Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova was born on born June 7, 1981 in Moscow, Russia (then Soviet Union) to parents Alla and Sergei Kournikov. As a child she emigrated to America with her Mother. By age 13 Kournikova was already making headlines in international juniors tennis, winning several tournaments including the 1995 Italian Open.
Kournikova made her professional tennis debut at age 14 in the Fed Cup for Russia, as the youngest player ever to participate and win. At age 15, she reached the fourth round of the 1996 U.S. Open. Kournikova could have gone all the way but her meteoric rise to the top of the sport was stopped by then-top ranked women's tennis player, Steffi Graf.
Kournikova, maintaining her russian citizenship, was a member of the Russian delegation to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, at 16 years old, she climbed to the semi-finals of Wimbledon, where she lost to the eventual champion, Martina Hingis by a score of 6-3, 6-2. 1998 was to be her breakthrough year, where she broke into the WTA's top 20 rankings for the first time and scored impressive victories over then large names Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, and Steffi Graf. 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.
Kournikova lists herself as retired. Her professional tennis career has been hampered the past several years, and possibly ended, by serious back and spinal problems.
Anna was named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2003 as well as voted "hottest female athlete" by viewers on on ESPN.com in 2002. In 2002 she also placed 1st on FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World in U.S. and UK magazine editions.
There have been rumors, though none confirmed, that she was engaged to professional hockey player Pavel Bure, that she married and divorced NHL hockey star Sergei Fedorov in 2001 (Kournikova's representatives have denied this), as well as a secret 2003 marriage to her current beau, pop star Enrique Iglesias. To this day Anna herself has consistently refused to directly confirm or deny rumors about the status of her personal relationships.
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