Anna Kournikova Biography

Tennis Career

Anna Kournikova is a former professional tennis player who was born in Russia on June 7, 1981. A phenom at an early age, she attended the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy until she was 14, when she turned professional.

She played professionally until the age of 22, when back spasms and spinal pain forced her to take an early retirement. Although she never won a singles title, she did win 13 career doubles titles, including two Australian Open titles with partner Martina Hingis.

Modeling

Although she became extremely well-known through tennis, she reached international stardom because of her beauty. In fact, her retirement from tennis occurred between appearances in men’s magazines FHM and Maxim, and few noticed – and even fewer cared – that she was no longer competing on the court. She later added two appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition to her resume, where she famously posed in bikinis.

Acting

In the year 2000, she played a small role in the hit movie Me, Myself, and Irene, which starred Jim Carrey.

She has made numerous appearances in advertising campaigns and also in the name of publicity. In 2000, Anna appeared in the wildly popular “only the ball should bounce” campaign launched by sports bra manufacturer Berlei.

Personal Life

Anna Kournikova dated and was reportedly engaged to hockey player Pavel Bure, and shortly after that relationship fizzled, she was linked to Sergei Fedorov, another NHL star from Russia. In a case of history repeating itself, reports surfaced that the two were engaged, but Anna always publicly denied these rumors.

Since late 2002, Anna dated Enrique Iglesias, but the two recently split up amicably. There is some concern, though, that Anna was embarrassed over Enrique’s ill-advised claim that he has a small penis.

She is now single and on the lookout for the soon-to-be luckiest bastard alive.