Anna Kournikova Biography

NAME: Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova

OCCUPATION: Tennis Player, Model, Reality Television Star

BIRTH DATE: June 07, 1981 (Age: 30)

PLACE OF BIRTH: Moscow, Russia

ZODIAC SIGN: Gemini

Tennis player. Born Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova on June 7, 1981, in Moscow, Russia. The daughter of Alla and Sergei Kournikov, Anna began playing competitive tennis early on. She was competing in the juniors by age nine and within two years, she was headed to the U.S. to train at Nick Bollettieri's famed Florida tennis academy. She subsequently won several international junior tennis tournaments and was declared the Junior European Champion and Junior World Champion in 1995.

Her career high came in the year 1998 when she defeated four top 10 players consecutively in the Lipton Championships. In the same year she defeated Martina Hingis the reigning champion of that time. In 1998 Anna Kournikova became the first Russian to be seeded at the U.S Open since 1976. Her only career Grand Slam came in the year 1999, when she paired up with Martina Hingis in the Australian Open. After that her career has been keeping a low profile.

Anna Kournikova was a tennis sensation in the late 1990s, when her good looks and big blonde hair made her a fan favorite and a popular Internet pinup. Kournikova had played for Russia in the Federation Cup at age 14 and won her first professional title at 15, but by 1998 the talk was more about her looks than her backhand; People magazine named the 17-year-old one of that year's "50 Most Beautiful People." Kournikova won Grand Slam doubles titles in 1999 and 2002, both times teaming with Martina Hingis to win at the Australian Open. In 2000 the Web portal Lycos named her the Internet's most-searched athlete, and she ended the year ranked 9th in the world in singles. But that was the high point; 2003 was her last year on the World Tennis Federation circuit, and she never won a WTP singles title or made the finals of a major tournament. Since 2003 she has continued to play in charity tournaments and World Team Tennis events, and has been a spokesperson for K-Swiss tennis shoes and several other brands.