World's Beautiful Women : Collection

Nickname(s): Anči, Aussie Ana
Country: Serbia
Residence: Basel, Switzerland
Date of birth: November 6, 1987
Place of birth: Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height: 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight: 69 kg (150 lb)
Turned pro: August 17, 2003
Plays: Right-handed; two-handed backhand





Ana Ivanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Ана Ивановић) Serbian pronunciation: [ˈana iˈvaːnɔvitɕ] (born November 6, 1987, in Belgrade, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia) is a former World No.1 Serbian tennis player. As of May 17, 2010, she is ranked World No. 41 by the Women's Tennis Association. She won the 2008 French Open and was the runner-up in singles at the 2007 French Open[3] and the 2008 Australian Open.

Personal Life

Ivanović's mother Dragana, who is a lawyer, attends all of her daughter's matches. Her father, Miroslav, a self-employed businessman, attends as many events as he possibly can. Ana has a younger brother, Miloš, with whom she loves to play basketball.[5] She chooses not to have a permanent coach.[6] Aside from her tennis career, Ivanović also studies finance at a university in Belgrade and Spanish in her spare time.[6] Her inspiration to begin playing was Monica Seles.[7]

On September 8, 2007, Ivanović became a UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia, alongside Aleksandar Đorđević and Emir Kusturica. She takes a special interest in the fields of education and child protection. Ivanović visited a primary school in Serbia during her inauguration and said: "I'm also looking forward to going into the classroom and meeting many kids."[8]

Ivanović confirmed in November 2008 that she was romantically involved with Spanish tennis player Fernando Verdasco;[9] however, it was reported that the relationship ended in January 2009. Some of her best friends include close childhood family friend Novak Djokovic, whom she has known since she was 5 years old, and former world number 1 Rafael Nadal.

She is currently dating Australian golfer, Adam Scott.

Playing Style

Ivanovic is an offensive baseliner who is notable for her aggressive play. From 2007-2008, Ivanovic was regarded as one of the best competitors on the women's tour. After winning the 2008 French Open and becoming #1, Ivanovic has endured a significant slump in form. Many tennis analysts attribute her downword spiral to her lack of confidence and self belief. At the 2010 Australian Open, Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova commented that, "while she has absolutely no confidence in herself, she still fights till the last point."

Serve

Ivanović's serve is a powerful weapon. She hit a 124.9 mph serve (201.0 kph) in 2007 at the French Open, the fifth fastest serve of all time on the WTA Tour.[14] As of late, however, her serve has become unreliable - mostly due to technical issues with her ball toss. The success of her ball toss is directly associated with her nerves. During the French Open final in 2007, Ivanovic was overcome with nerves and her toss went astray. During Ivanovic's slump in play in 2009, her serve became gradually less effective as her confidence diminished.

Groundstrokes

Ivanović's strength is her powerful forehand which has long been considered to be one of the best forehands in the game. It has a fluid motion and made great and memorable winners with her devastating forehand. Her backhand, although not as big of a weapon as her forehand, has improved over the years. Ivanović's serve is a powerful weapon. Ivanović's movement and net play were once considered to be her weaknesses, however both her movement and net play has improved tremendously over the years.

Surface

Ivanović's best surface are clay courts where her height allows her to strike clean winners off of high bouncing balls, but she is capable of performing well on hard and grass courts as well.

Career

Ivanović picked up a racket at the age of five after watching Monica Seles, a fellow Yugoslavian, on television during the 1992 French Open. She started her career after memorizing the number of a local tennis clinic from an advertisement . During her training she encountered the NATO bombings in 1999, forcing her to train in the morning to avoid them. Later, she admitted that she trained in an abandoned swimming pool in the winter, as there were no other facilities. When she was 15, Ivanović spent four hours in the locker room crying after a defeat—the first that her new manager had watched—she thought that Dan Holzmann was going to drop her because she felt that she was not good enough to become a professional tennis player. He has stayed as her manager to this day.

2004

Ivanović reached the final of the Junior Wimbledon tournament in 2004, losing to Kateryna Bondarenko.[15] In 2004, she went 26–0 on the ITF circuit, and won all five events that she entered, two of them as a qualifier. Her first professional breakthrough occurred in October 2004 when she took Venus Williams to two tie breaks before losing 7–6(11), 7–6(6) in the second round of the Zürich Open in Zürich, Switzerland, in which she held several set points in both sets. She followed that up with a quarterfinal showing in Luxembourg the next week.

2005

Ivanović won her first career singles title, as a qualifier, in Canberra, Australia after defeating Melinda Czink, 7–5, 6–1, in the final. Her ranking continued to rise after wins over Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova, and Vera Zvonareva, all of whom were top 10 players. Ivanović lost to Amélie Mauresmo at the Australian Open, Doha, and Miami Masters. However, Ivanović defeated Mauresmo in the third round of the French Open which was arguably her biggest win at that point in her career.[16] Ivanović eventually reached the quarterfinals of that tournament, where she lost to Petrova.[17] Later in the year, Ivanović reached the semifinals of the Zurich Open and Generali Ladies Linz, losing in both tournaments to Patty Schnyder.

2006

Ivanović started the year at the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia with fellow Serbian Novak Djoković, where the pair narrowly missed the final.[18] To start off her WTA year she played at the Medibank International in Sydney where she once again defeated Amélie Mauresmo, this time in straight sets, before falling to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals.

At the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Ivanović defeated Anna Chakvetadze 6–3, 6–3 before falling to Elena Dementieva in three sets. In the clay court season, she defeated Patty Schnyder in straight sets at the J & S Cup in Warsaw before losing to Anna Chakvetadze after a three-set battle. Retiring against Na Li at the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin while leading a set, she was unable to reproduce her record from the previous year, falling to Anastasia Myskina in straight sets in the third round of the French Open. She progressed to the fourth round at Wimbledon but lost to eventual champion Mauresmo in straight sets.

Ivanović made her breakthrough in August when she defeated former World No. 1 Martina Hingis in the final of the Rogers Cup in Montreal.[19] This ultimately led to her winning the United States Open Series ahead of Kim Clijsters and Maria Sharapova. At the US Open she lost to Serena Williams. After some early round losses to Olga Poutchkova at the Wismilak International in Bali and Venus Williams at the FORTIS Championships in Luxembourg, Ivanović took a few weeks off to tend to a recurring injury in her right shoulder. She made her return in Linz and made it to the quarterfinals of Generali Ladies, before losing to Maria Sharapova in two sets. Finishing her year at the Gaz de France Stars in Hasselt, Belgium, she lost to Dutch player Michaëlla Krajicek.

Ivanović also played nine tournaments in doubles in 2006, teaming with Maria Kirilenko and Sania Mirza. Ivanović and Kirilenko made two semifinals and a final; they ended the year at number 17 in the annual Race to the Championships. Ivanović herself finished the year ranked World No. 14 and in the doubles, she finished at World No. 51.

2007

Ivanović's first three tournaments of the year were in Australia. Starting with the Mondial Hardcourts in Gold Coast, she fell to Shahar Pe'er in the quarterfinals. At the Medibank International in Sydney, she again lost in the quarterfinals, this time to Nicole Vaidišová. Seeded 13th at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Ivanović defeated Polish player Agnieszka Radwańska in the second round but lost in the third round to Vera Zvonareva, 6–1, 6–2. Immediately after this tournament, she announced via her official website that she had terminated the services of her coach, David Taylor.

In Tokyo for the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open, Ivanović defeated Jelena Janković and Maria Sharapova who retired from the match due to injury to reach her third career final, but then lost to Martina Hingis.

Ivanović lost to Kim Clijsters in the quarterfinals of the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp. She then played one Tier II and three Tier I events in the United States. At the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, she was defeated in the fourth round by Sybille Bammer. Yaroslava Shvedova then defeated Ivanović in the second round of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Miami Masters. Beginning her clay court season, Ivanović played the Tier II Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida, where she defeated Janković in the quarterfinals before falling to Tatiana Golovin in the semifinals. The following week, she made her first appearance at the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, losing to Zvonareva in the third round.

Ivanović then returned to Europe to play two clay court tournaments in preparation for the French Open. In Berlin at the Qatar Telecom German Open, she won her first Tier I clay court title, defeating World No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. However, Ivanović injured her ankle during the final, which forced her to withdraw from the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. The win in Berlin propelled her into the top ten of the WTA Rankings for the first time, at World No. 8.

Ivanović had a six-match winning streak heading into the French Open and increased this streak to twelve by reaching the final. She won her first three matches with the loss of only nine games. In her second career quarterfinal at Roland Garros, Ivanović defeated World No. 3 Kuznetsova 6–0, 3–6, 6–1. She then beat World No. 2 Sharapova in the semifinals 6–2, 6–1. In the final, Ivanović attempted to win her first Grand Slam singles title and complete a sweep of the top three players in the world. However, World No. 1 and two-time defending champion Justine Henin won the match, 6-1, 6-2. Later on, Ivanović admitted that the idea of being in the final of a Grand Slam tournament overwhelmed her.[citation needed]

With her clay court season over, Ivanović played the Ordina Open on grass in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, losing in the quarterfinals to Daniela Hantuchová. At Wimbledon, Ivanović defeated World No. 9 Nadia Petrova in the fourth round and saved three match points to defeat Vaidišová in the quarterfinals 4–6, 6–2, 7–5. In the semifinals, three-time former Wimbledon champion Venus Williams defeated Ivanović in straight sets.

A persistent knee injury sustained at Wimbledon caused Ivanović to withdraw from Serbian Fed Cup competition with Slovakia and two lead up events to the US Open.[20] She returned to the tour at the East West Bank Classic in Carson, California, saving two match points in the semifinals before defeating Janković 4–6, 6–3, 7–5. In the final, Ivanović defeated Petrova to win the fourth singles title of her career, which increased her ranking to a career high of World No. 4.

Ivanović next attempted to defend her title at the Tier I Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada. However, her title defence lasted only 65 minutes as she lost to Chinese qualifier Yan Zi 6–3, 6–1.

In Ivanović's first three matches at the US Open, she lost only 10 games. Venus Williams then eliminated her for the second consecutive time at a Grand Slam tournament, 6–4, 6–2.

Ivanović then returned to Europe for three tournaments. At the Tier II Luxembourg Championships, Ivanović qualified for the Sony Ericsson Championships as she reached the semifinals. In the final, Ivanović rallied from 6–3, 3–0 down to defeat Hantuchová in two hours and 25 minutes. This was her fifth career title. At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Ivanović lost to Ukrainian qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko in the second round 6–2, 1–6, 6–3. Playing at what Ivanović considers her home event,[citation needed] the Tier I Zurich Open, she lost to Golovin in the second round 6–3, 6–1.

To end the year, Ivanović played the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid, Spain. Seeded fourth and assigned to the Red Group during the round robin phase, she defeated World No. 2 Kuznetsova in a three-set match and Hantuchová in straight sets. Sharapova then defeated Ivanović in the final match of the round robin 6–1, 6–2. Because she finished second in her group, Ivanović played World No. 1 Henin in the semifinals, which the Belgian won 6–4, 6–4.

Ivanović finished the year with a career-high ranking of World No. 4, 14 points behind Janković.

2008

Ivanović began the year at the Medibank International in Sydney, losing to Justine Henin in the semifinals in three sets. As the fourth seed at the Australian Open, Ivanović defeated Venus Williams in the quarterfinals, 7–6(3), 6–4 for the first time in her career before losing to Maria Sharapova in straight sets in the final. Her ranking rose to World No. 2 as a result of her performance at the tournament, the highest of her career at the time.

In Serbia's Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I D round robin tie against Poland in Budapest, Ivanović defeated Urszula Radwańska in straight sets. In Serbia's second round robin tie against Romania, Ivanović defeated Monica Niculescu and then teamed with Jelena Janković to win the deciding doubles rubber against the Romanian team 2–6, 7–6(3), 7–6(2). In the promotion playoff, Ivanović beat Renee Reinhard of the Netherlands, as Serbia advanced to the World Group II playoffs in April.

Ivanović was the top-seeded player at the Qatar Total Open in Doha but withdrew from the tournament after her second round match because of an ankle injury. The following week at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, Ivanović lost in the quarterfinals to Elena Dementieva. In March, Ivanović defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final of the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California but lost to Lindsay Davenport in the third round of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open iin Miami Masters the following week.

Ivanović started her clay court season as defending champion at the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin. She lost to Dementieva for the fourth time in four career matches in the semifinals. At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, top seeded Ivanović lost in the second round to a qualifier. Ivanović was the second-seeded player at the French Open.She won her first five matches in straight sets, including a double bagel win over Petra Cetkovska in the fourth round. She defeated World No. 3 Janković in the semifinals in three sets, guaranteeing that Ivanović would become the World No. 1, regardless of whether she won the final. Ivanović still went on to defeat Dinara Safina,6–4,6–3 in the final, winning her first Grand Slam singles title.

At Wimbledon, Ivanović was the top-seeded player and defeated French veteran player Nathalie Dechy in the second round 6–7(2), 7–6(3), 10–8. The match took 3 hours, 24 minutes to play, with Ivanović saving two match points while trailing 5–4 in the second set and Dechy saving three match points in the third set before succumbing. Ivanović then lost in the third round to unseeded wildcard Zheng Jie of China, who was ranked World No. 133, 6–1, 6–4.

The summer hardcourt season started with a third round loss at the Rogers Cup in Montreal to Tamira Paszek. Ivanović, bothered by a sore thumb sustained during practice two weeks before Montreal,[21] withdrew from the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles. This caused her to lose her World No. 1 ranking to Janković. The injury also caused her to withdraw from the Summer Olympics in Beijing, with Ivanović describing the withdrawal as "one of the worst moments of her career".[22] Ivanović, having reclaimed her World No. 1 ranking on August 18, was the top-seeded player at the US Open.[23] Ivanovic lost in the second round to French Julie Coin, which was the earliest loss by a top seeded player at the US Open since the 1973 tournament.[24]

In her first match after the US Open, which was the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Ivanović was defeated by Nadia Petrova of Russia in three sets, bringing her win-loss record since the French Open to 4–4. Ivanović later told the press that she was "just happy to be back injury-free" and that she needed to "play more matches get back into rhythm".[25]

Ivanović beat World No. 18 Alizé Cornet in the second round of the China Open in Beijing before losing to Zheng Jie in the quarterfinals in three sets. At the Tier I Kremlin Cup in Moscow, Ivanović was upset by Slovak teenager Dominika Cibulková in the second round. In the last edition of the Zurich Open in Switzerland, Ivanović won back-to-back matches for the first time since Wimbledon. However, in her sixth semifinal of the year, Ivanović lost to Venus Williams. At the Generali Ladies Linz in Austria, Ivanović reached her first WTA Tour final since the French Open and went on to defeat second-seeded Vera Zvonareva in straight sets.

At the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar, Ivanović was the fourth seed. In her first round robin match, she was defeated by World No. 1 Janković 6–3, 6–4. Her next match was against Zvonareva, to whom she lost 6–3, 6–7(5), 6–4. She withdrew from her final match against Kuznetsova because of a virus.

2009

Ivanović started the year by playing two tournaments in Australia. At the Brisbane International, Ivanović lost to Amélie Mauresmo 6–3, 6–2 in the third round. At the Australian Open, Ivanović was seeded fifth and won her first two matches in straight sets before losing to 29th seed Russian Alisa Kleybanova in the third round 7–5, 6–7(5), 6–2.

Ivanović took part in Serbia's Fed Cup win in the World Group II tie against Japan. She defeated Ai Sugiyama and Ayumi Morita to help Serbia to a 4–1 win. At the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, a Premier 5 event on the tour, she lost to Serena Williams in the quarterfinals 6–4, 6–4. Around this time, Ivanović began working with coach Craig Kardon in February after parting with former coach Sven Groeneveld.[27]

At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, where she was defending champion, Ivanović defeated 12th-seeded Flavia Pennetta in the fourth round 6–4, 4–6, 6–4. Having advanced to the final she lost to Vera Zvonareva in a match plagued by windy conditions, 7–6(5), 6–2. In Miami, Ivanović lost in the third round to Ágnes Szávay. In April, Ivanović took part in the Serbia's Fed Cup World Group Play-offs against Spain. She defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues to help Serbia gain promotion to the World Group with a 4–0 win.

In Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, fifth seeded Ivanović defeated Italian Francesca Schiavone before being defeated by the 10th seed Agnieszka Radwańska in the third round, 6–1, 3–6, 6–4, throwing away a 4–0 lead in the third set. She withdrew from the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open because of a knee injury . At the 2009 French Open, Ivanović won her first three matches in straight sets, before crashing out to Victoria Azarenka in the 4th round 6–2, 6–3. This early loss caused Ivanović to fall out of the top ten for the first time since first cracking it in May 2007, sitting at World No. 13. After this, Ivanović announced that she had ceased working with Craig Kardon and will be participating in the adidas Player Development Program where she will be coached by Sven Groeneveld, Darren Cahill, Mats Merkel and Gil Reyes.[28]

Starting the grass court season, Ivanović was unseeded and lost in the first round of the AEGON International to the seventh seed Nadia Petrova in three sets 6–1, 4–6, 6–4 despite being 4–1 and a double break up in the final set. Ivanović partnered Sabine Lisicki in doubles but the pairing was defeated in the first round by Cara Black and Liezel Huber, 6–1, 6–2.

At Wimbledon, Ivanović was seeded 13th. She opened the tournament against Lucie Hradecká and had to save two match before eventually winning 5–7, 6–2, 8–6. This became the third year in a row where Ivanović had to save match points at Wimbledon. She followed up this match with wins over Sara Errani and 18th seeded Samantha Stosur, only her second win over a top 15 opponent this season. She retired from her fourth round match with Venus Williams while trailing 6–1, 0–1, due to a micro-tear in her thigh.

In preparation for the U.S. Open, Ivanović took part in three tournaments. In the LA Women's Tennis Championships in Los Angeles, Ivanović reached the third round, where she fell to Samantha Stosur, 6–3, 6–2. Her next tournament was the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in Cincinnati where she was upset in the second round by Melinda Czink, 7–6(6), 7–5, despite serving for the first set at 5–4 and holding a 3–0 advantage in the second. Ivanović then lost to Lucie Safarova 3–6, 7–5, 6–3, at the Rogers Cup in Toronto despite serving for the match in the second set at 5–4. Ivanović routinely produced high number of double faults during this period due to a temporary change in her service motion due to a shoulder injury sustained prior to the U.S. Open Series.

At the U.S. Open, Ivanović lost in the first round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career, losing to Kateryna Bondarenko, 2–6, 6–3, 7–6(7), despite holding a 3–1 lead in the second set and having match point on her serve in the third set tiebreak. After the match, former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash criticized Ivanovic's new service motion, calling watching it a "painful experience" and that it "weakens her threat". He also felt that Ivanovic was "over-analysing" her game and that her main problem is "her lack of confidence".[29]

At the Premier 5 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Ivanović suffered her third successive defeat losing in the first round to Lucie Safarova, 6–4, 7–6(1), having held a 3–0 lead in the second set. This was only the second time in her career that Ivanovic had suffered three back-to-back defeats. Citing an upper respiratory tract infection, Ivanovic pulled out of the China Open, and announced via her official website that she was taking the rest of the year off.

She finished the year with a 24–14 match record, her worst since she turned pro, and with no titles. Ivanović has only reached three quarter-finals, one semi-final and final and has only won back-to-back matches six times, only two coming in non grand slam events. Ivanović ended the year ranked 21, the first time she has been ranked outside the Top 20 since July 2005. Her boyfriend professional golfer Adam Scott also suffered a form slump during 2009.

2010

Ivanović has started the year playing her first competitive tournament (since September), at the 2010 Brisbane International. Seeded 3rd, Ivanovic reached her first semifinal since Indian Wells, defeating Jelena Dokić, Timea Bacsinszky and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova en route, but lost to wild card Justine Henin, 6–3, 6–2, in Henin's first tournament since her return from retirement.

Ivanović was seeded 20th at the 2010 Australian Open. She reached the second round after defeating qualifier Shenay Perry in straight sets in the opening round. There, she lost to Gisela Dulko 6–7(6), 7–5, 6–4, having led 3–1 in the second set.

Ivanović then participated in the opening round of the 2010 Fed Cup in Serbia's tie against Russia. She went 0-2 in her singles matches, losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova and Alisa Kleybanova, both in straight sets. She partnered with Jelena Janković in the deciding doubles match, but they fell to Kuznetsova and Kleybanova. Ivanovic then withdrew from Dubai with shoulder tendenitis.

Ivanović then announced that she was working with Steffi Graf's former coach Heinz Gunthardt on a trial basis during the spring North American hard court season, suspending her relationship with the Adidas Player Development Program indefinitely. In her first match under Gundhardt, a one-set semi-final against reigning US Open champion Kim Clijsters in the 2010 Billie Jean King Cup at Madison Square Garden, Ivanovic lost in a tie-break having had match point.

At the 2010 BNP Paribas Open, Ivanović lost her opening match to world no. 63 Anastasija Sevastova 6–2, 6–4, losing her serve five times. This was Ivanović's fourth consecutive loss, the first time she had suffered four consecutive losses in her career. She also lost a huge number of points, having made the final in 2009. Due to this defeat, she dropped 30 places in the WTA Rankings from No.28 to No.58. This is the first time she has been out of the top 50 since she cracked it in March 2005. Seeded 25th at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Ivanović won her first match since the Australian Open, beating qualifier Pauline Parmentier 6–4, 6–3 in the second round. She then lost to Agnieszka Radwańska 7–5, 7–5 in the third round.

In her first clay court event of the year at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Ivanovic suffered yet another opening round exit at the hands of the 5th seed Radwańska, losing 7–6(4), 6–4. In the doubles partnering Andrea Petkovic, she lost to the pair of Borwell and Kops-Jones in her first doubles match since June 2009.

Going into the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome with a 5-7 win-loss record for the year, she defeated World No. 32 Elena Vesnina in the first round 6–1, 6–3 in 64 minutes. In the second round, she upset World No. 10 Victoria Azarenka, 6–4, 6–4, her first win over a top 10 player since October 2008. She then defeated World No. 7 Elena Dementieva for the first time in her career, 6–1, 7–6(5), to advance to the quarterfinals where she defeated 14th seeded Nadia Petrova 6–2, 7–5. She lost to Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in the semifinals, 6–4, 6–2. Her run to the semifinals in Rome caused her singles rankings to rise by 16 places and her race to the Sony Ericsson championships ranking by 40 places.

She was granted a wildcard into the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open in Madrid, and received a bye in the first round due to her semifinal appearance at Rome. This also makes her the first unseeded wildcard to receive a bye in the history of the WTA Tour. She lost in the second round to Jelena Jankovic 4–6, 6–4, 6–1, after leading 2–0 in the second set.

Ivanovic will next compete at the 2010 French Open. She will be unseeded for the first time at a major since 2005. Her win loss record for the year stands at 9–9.

2010 Tournament Calendar

1. Brisbane International - January 3–9, 2010 (SEMI FINALS)
2. Australian Open - January 18–30, 2010 (2ND ROUND)
3. BNP Paribas Open - March 10–21, 2010 (2ND ROUND)
4. Sony Ericsson Open - March 23- April 4, 2010 (3RD ROUND)
5. Porsche Tennis Grand Prix - April 24- May 2, 2010 (1ST ROUND)
6. Internazionali BNL d'Italia - May 2–8, 2010 (SEMI FINALS)
7. Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open - May 8–16, 2010 (2ND ROUND)
8. French Open - May 23- June 5, 2010
9. UNICEF Open - June 13–19, 2010
10. Wimbledon Championships - June 21- July 3, 2010
11. Southern California Open - July 31- August 8, 2010
12. Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open - August 9–15, 2010
13. Rogers Cup - August 13–22, 2010
14. US Open - August 30- September 12, 2010
15. Toray Pan Pacific Open - September 6-October 2, 2010
16. China Open - October 2–10, 2010

* Her latest best performance is her clay court tournament in Rome reaching the semifinals, although she also reached the semifinals of the hard court tournament, Brisbane 2010.

Latest Picture


Ana Ivanovic after defeating Shenay Perry in Australian Open Tennis 2010.

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Wallpapers

Full name: Mirna Jukić
Nationality: Austria
Stroke(s): Breaststroke
Date of birth: 9 April 1986 (1986-04-09) (age 24)
Place of birth: Novi Sad, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia



Mirna Jukić (born 9 April 1986) is an Austrian swimmer of Croatian origin who won a bronze medal in both short course and long course at the world championships in swimming. She is trained by her father, a former basketball player. She has had numerous European and World championship successes.

Jukić was born in Novi Sad (Serbia, then SFR Yugoslavia) and grew up in Vukovar, Croatia. In November 1991, the family moved to Zagreb, and her father started training her at Mladost in 1996. Her brother, Dinko Jukić, with whom she was trained early on, also became an international-level swimmer. In the autumn of 1999, the family moved to Vienna, Austria, and the same year Mirna became an Austrian citizen. Her brother became an Austrian citizen in 2000, while the parents remained Croatian citizens.

At the 2008 Olympics Jukić garnered a bronze medal in the 100 m breaststroke (1:07.34); she also swam the 200 m breaststroke. At the 2009 World Aquatics Championships she won the bronze medal in the 200 meters breaststroke final with a time of 2:21.97.


(L-R) Rebecca Soni, Leisel Jones and Mirna Jukic (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)


In January 2010, Mirna Jukić was the host of the Croatian team in Graz for the 2010 European Men's Handball Championship.


Some Other Pictures

Name : Anna Kournikova
Date of Birth : June 7, 1981
Place of Birth : Moscow, Russia
Sign : Sun in Gemini, Moon in Leo
Height : 5' 8''
Weight : 123 lbs.
Lives : Miami, Florida, USA
Profession : Tennis Player
Father : Sergei Kournikov
Mother : Alla Kournikov
Coach : Pavel Slozil
Fan Mail : Anna Kournikova
c/o Bollettieri Tennis
Academy 5500 34th St.
West Bradenton, FL 34210 USA
Real Name : Anya Kournikova


Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova (Russian: born 7 June 1981) is a Russian professional tennis player and model. Her celebrity status made her one of the best known tennis players worldwide. At the peak of her fame, fans looking for images of Kournikova made her name one of the most common search strings on the Internet search engine Google.

Although also successful in singles, reaching No. 8 in the world in 2000, Kournikova's specialty has been doubles, where she has at times been the World No. 1 player. With Martina Hingis as her partner, she won Grand Slam titles in Australia in 1999 and 2002. Based on their looks, Hingis and Kournikova facetiously referred to themselves as the "Spice Girls of Tennis". Kournikova's professional tennis career has been curtailed for the past several years, and possibly ended, by serious back and spinal problems. She currently resides in Miami Beach, Florida, and plays in occasional exhibitions and in doubles for the St. Louis Aces of World Team Tennis.

Early Life

Anna was born in Moscow, Soviet Union, on 7 June 1981. Her father, Sergei Kournikov was 20 at the time.[6] Sergei, 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. As of 2001, he was still a part-time martial arts instructor there.[6] Her mother Alla, a sturdily built blonde who was 18 when Anna was born, had been a 400-metre runner.[6]

Sergei said: "We were young and we liked the clean, physical life, so Anna was in a good environment for sport from the beginning."[6] The family name is spelled in Russian without an "o", so a direct translation would be "Kurnikova", and it is sometimes written that way. But it is pronounced "Kournikova", so the family chose that as their English spelling.[6]

Anna received her first tennis racquet as a New Year gift in 1986 at age 5.[6] Anna says: "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."[6] In 1986, Anna became a member of the prestigious Spartak Tennis Club, coached by Larissa Preobrazhenskaya.[7] In 1989, at the age of eight, Anna began appearing in junior tournaments, and by the following year, was attracting attention from tennis scouts across the world. Anna signed a management deal at age ten and went to Bradenton, Florida to train at Nick Bollettieri's celebrated tennis academy.

Tennis career

1989–1997: Early years and breakthrough

Following her arrival in the United States, Anna exploded onto the tennis scene, making her the internationally recognized tennis star she is today.[7] At the age of 14, she went on to win the European Championships and the Italian Open Junior tournament. Anna also beat out the competition to win the prestigious Junior Orange Bowl, becoming the youngest player ever to win the 18 and under division at that tournament. By the end of the year, Anna was crowned the ITF Junior World Champion U-18 and Junior European Champion U-18.[7]

In 1994, Anna Kournikova received a wild card into ITF tournament in Moscow qualifications, but lost to the third seed Sabine Appelmans.[8] She debuted in professional tennis at age 14 in the Fed Cup for Russia, the youngest player ever to participate and win.[7] In 1995, she turned pro, and won two ITF titles, in Midland, Michigan and Rockford, Illinois. The same year Kournikova reached her first WTA Tour doubles final at the Kremlin Cup. Partnering with 1995 Wimbledon girls' champion in both singles and doubles Aleksandra Olsza, she lost to Meredith McGrath and Larisa Neiland with 6–0, 6–1.

At age 15, she made her grand slam debut, when she reached the fourth round of the 1996 U.S. Open, only to be stopped by then-top ranked player, Steffi Graf, eventual champion. After this tournament, her ranking jumped from No. 144 to debut in Top 100 at No. 69.[8] Kournikova was a member of the Russian delegation to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1996, she was named WTA Newcomer of the Year,[7] and she was ranked No. 57 in the end of the season.[1]

Kournikova entered the 1997 Australian Open as World No. 67.[9] However, she lost in the first round to World No. 12 Amanda Coetzer 6–2, 6–2. She also partnered with Russian fellow Elena Likhovtseva at women's doubles event, but also lost in the first round, to eight seeds Chanda Rubin and Brenda Schultz-McCarthy 6–2, 6–3.[9] Kournikova reached the second round at the Pacific Life Open; after beating Patricia Hy-Boulais in the first round 1–6, 6–1, 6–4, she lost to World No. 3 Anke Huber in the second round 3–6, 6–2, 6–2. In doubles, Kournikova and Likhovtseva beat the second seeds Larisa Neiland and Helena Suková in the second 7–5, 4–6, 6–3, before losing to Mary Joe Fernández and Chanda Rubin in the quartefinals 2–6, 6–4, 7–5/[9] At Miami Open Kournikova defeated No. 12 Amanda Coetzer 6–1, 3–6, 6–3 in the second round, and No. 29 Katarina Studenikova 1–6, 6–4, 6–0 in the third, and then lost to No. 3 Jana Novotná 6–3, 6–4 in the fourth. She and Likhovtseva were beaten 6–4, 6–3 by Dominique Monami and Barbara Rittner in the first round of Miami doubles.[9] After beating Shi-Ting Wang in the first round of Italian Open with 6–3, 6–4, Kournikova lost to Amanda Coetzer 6–2, 4–6, 6–1 in the second. However, she reached the semifinals partnering with Likhovtseva, after they defeated the first seeds Neiland and Suková 6(4)–7, 6–2, 7–5 in the second round, and Barbara Schett and Patty Schnyder 7–6(2), 6–4 in the third, before losing to the sixth seeds Mary Joe Fernández and Patricia Tarabini 7–6(5), 6–3.[9]

Kournikova was then defeated in the quarterfinals of German Open by Mary Joe Fernández 6–1, 6–4, after she defeated former World No. 1 and current World No. 5 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 3–6, 6–0, 6–3 in the third round.[9] Partnering with Likhovtseva, she also reached the doubles quarterfinals, beating the sixth seeds Alexandra Fusai and Nathalie Tauziat 6–4, 7–6(2) in the second round and losing to the first seeds Gigi Fernández and Natasha Zvereva 6–2, 7–5. At the 1997 French Open Kournikova defeated Radka Zrubáková 6–3, 6–2 in the first round and Sandra Cecchini 6–2, 6–2 in the second and then lost to World No. 1 Martina Hingis 6–1, 6–3 in the third. She also reached the third round in doubles with Likhovtseva, losing to domestic team and the eight seeds Fusai and Tauziat. At 1997 Wimbledon Championships Anna Kournikova became the only second woman in the open era to reach the semifinals, which was also her first WTA Tour semifinals, in her Wimbledon debut, the first being Chris Evert in 1972.[8] She defeated Chanda Rubin 6–1, 6–1 in the first round, Barbara Rittner 4–6, 7–6(7), 6–3 in the second, the seventh seed Anke Huber 3–6, 6–4, 6–4 in the third, Helena Suková 2–6, 6–2, 6–3 in the fourth, No. 4 and the French Open champion Iva Majoli 7–6(1), 6–4 in the quarterfinals and then lost to eventual champion Martina Hingis by a score of 6–3, 6–2.

Kournikova then lost to Anke Huber 6–0, 6–1 in the first round of the Los Angeles Open, also reaching the doubles semifinals with Ai Sugiyama. At the 1997 US Open she lost in the second round to the eleventh seed Irina Spîrlea 6–1, 3–6, 6–3. Partnering with Likhovtseva, she reached the third round of women's doubles event, losing 6–4, 6–4 to the second seeds Hingis and Sánchez Vicario.[9] Kournikova played her last WTA Tour event in 1997 at Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Filderstadt, losing to Amanda Coetzer 3–6 6–3 6–4 in the second round of singles, and 6–2, 6–4 in the first round of doubles to Lindsay Davenport and Jana Novotná with Likhovtseva. She broke into the top 50 on 19 May, and was ranked No. 32 in singles and No. 41 in doubles at the end of the season.[10]

1998–2000: Success and stardom

Anna Kournikova, practices her backhand for a match at the Family Circle Cup Tennis Tournament on Daniel Island in Charleston, South Carolina, where hundreds of Charleston Air Force Base (AFB) personnel volunteer to provide security.

In 1998 Kournikova broke into the WTA's top 20 rankings for the first time, when she was ranked No. 16. She also scored impressive victories over Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles. Kournikova began her 1998 season in Hannover, where she lost to the first seed Jana Novotná in the semifinals with 6–3, 6–3. She also partnered Larisa Neiland in doubles, and lost to Elena Likhovtseva and Caroline Vis in the quarterfinals 3–6, 6–2, 7–5.[9] She then reached the second round of both singles and doubles at the Medibank International in Sidney, losing to Lindsay Davenport in the second round of singles with 6–2, 6(4)–7, 6–3. At the 1998 Australian Open Kournikova lost in the third round to World No. 1 player Martina Hingis 6–4, 4–6, 6–4. She also partnered with Larisa Neiland in women's doubles, and they lost to eventual champions Hingis and Mirjana Lučić 7–5, 6–2 in the second round.[9] Although she lost in the second round of Paris Open to Anke Huber in singles, Kournikova reached the her second doubles WTA Tour final partnering with Larisa Neiland. They lost to Sabine Appelmans and Miriam Oremans 1–6, 6–3, 7–6(3). Kournikova and Neiland reached their second consecutive final at Linz Open, losing to Alexandra Fusai and Nathalie Tauziat 6–3, 3–6, 6–4. In singles, Kournikova reached the third round. At the Pacific Life Open, she reached the third round and lost to 1994 Wimbledon champion Conchita Martínez 6–3, 6–4, and also reached the doubles quarterfinals with Neiland. Although she reached the doubles quarterfinals with Neiland, Kournikova made a greater success in singles at the Miami Open, reaching her first WTA Tour singles final. After beating Mirjana Lučić 6–4, 6–2 in the first round, former World No. 1 Monica Seles 7–5, 6–4 in the second, Conchita Martínez 6–3, 6–0 in the third, Lindsay Davenport 6–4, 2–6, 6–2 in the quarterfinals, and former No. 1 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 3–6, 6–1, 6–3 in the semifinals, and then lost to Venus Williams in the final with 2–6, 6–4, 6–1.[8]

Kournikova then reached two consecutive quarterfinals, at Amelia Island and Italian Open, losing, respectively, 7–5, 6–3 to Lindsay Davenport, and 6–2, 6–4 to Martina Hingis. At the German Open, she reached the semifinals in both singles and doubles, with Larisa Neiland, losing 6–0, 6–1 to Conchita Martínez and 6–1, 6–4 to Alexandra Fusai and Nathalie Tauziat, respectively. At the 1998 French Open Kournikova reached her best result at this tournament, losing to Jana Novotná 6(2)–7, 6–3, 6–3 in the fourth round. She also reached her first grand slam doubles semifinals, losing with Neiland to Lindsay Davenport and Natasha Zvereva 6–3, 6–2. During her quarterfinals match at the Eastbourne Open versus Steffi Graf, Kournikova injured her thumb, which would eventually force her to withdraw from the 1998 Wimbledon Championships.[8] However, she won that match 6(4)–7, 6–3, 6–4, but then withdraw from her semifinals match against Arantxa Sánchez Vicario.[8] Kournikova returned for the Du Maurier Open, defeating Alexandra Fusai and Ruxandra Dragomir before losing to Conchita Martínez in the third round 6–0, 6–3. At the Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven she lost to Amanda Coetzer 1–6, 6–4, 7–5 in the second round. At the 1998 US Open Kournikova reached the fourth round and lost to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. She then made a series of low results at Toyota Princess Cup, Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Zürich Open and Kremlin Cup, but due to good results during the year, she qualified for the 1998 WTA Tour Championships. She lost to Monica Seles in the first round 6–4, 6–3. However, with Seles, she won her first doubles title, in Tokyo, beating Mary Joe Fernández and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 6–4, 6–4 in the final. At the end of the season, she was ranked No. 10 in doubles.[10]

Kournikova began her 1999 season at Adidas Open, where she lost to Dominique Van Roost in the second round.[10] She then played at the Australian Open, losing to Mary Pierce 6–0, 6–4 in the fourth round. However, Kournikova won her first doubles grand slam title, partnering Martina Hingis. The two defeated Lindsay Davenport and Natasha Zvereva in the final. Kournikova then lost in the quarterfinals of Toray Pan Pacific Open to Monica Seles 7–5, 6–3. In Oklahoma City she was defeated by Amanda Coetzer 6–4, 6–2 in the semifinals, by Silvia Farina Elia in the first round of Evert Cup, and by Barbara Schett at Lipton Championships. At Tier I Family Circle Cup, Kournikova reached her second WTA Tour final, but lost to Martina Hingis 6–4, 6–3.[10] She then defeated Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport and Patty Schnyder on her route to the Bausch & Lomb Championships semifinals, losing to Ruxandra Dragomir 6–3, 7–5. After round robin results at Italian Open and German Open, Kournikova reached the fourth round of 1999 French Open, losing to eventual champion Steffi Graf 6–3, 7–6.[10] She then lost to Nathalie Tauziat 6–4, 4–6, 8–6 in the semifinals in Eastbourne. At 1999 Wimbledon Championships, Kournikova lost to Venus Williams in the fourth round 3–6, 6–3, 6–2. She also reached the 1999 Wimbledon final in mixed doubles, partnering with Jonas Björkman, but they lost to Leander Paes and Lisa Raymond 6–4, 3–6, 6–3. Kournikova qualified for 1999 WTA Tour Championships, but lost to Mary Pierce 6(3)–7, 7–6(5), 6–0 in the first round, and ended the season as World No. 12.[10] Also at times during 1999, she was the most searched athlete in the world on Yahoo!, the premier search engine of the day.[11] Kournikova was more successful in doubles that season. After their victory at the Australian Open, she and Martina Hingis won tournaments in Indian Wells, Rome, Eastbourne and 1999 WTA Tour Championships, and reached the final of 1999 French Open, where they lost to Serena and Venus Williams 3–6, 7–6(2), 6–8. Partnering with Elena Likhovtseva, Kournikova also reached the final in Stanford. On 22 November 1999 she reached World No. 1 ranking in doubles, and ended the season at this ranking. Anna Kournikova and Martina Hingis were presented with the WTA Award for Doubles Team of the Year.

Kournikova opened her 2000 season winning the Gold Coast Open partnering with Julie Halard. She then reached the singles semifinals at Medibank International Sydney, losing to Lindsay Davenport 6–3, 6–2. At the 2000 Australian Open, she reached the fourth round in singles and the semifinals in doubles. Partnering with Barbara Schett, they lost to Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs. That season, Kournikova reached eight semifinals (Sydney, Scottsdale, Stanford, San Diego, Luxembourg, Leipzig and 2000 WTA Tour Championships), seven quarterfinals (Gold Coast, Tokyo, Amelia Island, Hamburg, Eastbourne, Zürich and Philadelphia) and one final. Despite being a domestic player, Kournikova lost to Martina Hingis 6–3, 6–1 in the final of Kremlin Cup. On 20 November 2000 she finally broke into top 10 for the first time, reaching No. 8.[10] She was also ranked #4 in doubles at the end of the season.[10] Kournikova was, once again, more successful in doubles. She reached the final of the 2000 US Open in mixed doubles, partnering with Max Mirnyi, but they lost to Jared Palmer and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 6–4, 6–3. She also won six doubles titles — Gold Coast (with Julie Halard), Hamburg (with Natasha Zvereva), Filderstadt, Zürich, Philadelphia and the 2000 WTA Tour Championships (with Martina Hingis).

2001–2003: Injuries and final years

Her 2001 season was dominated by injury, including a left foot stress fracture which forced her withdrawal from twelve tournaments, including the French Open and Wimbledon.[8] She underwent surgery in April.[8] She reached her second career grand slam quarterfinals, at the Australian Open. Kournikova then withdrew from several events due to continuing problems with her left foot and did not return until Leipzig. With Barbara Schett, she won the doubles title in Sydney. She then lost in the finals in Tokyo, partnering with Iroda Tulyaganova, and at San Diego, partnering with Martina Hingis. Hingis and Kournikova also won the Kremlin Cup. At the end of the 2001 season, she was ranked #74 in singles and #26 in doubles.[10]
Anna Kournikova playing at the Medibank International Sydney in 2002.

Kournikova was quite successful in 2002. She reached the semifinals of Auckland, Tokyo, Acapulco and San Diego, and the finals of China Open, losing 6–2, 6–3 to Anna Smashnova. This was Kournikova's last singles finals and the last chance to win a single title. With Martina Hingis, Anna Kournikova lost in the finals of Sydney, but they won their second grand slam title together, Australian Open in women's doubles. They also lost in the quarterfinals of U.S. Open. With Chanda Rubin, Anna Kournikova played the semifinals of Wimbledon, but they lost to Serena and Venus Williams. Partnering Janet Lee, she won the Shangai title. At the end of 2002 season, she was ranked #35 in singles and #11 in doubles.[10]

In 2003, Anna Kournikova collected her first grand slam match victory in two years at the Australian Open. She defeated Henrieta Nagyová in the 1st round, and then lost to Justine Henin-Hardenne in the 2nd round. She withdrew from Tokyo due to a sprained back suffered at Australian Open and did not return to Tour until Miami. Kournikova retired in the 1st round of the Charleston due to a left adductor strain. She reached the semifinals at the ITF tournament in Sea Island, before withdrawing from a match versus Maria Sharapova due to the adductor injury. She lost in the 1st round of the ITF tournament in Charlottesville. She did not compete for the rest of the season due to a continuing back injury At the end of the 2003 season and her professional career, she was ranked #305 in singles and #176 in doubles.[10]

Kournikova's two Grand Slam doubles titles came in 1999 and 2002, both at the Australian Open in the Women's Doubles event with partner Martina Hingis, with whom she played frequently starting in 1999. Kournikova proved a successful doubles player on the professional circuit, winning 16 tournament doubles titles, including two Australian Opens and being a finalist in mixed doubles at the U.S. Open and at Wimbledon, and reaching the No.1 ranking in doubles in the Women's Tennis Association tour rankings. Her pro career doubles record was 200–71. However, her singles career plateaued after 1999. For the most part, she managed to retain her ranking between 10 and 15 (her career high singles ranking was No.8), but her expected finals breakthrough failed to occur; she only reached four finals out of 130 singles tournaments, never in a Grand Slam event, and never won one.

Her singles record is 209–129. Her final playing years were marred by a string of injuries, especially back injuries, which caused her ranking to erode gradually. As a personality Kournikova was among the most common search strings for both articles and images in her prime.[2][3][4] She continues to be the most searched athlete in the world.[12][13][14][15]

2004–present: Exhibitions and World Team Tennis

Kournikova interacts on stage before a crowd of U.S. Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines during a USO-sponsored tour at Forward Operating Base Sharana, December 15, 2009.

Kournikova has not played on the WTA Tour since 2003, but still plays exhibition matches for charitable causes. In late 2004, she participated in three events organized by Elton John and by fellow tennis players Serena Williams and Andy Roddick. In January 2005, she played in a doubles charity event for the Indian Ocean tsunami with John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, and Chris Evert. In November 2005, she teamed up with Martina Hingis, playing against Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur in the WTT finals for charity. Kournikova is also a member of the St. Louis Aces in the World Team Tennis (WTT), playing doubles only.

In September 2008, Kournikova showed up for the 2008 Nautica Malibu Triathlon held at Zuma Beach in Malibu, California.[16] The Race raised funds for children's Hospital Los Angeles. She won that race for women's K-Swiss team.[16] On 27 September 2008, Kournikova played exhibition matches in Charlotte, North Carolina; she played two mixed doubles matches.[17] She partnered Tim Wilkison and Karel Novacek.[17] Kournikova and Wilkinson defeated Jimmy Arias and Chanda Rubin, and then Kournikova and Novacek defeated Chanda Rubin and Tim Wilkison.[17]

On 12 October 2008, Anna Kournikova played one exhibitional match for the annual charity event, hosted by Billie Jean King and Sir Elton John, raised more than $400,000 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Atlanta AIDS Partnership Fund.[18] She played doubles with Andy Roddick (they were coached by Sir Elton John) versus Martina Navratilova and Jesse Levine (coached by Billie Jean King); Kournikova and Roddick won 5–4(3).[18]

Kournikova competed alongside John McEnroe, Tracy Austin and Jim Courier at the Legendary Night, which was held on 2 May 2009, at the Turning Stone Event Center, Verona, NY.[19] The legendary night of tennis consisted of a grudge match between McEnroe and Courier in singles followed by a mixed doubles match of McEnroe and Austin against Courier and Kournikova.

She is the current K-Swiss spokesperson.[20] In a feature for ELLE magazine's July 2005 issue, Kournikova stated that if she were 100% fit, she would like to come back and compete again.

On the 5th May 2010 it was announced that Kournikova would reunite with her doubles partner Martina Hingis and participate in competitve tennis for the 1st time in 7 years in the Invitational Ladies Doubles event at Wimbledon[2

Playing Style

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 holds her racket in her right hand but uses both hands when she plays backhand shots.[1] She is a good player at the net.[23] She can hit forceful groundstrokes and also drop shots.[24]

Her playing style fits the profile for a doubles player, and is complemented by her height.[25] She has been compared to such doubles specialists as Pam Shriver and Peter Fleming.

Personal Life

Kournikova's marital status has been an issue on several occasions. There were conflicting rumors about whether she was engaged to ice hockey player Pavel Bure. There were reports that she married NHL ice hockey star Sergei Fedorov in 2001. Kournikova's representatives have denied this, but Fedorov stated in 2003 that the couple had married and since divorced.

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. But in May 2007, Enrique Iglesias was (mistakenly, as he would clarify later) quoted in the New York Sun that he had no intention of marrying Kournikova and settling down because they had split up. The singer would later deny these rumors of "divorce" or simply separation. In June 2008, Iglesias told the Daily Star that he had married Kournikova the previous year and that they are currently separated.[26] Enrique has stated in interviews after that it was simply a joke,[27] and they are still very much together.

Kournikova has a younger brother, Allan.[28] She became an American citizen in late 2009.

Career statistics and awards

* 1996: WTA Newcomer of the Year
* 1999: WTA Doubles Team of the Year (with Martina Hingis)
* 2002: ESPN Hottest Female Athlete

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