Anna Kournikova Biography

Anna Kournikova was born in Moscow, Russia, June 7, 1981. Anna is a world class
star professional tennis player. Her lean athletic body is truly
distracting. Anna's parents who travel with her, are Alla and Sergei, and
they refer to her as "Murzik", that means "my little pet" in Russian. She
received her first tennis racquet at 5 years old when her parents sold
their TV to buy her a present for Christmas. She graduated from a Russian
high school in 1997.

At nine years old, Anna was spotted playing in the Kremlin Cup in Moscow,
and was offered the opportunity to train at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis
Academy in Bradenton, Florida. When Anna was only 13 years old she made
it to the final in the Rolex Orange Bowl tournament. There, she
unfortunately lost to 18 year old Spaniard Marion Ramon. The revenge for
Anna would come as soon as the next year. Then, Anna made it all the way
to the final again and there she defeated Sandra Nacuk of Yugoslavia. In
1999, she won her first Grand Slam title with Martina Hingis at doubles
in the Australian Open. Though a top ten singles player, Anna's only
Grand Slam title to date came in the 1999 Australian open Ladies' Doubles
with Hingis. Anna is one of the most glamorous of the new generation of
women players.

Anna says she would like to be an actress. She also likes reading,
listening to music, watching TV, dancing, going to parties, swimming,
giving tennis coaching to children, and she is also quite interested in
ice hockey. Anna has collected dolls from every country she has visited.

Though not yet the world's best tennis player, Anna has gained extra
popularity due to her good looks and sometimes extravagant behavior and
posing as a model. In 2000, she was named the most searched for athlete
on the internet and for many years has been the world's best known female
athlete.

Presently endorsed by Adidas, Yonex, Berlei the famous sports bra, Omega,
and Lycos. Anna has certainly come a long way from the days when her
parents could hardly afford to buy her a tennis racket.

Anna's earnings for 1999 stood at $11 million for endorsements alone, and
they have surely increased by now, making her the highest paid female
tennis player. As a cover girl, Anna was named one of People
magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1998, and graced the
cover of Sports Illustrated's June 2000 edition.

Anna has raised the profile of the ladies game to new levels, and she is
a major worldwide celebrity, with a lifestyle to match her supermodel
looks.