Sergei and Alla Kournikova
knew that their lives would change when they brought daughter
Anna into the world on June 7, 1981. They just didn't know
the entire tennis world would soon be turned upside down as
well.
Both Sergei, a natural athlete
who wrestled professionally and coached tennis part-time,
and Alla encouraged their daughter to take part in physical
activity at an early age. When she turned five, Anna received
a Christmas gift that would change her life.
"I found my first racquets
under the Christmas tree," Anna says, "but I found
out later that my parents sold one of their TVs to get me
those racquets."
From that moment, Anna has
rarely put down her racquet. She started hitting at Moscow's
Soklniki Park and soon was a member of the prestigious Spartak
Tennis Club, coached by the husband of Russian pro Olga Morozova.
At eight, Anna began appearing
in junior clinics and quickly caught the eye of local tennis
scouts. Still, she says, her childhood was "regular,
average" as she spent a lot of time shopping, going to
amusement parks and spending time with friends.
Kournikova won her first
grand slam title in 1999 with Martina Hingis in doubles at
the Australian Open. Since then, they have played reguraly
together and have rapidly became one of the best pairs actually...Anna
became #2 in doubles in september 1999, quite a good performance
considering she didn't compete in Wimbledon or in the US Open...
Anna now resides in Miami
with her mom and is ready to give all she has to enter the
top 10 and eventually the top 5 as it is the objective announced
by her coach..
, TopPics4u.com
- All rights reserved. 