| Anna Kournikova |
"This was the most fun at a shoot I’ve ever had. I was more relaxed than usual; you can see in my face that I was excited to be doing it," says Anna, who spent a couple of days in Acapulco, Mexico, posing on the beach and in the pool. "I did it when I first had my injury, so I wouldn’t worry about spending my energy on the photos instead of tennis, and I was really having fun with it."
You were out for quite a while with your injury. Any tournaments you really regretted missing?
Probably Wimbledon, because it’s a different atmosphere. First of all, it’s grass, and we don’t get to play on that often. But “I’ll be back”—ha ha—just like the saying from the movie. I was trying really hard to get back this year, but unfortunately, I had to take some more time off, so I’ll be back next year.
These pictures are the sexiest we’ve seen of you. Is this you showing a different image?
No, this is just me. I never try to play a role for someone else. We had lots of fun. It was all done spontaneously.
You started playing tennis when you were five. What sort of training did you do at that age?
I played two times a week from age five. It was a children’s program and it was just for fun; my parents didn’t know I was going to play professionally, they just wanted me to do something because I had lots of energy. It was only when I started playing well at seven that I went to a professional academy. I would go to school, and then my parents would take me to the club, and I’d spend the rest of the day there just having fun with the kids.
Tennis is such a big part of your life. Do you ever think you’ve missed out on having a normal life?
Not at all. It’s not like I had to do it. When I was little, I just loved it, and I still do. I can’t imagine doing anything else. I like this lifestyle for now.
When was the time you’ve been most angry on the court?
I don’t really get angry. Of course, you can get angry when you’re not playing well, but there’s nothing I’ve done that’s crazy.
So you’re not a racket smasher?
No, not really, because when I was growing up we never really had a lot of rackets, and it’s the instrument I play with, so how could I smash it? I think I broke one racket on purpose in my whole life.
What goes on backstage at the tournaments?
Everyone does their own thing. The only difference is we share the same locker rooms. It’s not like team sports where they have their own. We have to see each other before the match and after the match.
You get photographed every time you go out. Are you always conscious of what you’re wearing?
No. Of course, I do pay attention to what I’m wearing, but I wouldn’t just get dressed up for the people who are going to photograph me. I wear what’s comfortable, what I like and what’s me.
You always do well in FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll. How does that make you feel?
Well, it’s flattering, but I don’t really pay attention to it. At the same time, it’s strange, but it’s not the most important thing to me.
You’ve earned a lot of money from sponsorships and tournaments. What’s been your biggest extravagance?
Well, I like my house in Florida. But I’m always careful, I wouldn’t go and just spend loads of money on clothes or something. The only other thing I spend money on is my dog. He’s a miniature Doberman called Genie, like genie in the bottle.
So you’re a big Christina Aguilera fan?
I’ve listened to her, but I didn’t call him that because of the song. I don’t have much time to pamper him, I just get him vaccinated like crazy. I love Dobermans. They look like horses, so graceful. I had one when I was little, so I love that dog.
What would a man have to do to impress you? Do you like him to write poems?
No, he just has to be himself. It has to come naturally.
Do you prefer a specific type of man?
No, just natural. You can’t wish for something specific, because you might get that and be disappointed. You just have to feel it.
What else do you like doing apart from sports?
Reading Russian books, like Chekhov and Tolstoy, being with my family and playing with my dog.
Do you have any ambitions outside of tennis? You were in Me, Myself & Irene, for instance.
Not right now. My main goal is tennis. I did that movie really quickly. It was just for fun; it’s not like I want to become an actress. I only saw it for the first time two months ago, when I was injured and didn’t have anything to do.
You live in Miami, which is quite a wild city. What’s been your most exciting night out?
When I’m home, I hardly every go out, only for birthdays and Christmas. I just want to stay home and have sushi for dinner, nothing wild and crazy. But even when I was in London for my birthday, we just went to a restaurant. There were about six people, just close friends and family. We ate in the restaurant and then went back to the hotel.
All around the London Underground are posters of you in a sports bra. Do you find that strange?
Well, it is a sports bra, so it’s the same as wearing a sports top. It’s not really like underwear.
Anna Kournikova’s calendar can be found at major bookstores, or call 800-337-5723 to order it.
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| Anna Kournikova |
When people want to express how difficult it is to break into something, they invariably refer to Fort Knox, home of the largest portion of the United States’ gold reserve. The vault door itself weighs more than 30 tons, and no one person knows all of the combinations required to unlock it. The police force responsible for protecting the gold is supported by units from the US Army, prompting the US Department of the Treasury to insist that nothing is as tightly guarded as Fort Knox. Sports journalists who have tried to engage tennis pro Anna Kournikova in deep conversation would tend to disagree.
Because Anna rarely gives one-on-one interviews to members of the press, FHM is ecstatic to be granted such exclusive access at Hacienda San Juan, a remote hunting lodge in the northeastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas. In the 24 hours leading up to the interview, FHM witnesses an outgoing and upbeat Anna. Soon after her arrival, she emerges from a dressing room and begins to introduce herself, only to pause upon realizing the tape holding a half-buttoned cowgirl shirt to her chest is starting to give way. A 180-degree spin and some assistance from her mother remedies the situation, allowing her to turn back and extend a hand to finish the greeting before tackling the task at hand: her sexiest photo shoot ever. In an effort to show the photographer just how hot she is willing to get, she points to the Jennifer Lopez photos that ran in FHM this past March. During breaks in the shoot, Anna spends time dancing with a mariachi band, joking with her mother, chatting animatedly to friends on her cell phone and even once making a clever reference to a scene from Dumb & Dumber. In other words, acting like a typical 21-year-old.
Of course, there’s little typical about someone who’s been a professional athlete since age 14 and now earns an estimated $12 million a year as a spokesperson for such global entities as Adidas, Lycos and Berlei sports bras. Anna’s career peaked with back-to-back top-10 rankings on the WTA tour prize-money lists in 1999 and 2000, the last two years she was healthy. A stress fracture in her left foot caused her to miss the final eight months of 2001, but she appeared to be on the comeback trail when she pushed Serena Williams to three sets during a grueling match played in intense Sydney heat at the Adidas International this past January.
"That match showed me that I can play well even without playing a lot of tournaments," says Anna, who later in the month would win her second career Grand Slam doubles title while playing alongside Martina Hingis at the Australian Open. "I was playing well that match—unfortunately, I didn’t close it out. But it gave me the confidence that I can play well again and look forward to the rest of the season."
Soon after that, however, Anna fell into a slump that bottomed out in late May with her first-round French Open defeat to Christina Wheeler. Anna then suffered an opening-round loss at Wimbledon to fellow Russian Tatiana Panova four weeks later. Still, such defeats have clearly done nothing to derail her popularity. It peaked this past June, when she was selected Sexiest Woman in the World after more than 5 million votes were cast by FHM readers on five different continents. Yet, while millions continue to adore her, Anna remains guarded, and when it comes time to sit down and talk with FHM, her closely monitored, enigmatic persona suddenly returns.
Welcome to Fort Knox.
So how does it feel to have been voted Sexiest Woman in the World by the readers of FHM?
It’s extremely flattering, especially because it’s voted on by the readers. I’m very excited about it.
Do you consider yourself to be sexy?
It all depends on how I’m feeling. When I’m happy inside, that’s when
I feel sexiest.
Does your unparalleled popularity put you at a disadvantage in that an opposing player gets more psyched for matches against you than against other players?
I can’t really control that. Anybody who goes on the court against anybody, they’re going on the court to win. So I don’t think that really makes a huge difference.
You’ve been the No. 1 ranked junior player in the world and the No. 1 ranked doubles player in the world, and you’ve won many important doubles titles. How important is it that you win a major singles title before your career is over?
I think it’s important for anybody. I’m still young and my career is obviously not over yet. It’s just beginning. So, someday...
Have you ever considered cutting your hair so you wouldn’t have to contend with the occasional ponytail-in-the-face while stroking a forehand?
No, I haven’t. Have you ever considered shaving your head bald? It really doesn’t bother me. I like the way it is and don’t pay much attention to it.
In the Adidas International match against Serena Williams, the crowd seemed to get behind you even more than usual. Have fans been supporting you more this season because you’re coming back from an injury?
I’ve always felt the fans were on my side no matter what. That was certainly the case in that match and I was very excited about it. It really helps me to feel that I have all the support of the fans.
Are you aware of the crowd noise during a match, or are you so focused that you tune everything out?
I do feel the excitement, but it’s not like it distracts me. It’s exciting when you’re playing a match and the atmosphere is almost boiling and all the fans are getting into it. You get the adrenaline going and it really makes a match even more exciting.
Have you ever done a photo shoot with surroundings quite like this remote ranch?
No, it’s really amazing. I’ve never been to a place like Tamaulipas before—I like the fact that it feels so close to nature. I had a lot of fun with the settings and locations.
You’re often complimented on your sense of style. How do you explain having such good fashion taste after spending nearly the first half of your life in the relatively fashionless world of communist Russia?
Well, it may be fashionless, but the people there do have taste. Especially my parents, so I guess that’s where it comes from.
In your spare time, do you check out fan Web sites and get a laugh out of the names people come up with—names like "The Annamaniacs Page" and "Anna at the Temple of Babes"?
They certainly do have good imaginations! But it’s fun, just as long as they’re having fun.
Ever log on out of curiosity of what people are posting about you?
I go to my Web site on Lycos at Kournikova.com. I hang out and see what people are saying. I guess you could say I’m spying on them!
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