Date: 11/1999
The complete Anna Kournikova biography with
career results, statistics and facts. With
key-moments from her professional career,
personal stats, in fact everything you could
possibly need to know. Provided courtesy of the
WTA Tour.

Profile

Anna Kournikova: Russia
(Residence: Miami, Florida, USA)
Birthdate: June 7, 1981
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Height: 5' 8" (1.70 m)
Weight: 123 lbs. (55.5 kg)
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Status: Pro (October 1995)

Career Titles

WTA TOUR singles titles: 0
WTA TOUR doubles titles: 5
(Grand Slam titles: 1 doubles)
ITF Women's Circuit singles titles:

Quick Facts
* 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
* Reached her first semifinal in eight months at 1999 Oklahoma City
* Reached her second career final (both in Tier I events) at 1999 Hilton
Head including wins over sixth seed Patty Schnyder and 12th seed
Barbara Schett; as the seventh seed, became the third lowest seed in
the history of the tournament to reach the final, in addition to four
unseeded players; playing against 18-year-old Martina Hingis in the final,
they were the youngest players ever to meet in the final of this
tournament with a combined age of 36 years, five months
* The week following her runner-up finish at 1999 Hilton Head, defeated
world No. 2 Lindsay Davenport in Amelia Island for her first win over a Top
10 player in 11 months, then defeated No. 10 Patty Schnyder in her next
match to reach the semifinals
* Defeated 11th seed Patty Schnyder for a third time in 1999 at the
French Open to reach the fourth round, before falling to eventual winner
Steffi Graf 6-3, 7-6; also was a doubles finalist
* Reached the fourth round in singles at 1999 Wimbledon and the mixed
doubles final, which she entered at the last minute with Jonas Bjorkman
* 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 wildcard 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

Personal

* Mother's name is Alla
* father's name is Sergei
* Travels on the tour with her mother
* Graduated from Russian high school in 1997, and started Physical
Culture Russian University in September 1997
* Likes to dance, read, listen to music and watch television (The Tonight
Show with Jay Leno and Melrose Place)
* 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
* Favorite color is black