Anna Kournikova
When people mention the word tennis, probably the first tennis player
that would come to their minds is the famous Anna Sergeevna Kournikova,
or simply known as Anna Kournikova. Aside from being a tennis player,
Anna Kournikova is also a model at the same time. And because of this,
she is considered as one of the most popular tennis players all over the
world. Anna Kournikova is destined to gain fame in the world of tennis.
As early as five years old, she already had her first racquet and became
a member of the Spartak Tennis Club.
Born in 1981 in Moscow, Anna Kournikova is probably one of the youngest
and the hottest players in history. At the age of 13, Anna Kournikova
was already at the sports headlines when she won several tournaments at
the International Junior Tennis. This was the start of her booming
tennis career. By the time she reached 14, she won the ITF Junior World
Champion Under 18 and the Junior European Champion Under 18.
It was also by the age of 14 that Anna Kournikova had her debut in
professional tennis. At 15, she got to the fourth round of the 1996 US
Open and the next year she reached the semifinals of the Wimbledon.
It was in 1998 when she broke into the top 20 of the WTA world rankings.
This is the time that she beat the top players such as Steffi Graf,
Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport. She won her two Grand Slam titles
in the doubles category during the 1999 and 2002 staging of the
Australian Open with Martina Hingis as her partner. She had a successful
doubles career with a record of 200 wins and 71 losses. She has achieved
the number one spot in doubles ranking.
As for her singles career, it has never progressed as expected. She only
reached the finals four times out of 130 tournaments and has never won
one. Her singles career record is 209 wins with 129 losses. Her singles
ranking is usually between 10 and 15. Her highest career ranking is at
eight. Everyone is expecting her to achieve more with her singles
career. In her final year of active play, she has suffered from various
injuries which saw her ranking go down the drain.
She hasn’t played in any WTA tournaments since 2003, although she
participates in exhibition matches every now and then. In 2004, she
played in three exhibition matches organized by Elton John, Serena
Williams and Andy Roddick. In 2005, she played in a charity event that
aimed to raise funds for the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami. She
stated in a magazine interview that she will be back to competitive
tennis if her health is 100%.
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