Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova is a Russian retired professional tennis player born June 7, 1981 in Moscow.  Her beauty and celebrity status made her one of the best-known tennis stars worldwide, despite the fact that she never won a WTA singles title.

The daughter of Alla and Sergei Kournikov, Anna began playing competitive tennis early on.  Sergei is a former Greco-Roman wrestling champion, had earned a Ph.D. and was a professor at the University of Physical Culture and Sport in Moscow.   Her mother Alla, who was 18 when Kournikova was born, had been a 400-meter runner.  Kournikova received her first tennis racquet as a New Year gift in 1986 at age 5.  In 1986, Kournikova became a member of the Spartak Tennis Club, coached by Larissa Preobrazhenskaya.

Kournikova was competing in the juniors by age nine and within two years, she was headed to the U.S. to train at Nick Bollettieri’s famed Florida tennis academy.  She subsequently won several international junior tennis tournaments and was declared the Junior European Champion and Junior World Champion in 1995.  At age 15, she reached the fourth round of the U.S. open and at the age of 16, she reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon.  In 1999, she won two Grand Slam doubles titles with partner Martina Hingis.  Based on their looks, Hingis and Kournikova referred to themselves as the “Spice Girls of Tennis.”  However, in 130 singles tournaments she only reached the finals four times, never winning, and spent the bulk of her career ranked out of the top thirty.

As a player, Kournikova was noted for her footspeed and aggressive baseline play, and excellent angles and dropshots; however, her relatively flat, high-risk groundstrokes tended to produce frequent errors, and her serve was sometimes unreliable in singles.  Kournikova plays right-handed with a two-handed backhand.   She is a great player at the net.  She can also hit forceful groundstrokes and drop shots.

Kournikova had a relationship with fellow Russian, Pavel Bure, an NHL ice hockey player. The two met in 1999 when Kournikova was still linked to Bure’s former Russian teammate Sergei Fedorov.  Kournikova, 10 years younger than Bure, was 18 years old at the time.  The following year, Kournikova and Fedorov were married in Moscow.  Kournikova’s representatives deny any marriage to Fedorov; however, Sergei’s agent Pat Brisson claims that although he does not know when they got married, he knew “he was married”.

Kournikova started dating pop star Enrique Iglesias in late 2001 (she appeared in his video, “Escape”), and rumors that the couple had secretly married circulated in 2003 and again in 2005. Kournikova herself has consistently refused to directly confirm or deny the status of her personal relationships.  Recently, Kournikova confirmed that she and Iglesias have been together for over eight years but have no plans to marry in the near future.  Kournikova and Iglesias have been a long-term relationship for 10 years now.

Kournikova’s professional tennis career has been curtailed for the past several years, and possibly ended, by serious back and spinal problems.  She resides in Miami Beach, Florida, and plays in occasional exhibitions and in doubles for the St. Louis Aces of World Team Tennis.  She was a new trainer for season 12 of the television show The Biggest Loser, replacing Jillian Michaels, but will not return for season 13.

Anna Kournikova Photo Gallery

The former tennis pro has Anna Kournikova will no longer be a part of the NBC series, The Biggest Loser.  Kournikova has been a part of the show and she confirmed in a statement that she would not be returning to NBC’s weight loss reality show next season.   According to her, she enjoyed her time to the Biggest Loser ranch.  She said that although he will not be returning as a full time trainer on season 13, she will always be a part of The Biggest Loser family and her commitment to bettering lives through health and fitness will continue.

Kournikova replaced Jillian Michaels for season 12, and rumor has it that she was a nightmare to work with.  She reportedly did not sympathize with the overweight contestants.  If you have seen one episode of the old seasons, Jillian Michaels was scary enough.  Every time a contestant picked up a cookie, he/she would hear Jillian Michaels yelling at him/her.  So Anna Kournikova must have been frightening.

The 30-year-old blonde bombshell was not beloved on the show, however, which may be the reason behind her hasty decision to split.  According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kournikova did not sympathize with her overweight contestants, often telling them about her own tough upbringing when they complained about training being hard.  In a conversation with a contestant saying that her boyfriend broke up with her making her want to eat pie, Kournikova said that her mother gave birth to her without epidural in a puddle of gasoline in Soviet Russia asking the contestant to shut up and do her squats.

According to the THR, staff and stars alike clashed with the Russian beauty because of her abrasive manner.  A source on the show called her a nightmare and said she was not the life coach she was supposed to be on the show.  She has spoken about her training strategy in the past, saying anyone can change their body but you have to work for it.  An insider confirmed to Us Weekly that The Biggest Loser was not the right fit for Anna and her exit was a mutual decision.

She did have a fan in at least one contestant, though.  Joe Mitchell said that the tennis star inspired her.  According to Mitchell, Anna made her believe that she could lose weight noting that she drilled on their heads that the only person they can rely on is their selves.  His fellow contestants sent Mitchell back home to Knoxville after getting voted off of the show.

For now, perhaps she will focus on starting a family with her boyfriend of ten years, singer Enrique Iglesias.  She recently professed her desire to have children, saying that she absolutely want to have children, whether she has her own or adopt noting that she love taking care of people.  Fitness is still a top priority as well.  She may not be appearing on The Biggest Loser next season, but she will certainly be keeping her own body in shape.