Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova ,Russian: Анна Сергеевна Курникова, Ánna Sergéyevna Kúrnikova; was born in June 7, 1981 and was a professional tennis player. Anna Kournikova was one of the best known tennis players, even among those who do not follow the game. Anna Kournikova was born in Moscow, Russia to Alla and Sergei Kournikov; her family later emigrated to the United States, and she currently resides in Miami, Florida.


Anna Kournikova's major-league tennis career has been curtailed for the past several years by serious back & spinal problems, and this might be the end of it. Anna Kournikova has had some success at the singles game, but her specialty has been doubles, where she has become the world's #1 doubles player at times, and Anna Kournikova has won Grand Slam titles in Australia in 1999 and 2002, with Martina Hingis as her partner.


With Anna Kournikova being taller than the average tennis player, and being strong at the net and at the serve, she fits well into doubles. Other comparable players have been Pam Shriver and Peter Fleming, with numerous doubles championships to their credit, playing with shorter partners, such as Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe. With their skill and good looks, Anna Kournikova and Martina Hingis jestingly called themselves The Spice Girls of Tennis.


Anna Kournikova dazzled the world at age 13 and 14 in international junior tennis, winning several tournaments including the 1995 Italian Open. Anna Kournikova was 14 years old when she ended 1995 as Junior European Champion Under 18 and ITF Junior World Champion Under 18.

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Anna Kournikova debuted in professional tennis at age 14 in the Fed Cup for Russia, the youngest player ever to participate and win. At age 15, Anna Kournikova reached the fourth round of the 1996 U.S. Open, only to be stopped by then-top ranked player, Steffi Graf.


Anna Kournikova was a member of the Russian delegation to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, as a 16-year old, she reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon, where she lost to the eventual champion, by a score of 6-3, 6-2. 1998 was her breakthrough year, when she broke into the WTA's top 20 rankings for the first time and scored impressive victories over Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, and Steffi Graf. Anna Kournikova's two Grand Slam doubles titles came in 1999 and 2002, both at the Australian Open in the Women's Doubles event with partner Martina Hingis, with whom she played frequently starting in 1999.


Anna Kournikova proved a successful doubles player on the professional circuit, winning 16 tournament doubles titles, including two Australian Opens and being a finalist in mixed doubles at the U.S. Open and at Wimbledon, and reaching #1 ranking in doubles in the Women's Tennis Association tour rankings. Anna Kournikova's pro career doubles record was 200-71. However, her singles career plateaued after 1999. For the most part, she managed to retain her ranking between #10 and #15 (her career high singles ranking was #8), but her expected finals breakthrough failed to occur; Anna Kournikova only reached four finals out of 130 singles tournaments, never in a Grand Slam event, and never won one. One contributing factor might have been her habit of entering high-profile events with strong fields of elite players. As a player, Anna Kournikova was noted for her excellent footspeed and aggressive baseline play; however, her flat, high-risk groundstrokes tended to produce high numbers of errors and her serve was sometimes unreliable in singles. [Anyone who wins big at doubles MUST serve well.] Anna Kournikova had a record of 209-129 as a singles player.


Anna Kournikova's final playing years were marred by a string of injuries, especially back injuries, which saw her ranking gradually erode. Anna Kournikova has not played on the WTA tour since 2003, but still plays exhibition matches for charitable causes.


In late 2004, Anna Kournikova participated in three events organized by Elton John and by fellow tennis stars and good friends Serena Williams and Andy Roddick. In January 2005, Anna Kournikova played in a doubles charity event for the Indian Ocean tsunami with John McEnroe, Roddick, and Chris Evert.


Anna Kournikova was also a member of the Newport Beachbreakers in the World Team Tennis (WTT) competition in July and November 2005, playing doubles only. In November 2005 Anna Kournikova teamed up with Martina Hingis playing against Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur in the WTT finals for charity.


In a feature for Elle magazine's July 2005 issue, Anna Kournikova stated that if she were 100% fit, she would like to come back and compete again.