Anna Kournikova: A Brief Biography of the ‘Model’ Tennis Player
Born on June 7th, 1981, in Moscow, Russia, Anna Kournikova discovered her passion for tennis when, at the age of five, she was presented with her first racket on New Year’s Eve. The same year, she enrolled at the reputed Spartak Tennis Club, where she was tutored by Larissa Preobrazhenskaya. At the age of 8, Anna was already participating in junior contests, and by 1990, the young Russian had become the focus of many talent hunters’ appraisal the world over. In 1991, Kournikova entered a management contract and left Russia for Florida to hone her skill at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy.
The young Russian burst on to the tennis scene in America, casting herself into the world renowned star she is at present. At 14, Kournikova landed herself the European Championships and the Italian Open Junior titles. She also overcame the defences to take the coveted Junior Orange Bowl trophy and was heralded the ITF (International Tennis Federation) Junior World Champion U-18 and Junior European Champion U-18.
In October 1995, at the age of 14, Kournikova inaugurated her professional career at the Fed Cup, becoming the least aged player to have contested the competition and won. The Russian also went on to take the Midland, Michigan, and Rockford, Illinois, ITF trophies. The following year, Kournikova participated in her first Grand Slam event at the season’s U.S. Open, where her progress was halted by the great Steffi Graf. She ended the satisfactory 1996 campaign being voted as the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Newcomer of the Year.
The Russian made it to the 1997 Wimbledon semifinals, where her impressive run was terminated by Martina Hingis, who overcame Kournikova in straight sets. The following year she made it into the WTA’s top twenty rankings, a career first. That year, Kournikova rose to worldwide prominence after sensationally overcoming the likes of Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis, Monica Seles and Lindsay Davenport. She took her first doubles trophy at the 1998 Tokyo event, where Kournikova overcame Mary Joe Fernandez and Arantxa Sanchez in the final showdown. The Russian concluded the season as world number 10 in the doubles sphere.
The following year, Kournikova landed the first doubles Grand Slam trophy of her career paired alongside Martina Hingis. The duo overcame a tough opposition consisting of Lindsay Davenport and Natasha Zvereva in the final clash. The same year, Kournikova demolished Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport and Patty Schnyder en route to the semifinals of the Bausch & Lomb Championships, where she was forced out by Ruxandra Dragomir. The 1999 season saw the Russian thrive at the doubles events. The self-proclaimed “Spice Girls of Tennis”, Kournikova and Martina Hingis, took the doubles scene by storm and were awarded the WTA Award for Doubles Team of the Year.
During the 2000 campaign, Anna managed to book her place in 8 semifinal events, 7 quarterfinals and one finals showdown. The Russian’s 2001 campaign was marred by injury and she was forced to sit out at 12 tournaments, and her world ranking consequently plummeted. 2002 witnessed Kournikova return to form and make it to the semifinals of the San Diego, Auckland, Acapulco and Tokyo events and finals of the China Open. Partnering Martina Hingis, she also won the women’s doubles 2002 Australian Open event.
In 2003, Kournikova’s game once again succumbed to the side-effects of recurring injuries which ruled her out of a large part of the season. She ended the year ranked number 305. Since 2003, Kournikova has yet to participate in a WTA Tour, but continues to make appearances at exhibition matches for social benefit. She has gained acclaim not only for her successes on the tennis court but also for a flourishing modelling career. Kournikova has made it into People’s 50 Most Beautiful People list for an impressive four times and was selected as “hottest female athlete” in an ESPN.com poll. The Russian beauty at present serves as a representative of American footwear company, K-Swiss.
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