How did it happen that a very promising tennis player and undoubtedly beautiful girl turned into an object of close attention from journalists all over the world writing for the "Social Chronicle" and "Star Life" sections, began to appear more in show business news and practically disappeared from sports chronicles?
Anna Kournikova was born on June 7, 1981 in Moscow; her parents, Alla and Sergei, were former athletes. Her mother did track and field, though not very successfully, and her father was at one time a world champion in Greco-Roman wrestling. As a child, Anya was sent to the tennis section at the elite club "Spartak", and her mother began making a superstar career for her daughter when she was only nine years old (!).
It all started with Alla and Anya moving to the USA, to Florida, where the famous Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy is located. According to the owner himself, back in August 1990 Alla Kournikova asked him to take her daughter into training, who, in her opinion, was a very, very talented and promising tennis player. Having been refused because of Anya's young age, Kournikova-mother did not calm down, but, like a proper hero, went around the obstacle.
Thanks to the influence of Mark McCormack, head of the well-known management company IMG and at the same time owner of a controlling stake in the tennis academy, with whom a contract was concluded, Anya was finally accepted.
At first everything went as well as possible; Mr. Bollettieri himself worked with the young tennis player, and she noticeably progressed. Anya's cheerful disposition helped a lot in the work, although there were also excesses - the girl had character and, "thanks" to the close attention of the mass media even then, she did not really strive to train much.
Having moved from Moscow to Florida, mother and daughter fully felt the difference between Soviet sports educational institutions and overseas ones. Here for Anya, who from the first day was under the care of IMG, everything possible and impossible was done - she trained with the best of coaches, received scholarships and could use practically everything that belonged to the academy.
When Kournikova grew up a bit, Mark McCormack's company, in order to attract more interest from the mass media and advertisers to the young talent, even organized exhibition matches of the Russian woman against Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras. Not a bad level, is it? But Anya after the matches said nothing other than: "I expected more from them! Sampras is too predictable on the court. Agassi has excellent technique, but his serve is lousy. Even I serve harder." It is hard to say whether Anya thought of this herself or it was another successful PR move, but the reputation of an arrogant and haughty person firmly stuck to Kournikova.
Anya's mother Alla never hid, unlike other parents of tennis players, that she seriously worked to make her daughter popular as quickly as possible, even sacrificing education for sports. And she was very indignant when restrictions were introduced on the number of competitions for minor tennis players, because all efforts were thrown into cultivating a real star.
Kourni's career, as the Russian tennis player was nicknamed by her numerous American fans, was on the rise. But, unfortunately for true sports lovers, not in tennis, but in the advertising and show business. And although Anna's highest achievements remained reaching the Wimbledon semifinals in 1997 and the Lipton final in 98 and the status of world No. 10, the Russian beauty has plenty of fans.
The sportswoman is disliked by her fellow tennis players, and that is understandable - not only does the Russian "upstart" have a quarrelsome character, but she also, in their opinion, cannot really play. Because of her constant busyness with photo shoots and filming of various TV programs and videos, Anna practically had no time left for training and, of course, problems appeared in her technique: no one makes that many serve errors. For this, Anya was even called "Miss Double Fault". Plus there is also female jealousy of the universal attention paid to Kournikova.
The money that the sports diva received from participation in various tournaments is just a drop in the ocean of millions brought by waves of television and other advertising. Anna signed multi-million dollar contracts with such world-famous companies as Adidas and Rolex. Her mere appearance on the court, regardless of the result, caused unprecedented excitement among spectators and brought fabulous income to the tournament organizers.
Then, information that stirred the minds of Kournikova's admirers about her imminent marriage began to leak into the press. At first the mass media "married" her to the Russian hockey player of the "Detroit Red Wings" Sergei Fedorov, with whom, according to Anna herself, they were connected by warm friendly relations not burdened by anything else.
Then Kourni came into the journalists' lens with another hockey player, this time with the Russian groom number one Pavel Bure. The topic of the possible marriage of two of the most popular sports personalities was long discussed in various variations. The "newlyweds" were predicted a wonderful future and multi-million fees that they could not earn separately, a wonderful family life and even greater popularity, etc., etc. But here too the mass media were disappointed - the wedding never took place, and Kournikova and Bure continued to earn money independently of each other.
Anna's next scandalous fiancé was the son of the famous Spanish singer Julio Iglesias - Enrique. The "sweet couple" did not leave the front pages of entertainment publications. The pop idol and sex symbol were also presented to the world public as a wonderful couple. Anna even starred in one of the videos of the hot Spanish guy, but even here it did not work out.
All three scandalous affairs are also most likely another publicity stunt, both in terms of "hype" and their transience, but who knows...
The only person with whom Anna always consults on all matters, including her personal life, is her mother Alla, thanks to whom, in principle, Kournikova Jr. achieved everything. After all, had Alla not been so persistent, who knows whether cute little Anya would have turned into one of the world's most famous sportswomen. As for her father, on the contrary, Kournikova almost never mentions him.
Almost no one talks about the sports career of the Muscovite now, but still her contribution to the development of Russian and world tennis as a whole cannot be underestimated. If before Kournikova's appearance women's matches were attended much less than men's, now interest in competitions among women in this sport has significantly increased. And this attracts more and more sponsors to tennis, which in turn allows its infrastructure to develop.
In Russia, young talents are growing up to replace Anna, such as Anastasia Myskina and Natalia Petrova. The top spots in the world ranking are occupied by American women - the sisters Venus and Serena Williams, not at all like the ideal created on the basis of the Russian beauty's physical data, but very good tennis players, technically savvy and physically developed.
As for Kournikova herself, her career smoothly flowed from sports to show business. And the tennis player herself can be understood: why train to the point of exhaustion, if money can be earned in a simpler way - posing for some publication or signing another advertising contract. This will not reduce the number of fans, and may even increase it.
Now only on the Internet there are more than five thousand fan sites dedicated to her, and the hype around Kournikova's name does not subside. In the last couple of weeks, information, as usual scandalous, has slipped through almost all media that Anna was fired by one of the American sports channels due to professional incompetence, where she worked for only three days as a commentator on tennis matches. Sports commentators and tennis specialists, especially men, try to avoid talking about Anna, arguing that Kournikova the athlete no longer exists, and everything else in her life is none of their business.
And the interest of the general public in Kournikova, I think, will not disappear soon. Now she is a millionaire and has several apartments and mansions located in the most expensive areas, communicates with famous people and is a globally recognized star. And although she herself says that she does not like to attend mass events and so-called celebrity parties, the ubiquitous paparazzi from time to time find her among the guests, thereby further fueling the passions around her name.