Are you a tennis lover who just realized you haven’t heard from Anna Kournikova lately?
Where is the former Russian tennis pro today? How did her tennis career begin—and how or why did it end? Where did she wind up after an uber-successful career?
If you’re looking for the lowdown on Anna Kournikova today (and in the past), you’re in the right place. We ace the star’s timeline as we talk about her life growing up, her tennis career, and what came after all the popularity—including her current relationship status.
Anna Kournikova Then
Where did this famous athlete’s life begin?
Kournikova was born in June of 1981, making her a recent 40-year-old. She was born in Moscow, Russia, to a wrestling pro father and running champ mother. Even her brother had an inclination toward sports, becoming a world golf champion in his own life.
It’s safe to say that athleticism is in this family’s genes.
Naturally, her parents wanted Anna to follow in their footsteps, gifting her with a tennis racquet at the tender age of five. Three years later, at age eight, Anna was already competing in junior tennis tournaments—obviously having found a knack for the sport.
Eventually, Anna was good enough to get scouted, and at age nine accepted a deal to train tennis in the US. Four short years after receiving a racquet and Kournikova was already fielding offers from tennis academies left and right.
Ultimately, she chose to accept an invitation to Florida, where her career begins to take off.
Her Captivating and Impressive Tennis Career . . .
It’s safe to say that if you impress at age nine, it can only go up from there!
By honing her talents, Anna Kournikova got better, faster, and stronger at her beloved sport. By age fourteen, Anna had won both the European Championships and the Italian Open. Her reign of impressiveness continued when she became the youngest player to ever secure a Junior Orange Bowl win.
Anna’s streak continued into the mid-90s, where she hit a double-whammy—winning both the Junior World Champion U-18 title and the European Champion U-18 title. By the late 90s, Anna was named a WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) top 20 athlete.
So, that’s numerous wins under her belt before she even turned eighteen . . . Did the champion stop there? No, she didn’t!
She had to tackle the Australian Open next.
Anna played—and secured a victory—at the famous championship in 2003. However, that’s where her winning streak met its bitter end. Very unfortunately for the promising young player, Anna sustained back injuries at the Open that would affect her game then and continue to be a problem later, eventually causing the athlete to retire in her early 20s.
Of course, just because her career ended didn’t mean her fame did—or her willingness to play. Anna continued to play the sport she loved, this time doing so for charities and fundraisers, helping organizations she was passionate about to raise money for various causes.
. . . And Her Celebrity Status
In addition to playing for charity, Anna Kournikova remained a well-loved celebrity in her own right, earning several titles of a different nature (such as a spot on the “100 Hottest Women of All Time” list).
She even had a guest spot in the movie Me, Myself, and Irene, playing briefly alongside Jim Carrey as a hotel manager. If you blinked, you might have missed her scene.
She also made several appearances on a variety of TV shows (such as The Biggest Loser) and made her way to quite a few magazine covers, thanks to her beautiful looks (Maxim and Sports Illustrated, to name two).
So, what’s she doing now? Are there Anna Kournikova kids running around? How about a spouse?
Let’s see.
Anna Kournikova Today
If you felt bad that Anna’s career ended so early—pause a moment.
The “eighth-highest ranked professional female tennis player in the world” ended up doing quite well for herself. She wound up becoming a US citizen and eventually partnered with another household name, albeit of a different variety—Enrique Iglesias. The couple had three children together—Lucy, Mary, and Nicholas—and we can only guess that they’re as gorgeous as their parents!
(You don’t have to guess; the internet is full of pictures of the famous family.)
Despite being in the spotlight, the couple has managed to keep a pretty low profile. After a fairly public but brief split, they had their twins, Nicholas and Lucy, in December 2017 to the surprise of, well, everyone. Her entire pregnancy was a secret and the kids arrived happy, healthy, and under the radar.
In January 2020, Anna Kournikova and Enrique Iglesias welcomed their third child, Mary. That bumped their happy family to five.
For a while, they lived in a waterfront, Mediterranean-style mansion in Miami Beach, Florida, but they’re selling that home for a cool $14 million.
Are the pair married? One can only guess. The couple won’t tell us, but you can follow their adventures anyway via Instagram.
Serving up Sports Gossip Then, Now, and Later
Anna Kournikova has lived a full, exciting, and interesting life.
While some of us were sleeping in or hanging out with friends, Kournikova was waking up early, training to be a tennis pro. While we were turning 21 and having our first beers, Kournikova was already retiring from an impressive career.
We hope this article delivered all the juicy gossip you came to find. If you want more, Total Pro Sports has it.
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