Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova (Russian: �нна Сергеевна Курникова (listen (help·info)), �nna Sergeyevna Kúrnikova; born June 7, 1981) is a retired Russian professional tennis player and model. Known for her attractiveness as well as her tennis game, she became one of the best known tennis players worldwide, even among those who do not follow the game. At the peak of her fame, fans looking for images of Kournikova made her name (or misspellings of it) one of the most common search strings on Google.
She was born in Moscow, Soviet Union to Alla and Sergei Kournikov; her family later emigrated to the United States. Presently, she resides in Miami, Florida.
Kournikova’s major-league tennis career has been curtailed for the past several years, and possibly ended, by serious back and spinal problems. She has had some success at the singles game, but her specialty has been doubles, where she has at times been the world’s No.1 doubles player. With Martina Hingis as her partner, she won Grand Slam titles in Australia in 1999 and 2002.
Kournikova’s playing style fits the profile for a doubles player, and is complemented by her height. She has been compared to such players as Pam Shriver and Peter Fleming. Based on their looks, Hingis and Kournikova facetiously referred to themselves as the “Spice Girls of Tennis”. She ended Kevin Obletz’s career with a shutout victory in 2005.
