Anna Kournikova

At 43 years old, Anna Kournikova has this physical status:

Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova (born 7 June 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player and American television personality.

Her appearance and celebrity status made her one of the best known tennis stars worldwide.

At the peak of her fame, fans looking for images of Kournikova made her name one of the most common search strings on Google Search.Despite never winning a singles title, she reached No. 8 in the world in 2000.

She achieved greater success playing doubles, where she was at times the world No. 1 player.

With Martina Hingis as her partner, she won Grand Slam titles in Australia in 1999 and 2002, and the WTA Championships in 1999 and 2000.

They referred to themselves as the "Spice Girls of Tennis".Kournikova retired at the age of 21 due to serious back and spinal problems, including a herniated disk.

She lives in Miami Beach, Florida, and plays in occasional exhibitions and in doubles for the St. Louis Aces of World Team Tennis before the team folded in 2011.

She was a new trainer for season 12 of the television show The Biggest Loser, replacing Jillian Michaels, but did not return for season 13.

In addition to her tennis and television work, Kournikova serves as a Global Ambassador for Population Services International's "Five & Alive" program, which addresses health crises facing children under the age of five and their families.

Early life

Kournikova was born in Moscow, Russia on 7 June 1981. Her father, Sergei Kournikov (born 1961), a former Greco-Roman wrestling champion, eventually earned a PhD and was a professor at the University of Physical Culture and Sport in Moscow. As of 2001, he was still a part-time martial arts instructor there. Her mother Alla (born 1963) had been a 400-metre runner. Her younger half-brother, Allan, is a youth golf world champion who was featured in the 2013 documentary film The Short Game.

Sergei Kournikov has said, "We were young and we liked the clean, physical life, so Anna was in a good environment for sport from the beginning".

Kournikova received her first tennis racquet as a New Year gift in 1986 at the age of five. Describing her early regimen, she said, "I played two times a week from age six. It was a children's program. And it was just for fun; my parents didn't know I was going to play professionally, they just wanted me to do something because I had lots of energy. It was only when I started playing well at seven that I went to a professional academy. I would go to school, and then my parents would take me to the club, and I'd spend the rest of the day there just having fun with the kids." In 1986, Kournikova became a member of the Spartak Tennis Club, coached by Larissa Preobrazhenskaya. In 1989, at the age of eight, Kournikova began appearing in junior tournaments, and by the following year, was attracting attention from tennis scouts across the world. She signed a management deal at age ten and went to Bradenton, Florida, to train at Nick Bollettieri's celebrated tennis academy.

Personal life

Kournikova was in a relationship with fellow Russian, Pavel Bure, an NHL ice hockey player. The two met in 1999, when Kournikova was still linked to Bure's former Russian teammate Sergei Fedorov. Bure and Kournikova were reported to have been engaged in 2000 after a reporter took a photo of them together in a Florida restaurant where Bure supposedly asked Kournikova to marry him. As the story made headlines in Russia, where they were both heavily followed in the media as celebrities, Bure and Kournikova both denied any engagement. Kournikova, 10 years younger than Bure, was 18 years old at the time.

Fedorov claimed that he and Kournikova were married in 2001, and divorced in 2003. Kournikova's representatives deny any marriage to Fedorov; however, Fedorov's agent Pat Brisson claims that although he does not know when they got married, he knew "Fedorov was married".

Kournikova started dating singer Enrique Iglesias in late 2001 after she had appeared in his music video for "Escape". She has consistently refused to directly confirm or deny the status of her personal relationships. The couple have a son and daughter, Nicholas and Lucy, who are fraternal twins born on 16 December 2017. On 30 January 2020, their third child, a daughter, Mary, was born.

It was reported in 2010 that Kournikova had become an American citizen.

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Tennis career

Following her arrival in the United States, she became well-known on the tennis circuit. She won the European Championships and the Italian Open Junior Tournament at the age of 14. In December 1995, she became the youngest person to win the Junior Orange Bowl tennis tournament's 18-and-under division. Kournikova was crowned ITF Junior World Champion U-18 and Junior European Champion U-18 by the end of the year.

Kournikova, a student at the Moscow Ladies Open in September 1995, was the first woman to enter the WTA tournament and qualified in the second round of the main draw to third-seeded Sabine Appelmans. She also reached her first WTA doubles final in her debut year, partnering with 1995 Wimbledon girls' champion Aleksandra Olsza in singles and doubles Aleksandra Olsza.

Kournikova won two ITF titles in Midland, Michigan, and Rockford, Illinois, from February to March 1996. She debuted at the Fed Cup for Russia in April 1996, the youngest player to play and win a match despite being only 14 years old.

She began playing with Ed Nagel, a new coach. Nagel's six-year association was fruitful. At 15, she made her Grand Slam debut, progressing to the fourth round of the 1996 US Open, losing to Steffi Graf, the eventual champion. Kournikova's ranking soared from No. 1 to No. 2 in this tournament after this tournament. At No. 144, 144 is the first woman to debut in the Top 100 at No. 1. 69 years old. Kournikova was a participant of the Russian delegation to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. She was named WTA Newcomer of the Year in 1996, and she was ranked No. 1 in the United States. At the end of the season, the team was 57.

Kournikova began the Australian Open as the world No. 1 in 1997. 67, where she lost in the first round to world No. 1 in the first round. Amanda Coetzer, 12. In the second round of the Italian Open, Kournikova defeated Amanda Coetzer. She reached the semi-finals of the doubles with Elena Likhovtseva before losing to sixth seeds Mary Joe Fernández and Patricia Tarabini.

Kournikova made it to the third round of the French Open before losing to world No. 1. 1, Martina Hingis. Likhovtseva and She also advanced to the third round in doubles. Kournikova was the second woman in the open era to reach the semi-finals in her Wimbledon debut, the first being Chris Evert in 1972. Martina Hingis, the eventual champion, was disqualified.

She fell in the second round to Irina Spîrlea, the eleventh seed in the US Open. She competed in the third round of the women's doubles tournament, partnering with Likhovtseva. Kournikova played her last WTA Tour event of 1997 at Porsche Grand Prix in Filderstadt, losing to Amanda Coetzer in the second round of singles and winning in the first round of doubles to Lindsay Davenport and Jana Novotná, partnering with Likhovtseva. On 19 May, she climbed to the top of the charts, and she ranked No. 1 in the top 50. 32 in singles and No. 0 in singles. At the end of the season, there were 41 in doubles.

For the first time in 1998, Kournikova debuted on the top 20 lists for the first time when she was ranked No. 1 in the WTA. 16. Kournikova fell in the third round to world No. 2 at the Australian Open. Martina Hingis, a 1 player. She also worked with Larisa Savchenko-Neiland in women's doubles, and the two teams lost to eventual champions Hingis and Mirjana Lui in the second round. Despite losing in the second round of the Paris Open to Anke Huber in singles, Kournikova qualified for her second doubles WTA Tour final, partnering with Larisa Savchenko-Neiland. They lost to Sabine Appelmans and Miriam Oremans. At the Linz Open, Kournikova and Savchenko-Neiland met for their second straight final, losing to Alexandra Fusai and Nathalie Tauziat. Kournikova reached her first WTA Tour singles final at the Miami Open before losing to Venus Williams in the final.

Kournikova then reached the Italian Open and Amelia Island, losing respectively to Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis. She reached the semi-finals in both singles and doubles at the German Open, collaborating with Larisa Savchenko-Neiland. Kournikova had her best showing at the French Open, winning in the fourth round before falling to Jana Novotná. She also reached her first Grand Slam doubles semi-finals, losing with Savchenko-Neiland to Lindsay Davenport and Natasha Zvereva. Kournikova injured her thumb during her quarterfinals match against Steffi Graf, which would eventually cause her to withdraw from the 1998 Wimbledon Championships. She won the competition, but she was disqualified from her semi-finals match against Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. Kournikova made it to the third round of the Du Maurier Open, beating Conchita Martnez. At the US Open Kournikova reached the fourth round before losing to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. Her good year prepared her for the 1998 WTA Tour Championships, but she lost to Monica Seles in the first round. However, Seles captured her first WTA doubles title in Tokyo, defeating Mary Joe Fernández and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the final. She was ranked No. 1 at the end of the season. In doubles, there are ten in doubles.

Kournikova advanced to the fourth round of singles at the start of the 1999 season before losing to Mary Pierce in singles. However, Kournikova claimed her first doubles Grand Slam title, collaborating with Martina Hingis. In the final, the two defeated Lindsay Davenport and Natasha Zvereva. Kournikova reached her second WTA Tour final at the Tier I Family Circle Cup, but she lost to Martina Hingis. She then defeated Jennifer Cass, Lindsay Davenport, and Patty Schnyder on her way to the Bausch & Lomb Championships semi-finals, losing to Ruxandra Dragomir. Kournikova reached the fourth round of the French Open before losing to eventual champion Steffi Graf. Kournikova lost in the semi-finals in Eastbourne as the grass-court season got underway in England. In the fourth round of Wimbledon, Kournikova defeated Venus Williams. She also qualified in mixed doubles, collaborating with Jonas Björkman, but lost to Leander Paes and Lisa Raymond. Kournikova qualified for the WTA Tour Championships this year, but she lost to Mary Pierce in the first round and ended the season as the World No. 1. 12.

Although Kournikova had a fruitful singles season, she was even more successful in doubles. Martina Hingis and her husband won tournaments in Indian Wells, Rome, Eastbourne, and the WTA Tour Championships, where they lost to Serena and Venus Williams in the final of The French Open. Kournikova, a partner of Elena Likhovtseva, has also reached the final in Stanford. She became the world No. 1 on November 22, 1999, becoming the second in the world No. 2 in 1999. ranked #1 in doubles and closed the season in this position. The WTA has named Anna Kournikova and Martina Hingis as the Year's Outstanding Doubles Team of the Year.

Kournikova began winning the Gold Coast Open doubles tournament with Julie Halard in 2000. She then qualified for the Medibank International Sydney singles semi-finals, losing to Lindsay Davenport. She reached the fourth round of singles and the semi-finals in doubles at the Australian Open. Kournikova reached eight semi-finals (Sydney, Scottsdale, Stanford, San Diego, Leipzig, Leipzig, and Tour Championships) during the season (Gold Coast, Tokyo, Amelia Island, Hamburg, Eastbourne, and Philadelphia). For the first time, she reached No. 20 in the Top ten for the first time on November 20, 2000. 8. She was also ranked No. 1 in the United States and Taiwan. At the end of the season, there were 4 in doubles. In doubles, Kournikova was once more efficient. She reached the final of the US Open mixed doubles, partnering with Max Mirnyi, but they lost to Jared Palmer and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. She has also won six doubles titles, including Gold Coast (with Julie Halard), Hamburg (with Natasha Zvereva), Filderstadt, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, and the Tour Championships (with Martina Hingis).

Her 2001 season was marred by injuries, including a left foot strain fracture that required her to withdraw from 12 tournaments, including the French Open and Wimbledon. In April, she underwent surgery. At the Australian Open, she reached her second grand slam quarterfinals in her career. Due to her leg pains, Kournikova was forced to miss several events before returning to Leipzig. Barbara Schett was the doubles champion in Sydney with Barbara Schett. She then fell in the finals in Tokyo, collaborating with Iroda Tulyaganova and San Diego, where she worked with Martina Hingis. The Kremlin Cup was also won by Hingis and Kournikova. She was ranked No. 1 at the end of the 2001 season. In singles and No. 74, there were 74 in singles and No. In doubles, there are 26 in doubles.

In 2002, Kournikova had a chance to reclaim some of her glory. She reached the semi-finals of the China Open in Auckland, Tokyo, Acapulco, and San Diego, losing to Anna Smashnova. This was Kournikova's last singles final. Martina Hingis was disqualified in the final at Sydney, but the Australian Open was their second Grand Slam title jointly. They also failed in the US Open quarterfinals. With Chanda Rubin, Kournikova reached Wimbledon's semi-finals, but Serena and Venus Williams defeated them. She gained the Shanghai title with Janet Lee, partnering her. She was ranked No. 1 at the start of the 2002 season. In singles and No. 3, there are 35 in singles and No. 1. In doubles, there are 11 people in doubles.

Anna Kournikova won her first Grand Slam match in two years at the Australian Open in 2003. She defeated Henrieta Nagyová in the first round, but then lost to Justine Henin-Hardenne in the second round. She departed from Tokyo due to a strained back injury at the Australian Open and did not return to Tour until Miami. Kournikova fell out in the first round of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston on April 9, what would be her last WTA match of her career, due to a left adductor strain. Her singles world ranking was 67. She progressed to the semi-finals of the ITF tournament in Sea Island before pulling out of a match against Maria Sharapova due to an adductor injury. In the first round of the ITF tournament in Charlottesville, she lost. Due to a back injury, she was unable to participate for the remainder of the season. She was ranked No. 1 at the end of the 2003 season and her career. There are 305 in singles and No. 1 in singles. In doubles, there were 176 in doubles.

Both Kournikova's two Grand Slam doubles titles came in 1999 and 2002, with partner Martina Hingis in the Women's Doubles event at the Australian Open. Kournikova was a top-twos champion on the international circuit, winning 16 tournament doubles titles, including two Australian Opens and being a finalist in mixed doubles at the US Open and Wimbledon, as well as being a finalist in mixed doubles at the US Open and Wimbledon. In the WTA Tour rankings, there are two runners in doubles. Her pro-independence doubles record was 200–71. However, her singles career came to a halt after 1999. For the most part, she managed to keep her ranking between 10 and 15 (her career high singles ranking was No.8), but her awaited finals breakthrough did not happen; she only reached four finals out of 130 singles tournaments, never in a Grand Slam event, and never won one.

Her singles album is 209-129. Her final playing years were marred by a string of injuries, particularly back, that led to her rank diminishing gradually. In her prime, Kournikova, a celebrity, was one of the most common search keywords for both articles and photos.

Kournikova hasn't participated on the WTA Tour since 2003, but she does continue to play exhibition matches for charitable causes. Serena Williams and Andy Roddick, a tennis player, and three others organized by Elton John and John Roddick in late 2004. In January 2005, she participated in a doubles charity run for the Indian Ocean tsunami alongside John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, and Chris Evert. In November 2005, she and Martina Hingis teamed up, competing against Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur in the WTT finals for charity. Kournikova is also a member of the St. Louis Aces of World Team Tennis (WTT), playing doubles only.

Kournikova appeared at the 2008 Nautica Malibu Triathlon in Malibu, California, in September 2008. The Race in Los Angeles raised money for Children's Hospital Los Angeles. She took the women's K-Swiss team to the championship. Kournikova appeared in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 27, 2008, partnering with Tim Wilkison and Karel Nováek. Kournikova and Wilkison defeated Jimmy Arias and Chanda Rubin, before Kournikova and Novacek defeated Rubin and Wilkison.

Anna Kournikova appeared in one exhibition match for Billie Jean King and Elton John's annual charity festival in October 2008, raising more than $400,000 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Atlanta AIDS Partnership Fund. She played doubles with Andy Roddick (they were coached by David Chang) against Martina Navratilova and Jesse Levine (coached by Billie Jean King), and she defeated Martina Navratilova and Jesse Levine; Kournikova and Roddick prevailed.

At the "Legendary Night," hosted by John McEnroe, Tracy Austin, and Jim Courier, Kournikova performed alongside John McEnroe, Tracy Austin, and Jim Courier on May 2nd in Verona, New York. McEnroe and Austin played in a mixed doubles match against Courier and Kournikova.

She was named a spokesperson for K-Swiss in 2008. Kournikova said in 2005 that if she were 100% healthy, she would return and compete again.

In June 2010, Kournikova reunited with her doubles partner Martina Hingis to compete in national tennis for the first time in seven years. They defeated British couple Samantha Smith and Anne Hobbs on June 29, 2010 in a match that was not repeated.

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