Anna Kournikova Russian ProffessionTennis Player

Anna Kournikova was born in Moscow, Soviet Union, on June 7, 1981. Her father, Sergei Kournikov, was 20 at the time. Sergei, a former Greco-Roman wrestling champion, had earned a Ph.D. 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, who was 18 when Anna was born, had been a 400-meter runner. Sergei said: "We were young and we liked the clean, physical life, so Anna was in a good environment for sport from the beginning. The family name is spelled in Russian without an "o", so a direct transliteration would be "Kurnikov", and it is sometimes written that way. But it is pronounced "Kournikov", so the family chose that as their English spelling. Anna received her first tennis racquet as a New Year gift in 1986 at age 5. Anna says: "I played two times a week from age five. 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, Anna became a member of the prestigious Spartak Tennis Club, coached by Larissa Preobrazhenskaya. In 1989, at the age of eight, Anna Kournikova began appearing in junior tournaments, and by the following year, was attracting attention from tennis scouts across the world. Anna signed a management deal at age ten and went to Bradenton, Florida to train at Nick Bollettieri's celebrated tennis academy......

Anna Kournikova Russian Tennis Star

Anna Kournikova is sculpted like a goddess. The tennis court was her stage, where she simultaneously (and successfully) flirted with and stunned thousands of admirers. This Russian pinup had the power of filling up arenas when she was scheduled to play. How many women can be credited with the same feat?

Men's magazines like FHM always have included her among the hottest women, and she was named Sexiest Woman in the World in FHM's 100 Sexiest Girls poll in 2002. Her sex appeal has also managed to sell calendars, and the Sports Illustrated issue with Anna Kournikova on the cover was one of the highest-selling issues the magazine has ever published. So it looks like Anna Kournikova's sexiness is unanimous: it doesn't get much hotter than her.Not only is she the most photographed woman in the sports world, she's also one of the richest, thanks to several million-dollar endorsements. In 2002, it was reported that Anna Kournikova made $10 million a year. Since a contract with Adidas depended on victories and high rankings, she didn't reach her market potential, but she is raking in $3 million with the athletic wear manufacturer.
As for media appearances, Anna was seen everywhere, from 2001's Me, Myself & Irene and Enrique's "Escape" video in 2002, to a spread in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issues in 2004 and 2005. Not only does she remain one of the top searches on the internet, someone even named a widespread virus in her honor in 2001, which wreaked havoc on the web.
Tournaments that didn't include Anna Kournikova had 30% less attendance. Her matches always sold out and it's safe to say that fans weren't crowding the courts in order to watch Anna Kournikova pummel her opponent.

Her fame has less to do with her accomplishments and more to do with her sex appeal, attitude and antics. Still, we'll give her some credit as a tennis player. Her greatest feats in the game include winning the European Championships and Italian Open juniors at age 14, and becoming the youngest tennis player to win a Fed Cup match. By the end of 1995, Anna Kournikova was crowned ITF Junior World Champion. In 1996, Anna Kournikova went pro and the tennis world would never be the same. She reached the fourth round in that year's U.S. Open and the semifinals at 1997's Wimbledon.

After staying in the top 10 singles rankings for several years and managing to defeat four consecutive top 10 players in a single tournament, she won a Grand Slam doubles title with Martina Hingis at the 1999 Australian Open.

Ever since 2003's Australian Open, Anna Kournikova has been plagued with a back injury that forced her to pull out of that year's Wimbledon tournament. Unfortunately, Anna Kournikova has suffered injuries since 2000 -- but fortunately, she has still managed to remain in the spotlight, just where we like her.
Anna Sergeevna Kurnikova; born June 7, 1981) is a semi-retired Russian professional tennis player and model. Her celebrity status made her one of the best known tennis players worldwide. At the peak of her fame, fans looking for images of Kournikova made her name one of the most common search strings on the Internet search engineAlthough also successful in singles, reaching #8 in the world in 2000, Kournikova’s specialty has been doubles, where she has at times been the world’s number one-ranked player. With Martina Hingis as her partner, she won Grand Slam titles inAustralia in 1999 and 2002. Kournikova’s major-league tennis career has been curtailed for the past several years, and possibly ended, by serious back and spinal problems.
And she's laughing all the way to the bank with sponsors that include Omega watches, Berlei lingerie, Lycos, and sports equipment company Yonex.In addition to ads, billboards and magazine covers, Anna Kournikova has also graced the tabloids, thanks to relationships with hockey players Pavel Bure and Sergei Fedorov (who she was rumored to have married), and her on-again, off-again romance with pop star Enrique Iglesias.