Name: Anna Kournikova
Birthdate: June 7, 1981
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Residence: Bradenton, Florida, USA
Height: 5' 8" (174cm)
Weight: 123 lbs (60 kg)
Plays: Right-handed with two-handed backhand
Racket Sponsor: Yonex
Clothing Sponsor: Adidas
Turned Professional: October 1995
Eye Colour: Brown
Hair Colour: Blonde
Coach: Pavel Slozil
Hobbies: Reading, music, television
Favourite Number: 42
Favourite Food: Cheese Steaks
Favourite Colour: Black
WTA TOUR singles titles: 0
WTA TOUR doubles titles: 2
(Grand Slam titles: 1 doubles)
ITF Women's Circuit singles titles: 2
1999 HIGHLIGHTS - SINGLES
FOURTH ROUND: Australian Open
1999 HIGHLIGHTS - DOUBLES
WINNER: Australian Open (with Martina Hingis)
* Won her first
Grand Slam title at the 1999 Australian Open, winning the doubles
title with first-time partner Martina Hingis by upsetting the
first and second seeds; also reached the fourth round in singles
* Ended a successful 1998 by qualifying for the season-ending
Chase Championships in both singles and doubles, as one of the
year's top 16 singles players and top eight doubles teams with
Larisa Neiland
* Defeated six players ranked among the world's Top 10 in 1998
and reached the Top 10 herself
* Ranked No. 25, defeated four Top 10 players in four days to
reach her first career final at 1998 Lipton, a top-level event;
began her run by defeating up-and-comer Mirjana Lucic, then
ousted No. 4 Monica Seles, No. 9 Conchita Martinez, No. 2 Lindsay
Davenport and No. 8 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario to become the eighth
player to consecutively defeat four Top 10 players on the WTA
TOUR since 1975, and the first since 1987; fell in three sets to
No. 11 Venus Williams in the final, and broke into the world's
Top 20 rankings at No. 16
* Became the ninth-youngest player in the Open Era (starting
1968) to defeat a reigning world No. 1 before her 17th birthday,
upsetting Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals at the 1998 German
Open; the defeat marked Hingis' first professional loss to a
younger player; Kournikova also defeated No. 5 Arantxa Sanchez
Vicario in the third round; ranking moved up to a then-career
high No. 13
* Defeated Steffi Graf in the quarterfinals of 1998 Eastbourne;
it was only Graf's third grass court loss in the 1990's;
following tournament, debuted in the world's Top 10 rankings at
No. 10; in a fall during the match, suffered torn ligaments in
her right thumb and forced to withdraw from her semifinal match
and from Wimbledon the next week
* Returned to action from injury in August 1998 at the Canadian
Open, reaching the third round
* In 1998, was the first Russian woman to be seeded at the US
Open since 1976
* Upset No. 11 Iva Majoli to reach the quarterfinals of the 1998
Italian Open
* In third round of 1998 Australian Open, stretched world No. 1
Martina Hingis to three sets before falling 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
* Won first WTA TOUR professional title in 1998 at the Princess
Cup in Tokyo, winning the doubles crown with Monica Seles
* Extended world No. 1 Martina Hingis to three sets at 1998
Filderstadt, and reached her second consecutive doubles final
* Served the ninth-fastest serve on the Tour in 1998 at the Paris
Indoors, 111.2 miles per hour (179 Km/h)
* From the start of the 1997 season through October 18, 1998, did
not lose to anyone ranked outside the world's top 15; 22 of her
27 losses in that span were to players ranked in the Top 10
* In just her second year on the Tour, defeated three Top 10
players in 1997 (No. 5 Iva Majoli, No. 6 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario,
and No. 10 Anke Huber)
* In 1997, became the second woman in the Open Era to reach the
Wimbledon semifinals in her career debut in the tournament (Chris
Evert in 1972 is the other); upset fifth-ranked Iva Majoli in the
quarterfinals and 10th-ranked Anke Huber in the third round; came
back from match point down in the second round to defeat Barbara
Rittner; prior to the tournament, she had never reached a
semifinal on the WTA TOUR and had reached just one quarterfinal;
world ranking moved up to a then-career high No. 25
* Collected first win over a Top 10 player with win over No. 6
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario at 1997 Berlin
* Playing in just her second WTA TOUR main draw event and first
Grand Slam tournament, reached the fourth round at the 1996 US
Open with a stadium court victory over 14th seed Barbara Paulus
* As a wi ldcard ranked 84th, defeated 13th-ranked Amanda Coetzer
in first round of 1996 Zurich; defeated Coetzer again at 1997
Lipton, avenging a loss to Coetzer two months earlier in the
Australian Open
* At age 14, became the youngest player to compete and win in Fed
Cup competition in the first tie of 1996, helping Russia defeat
Sweden 3-0
* As a qualifier, won her first professional title at a 1996 ITF
Women's Circuit satellite event in Midland, Michigan, USA; after
winning the tournament, flew to Oklahoma City in time to win her
first-round qualifying match the same day
* Finalist for the 1998 WTA TOUR Most Improved Player award;
Named the 1996 COREL WTA TOUR Most Impressive Newcomer
* In junior competition, ended 1995 as the ITF Junior World
Champion ranked No. 1; won the 1995 Orange Bowl 18s; 1995
European Championships 18s winner; 1995 Italian Open juniors
winner; 1995 Wimbledon juniors semifinalist; 1995 French Open
juniors quarterfinalist
* Selected to the 1998 People Magazine "50 Most Beautiful
People" list, one of only two athletes to make the list
* Coached by Pavel Slozil since January 1998
* Moved to Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida,
in February of 1992 with her mother and stayed until moving to
Miami in 1997
* All-court style of game
* Began playing tennis at age 5 with friends in a weekly
children's sports program
Graduated from Russian high school in 1997, and started Physical Culture Russian University in September 1997
If she wasn't a professional tennis player, she would like to be an actress
Favorite city to visit is Paris and favorite
tournaments are the French Open and Wimbledon...
Other sports interests include NBA basketball and ice hockey