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Anna Kournikova

Early life

Born in Moscow on June 7, 1981, to mom Alla and dad Sergei, a professional wrestler, Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova began playing tennis aged five, after her father sold the family TV to buy her a racquet as a New Year's gift. Soon the sport was an outlet for Anna's energy, but at that point it hadn't occurred to the tennis prodigy to make a living playing the sport.

Tennis success

Discovered in 1991 by talent scouts, she soon however became the tennis world's Next Big Thing, training from age ten at Florida's famed Bollettieri Tennis Academy. She spent the next three years trouncing opponents on the junior circuit before turning pro in October 1995. The following year she reached the fourth round in her first US Open, and aged 16 made it to the semi-finals in her Wimbledon debut. In 1999 and 2002 Anna took home two Grand Slam title in the doubles contests at the Australian Open alongside her doubles partner Martina Hingis.

She once spent 35 weeks a year on the tennis circuit, but in 2001 she played only ten tournaments due to injury. After ten months out of action, her singles rank dropped from eight to 55, and in 2003, just before dropping out of the competitive circuit, she hit 305. 

Further career

After finishing her professional tennis career, Anna found stardom again by becoming a popular American TV host. She has also made appearances on reality TV, such as when she became a trainer in season 12 of the weight loss focused show The Biggest Loser.

Personal life

Anna has been in a relationship with the Spanish singer-songwriter Enrique Iglesias since 2001. The pair share three children, twins, born in December 2017, and another daughter, who was born in January 2020. The family resides in Miami, Florida.