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At the summer of 1981 , Alla and Sergei Kournikova gave birth to their daughter Anna. Five years later , Anna
had a racket in her hands for the first time. She played with friends in a weekly children's sports program. It
was clear that Anna had a talent for tennis , and at the age of 9 years , she was discovered by IMG agents
while playing at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. IMG , the International Management Group, is the largest
sports- and marketing company, fonded by Mark Hume McCormack, who had many other great tennissers
under his custody , like Bjorn Borg , Martina Navratilova an Monica Seles.
In 1992 Anna moved with her mother to Brandenton , Florida to train and live at Nick Bollettieri's Tennis
Academy. This Academy has already produced superstars like Monica Seles and Andre Agassi.
When Anna was 13 years , she lost the final of the Rolex Orange Bowl Championship to the 18-years old
Spanish Marion Ramon (7-5 , 6-4). If she had won that match , she would have become the youngest winner
of the tournament. But she reached the finals again the next year. This time she was too strong for Sandra
Nacek from Yugoslavia: 6-3 , 6-2. She was very succesful as a junior , winning the 1995 European
Championship and the Italian Open Juniors. She made it to the semi-finals of Wimbledon Juniors and was a
quarter-finalist at the French Open Juniors.
In October 1995 she became a professional , leaving the ITF World Champion ranked No. 1. At the age of 14 ,
she became the youngest player to compete and win in the Fed Cup Competition in the first tie of 1996,
helping Russian to defeat Sweden (3-0). She won her first professional title as a qualifier at a 1996 ITF
Women's Circuit sattelite event in Midland , Michigan, USA , where she defeated Julie Steven, Jana Nejedly,
Rene Simpson, Tami Whitlinger-Jones and Lindsay Lee. It's remarkable that she flew to Oklahoma City right
after the final, and won her first-round qualifyingmatch the same day. The next title Anna won was in
Rockford , Illinois, another ITF Women's Circuit satellite event. As the fifth seed , she collected wins against
Sonya Jeyaseelan, Tara Snyder, and Yuka Yoshida.
Anna then made her Grand Slam debut, ranked 144, at the 1996 US Open, losing to Steffi Graf, number 1
seeded and title-favorite, in the fourth round. This is a very good debut , as not many players make it to the
fourth round in their first Grand Slam. She also played doubles with Likhovtseva, where she made it to the
quarter-finals , and the mixed doubles. She became the 1996 COREL WTA TOUR Most Impressive
Newcomer, and collected her first win over a top 10 player in may of this year , at the German Open in Berlin
, where she defeated No. 6 Arantxa Sanchez.
Some Usefull Kournikova Facts:
Nationality: RUS
Birthdate: June 7, 1981
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Residence: Moscow, Russia
Height: 1.73 meters
Weight: 54.9 kilos
Plays: Right
Turned Pro: 1995
Current rank for singles: 11
Current rank for doubles: 22
High rank for singles: 13
High rank date for singles: April 20, 1998
High rank for doubles: 22
High rank date for doubles: April 20, 1998
Career titles for singles: 0
Career titles for doubles: 0
Career matches won: 41
Career matches lost: 24
Year to date matches won: 18
Year to date matches lost: 8
Career prize money: $477,894
Year to date prize money for singles: $63,344
Year to date prize money for doubles: $22,730
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.Collected first win over a Top 10 player with win over No. 6 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario at 1997 Berlin and
reached first career quarterfinal on the COREL WTA TOUR; ranking cracked Top 50 for first time at No. 48
.Playing in just her second COREL WTA TOUR main draw event and first Grand Slam tournament, reached the
fourth round at the 1996 US Open with a stadium court victory over 14th seed Barbara Paulus; ranking
improved to a then-career high No. 69
.As a wildcard ranked 84th, defeated 13th-ranked Amanda Coetzer in first round of 1996 Zurich; ranking
vaulted 26 spots to a then-career high No. 58; defeated Coetzer again at 1997 Lipton, avenging a loss to
Coetzer two months earlier in the Australian Open
.In 1996, improved year-end ranking 224 spots from No. 281 in 1995 to No. 57
.At age 14, became the youngest player to compete and win in Fed Cup competition in the first tie of 1996,
helping Russia defeat Sweden 3-0.
.As a qualifier, won her first professional title at a 1996 ITF Women's Circuit satellite event in Midland,
.Michigan, USA; collected wins over Julie Steven, Jana Nejedly, Rene Simpson, Tami Whitlinger-Jones and
.Lindsay Lee; after winning the tournament, flew to Oklahoma City in time to win her first-round qualifying match
the same day
.Seeded fifth, earned second pro title at a 1996 ITF Women's Circuit satellite event in Rockford, Illinois, USA;
wins included Sonya Jeyaseelan, Tara Snyder and Yuka Yoshida
.Coached by Nick Bollettieri; moved to Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida, in February of
1992 with her mother
.Endorses Yonex racquets and Adidas shoes and clothing
.Named the 1996 COREL WTA TOUR Most Impressive Newcomer
.Began playing tennis at age 5 with friends in a weekly children's sports program
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