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Anna Kournikova

Born in Moscow, Anna Kournikova's talent was first discovered when she played at a weekly children's sports program at the age of 5, thanks to the racket she received from her parents for Christmas. She started to play and practice more often, in places such as the prestigious Spartak Tennis Club, despite the fact that her family was far from wealthy. The budding tennis player trained and practiced while studying at school. In 1992, 11-year-old Anna moved to Florida with her mother to attend Nick Bollettieri's Tennis Academy. By the time she was 14, she had become the youngest player to win a Fed Cup match and made sure people took notice of her when she won the European Championships and Italian Open juniors. When she turned pro in 1996, she stepped onto the scene as an ITF Junior World Champion. She reached the fourth round in her first Grand Slam tournament. 1998 was a big year: Anna became the first Russian female to be seeded at the U.S. Open since 1976, reached the Top 10 of the singles rankings, and upset Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals at the 1998 German Open, one of few to defeat a No. 1 tennis player before turning 17. The following year, Kournikova won her first Grand Slam doubles title at the 1999 Australian Open, with partner Hingis. In 2000, Kournikova and... Next

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