals.

• She retired from professional tennis in 2004 because of chronic lower back pain. She was also featured in the 2004 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition.

• Hobbies & Interests: Reading, dancing, listening to music and watching TV

Even though Anna and Enrique Iglesias never admitted they were married, Enrique told a Swedish magazine that they are now divorced. (May 28, 2007)

Denies rumors saying that she has an eating disorder, insisting that her slimmer figure is because of a lack of tennis. (July 17, 2006)

A man accused of stalking Kournikova has been ordered to permanently stay at least 1,000 feet away from her if he gets out of jail. (February 24, 2005)

Anna Kournikova and Enrique Iglesias have secretly married in Puerto Vallerta in November 2004.

Russian ice-hockey ace Sergei Fedorov confessed he did marry tennis Kournikova before she dates singer Enrique Iglesias - - even though they are now divorced and no longer speak. (March 5, 2003)

Kournikova has settled one of the debates at this year's Australian Open: the fabled tattoo on her back does not exist – she said the large plaster on her back just above the waistband of her skirt was actually to cover up the name of a boyfriend. (January 14, 2003)

Is the most beautiful, most attractive and most sexy girl in the world of tennis.

Anna is an only child.

She was named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People of 1998.

She collects dolls from every country she visits.

2002: She appears in the new Enrique Iglesias video Escape. 

At ages 13 and 14, Kournikova made headlines in international junior tennis, winning several tournaments including the 1995 Italian Open. She was 14 years old when she ended 1995 as Junior European Champion Under 18 and ITF Junior World Champion Under 18.

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.

Kournikova was a member of the Russian delegation to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, as a 16-year-old, she reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon, where she lost to the eventual champion, Martina Hingis by a score of 6-3, 6-2. 1998 was her breakthrough year, when she broke into the WTA's top 20 rankings for the first time and scored impressive victories over Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, andSteffi Graf

n late 2004, she participated in three events organized by Elton John and by fellow tennis players Serena Williams and Andy Roddick. In January 2005, she played in a doubles charity event for the Indian Ocean tsunami with John McEnroe, Roddick, and Chris Evert.

In November 2005, she teamed up with Martina Hingis, playing against Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur in the WTT finals for charity. Kournikova is also a member of the Sacramento Capitals in the World Team Tennis (WTT), playing doubles only.

 

Tennis for a Cause
Anna participated in the World TeamTennis Smash Hits charity benefit that took place on Thursday, September 25th at the FleetCenter in Boston. Find out more here.