Kournikova, Anna (1981-…), a Russian tennis player, is one of the most famous athletes in the world. Kournikova was ranked number eight among professional women’s tennis players in 2000, but she has never won a professional singles title. But her good looks made her an international celebrity while she was still a teenager. Huge numbers of fans follow her personal life. She has earned far more money in endorsements than she has as a professional tennis player.
Kournikova was born on June 7, 1981, in Moscow. She began playing tennis at the age of 5. Agents from a sports management company spotted her potential to be a world-class player and sent her to a major tennis camp in Florida when she was 10. In 1995, Kournikova was ranked the number-one junior women’s player in the world. Kournikova turned professional later that year. She won the Australian Open doubles championship in 1999 and 2002 with partner Martina Hingis. In 1999, she and Hingis were ranked number one in the world in women’s doubles. Kournikova unofficially retired from competitive tennis after the 2003 season but still plays occasional exhibition matches. She became a United States citizen in 2010.
