Anna Kournikova was born June 7th, 1981, in Moscow, Russia, to parents Sergei and Alla. Her father Sergei, a lecturer at the sports university in Moscow, and mother Alla, who studied science of economy in Moscow, did not encourage Anna to play tennis for the ambitious aspect and the possibility of turning pro, rather they pushed Anna to play for the health benefits of the sport.

a tennis phenomenon is born

Anna's talent for tennis was first discovered when she played at a weekly children's sports program, at the age of 5. She started to play and practice more often, in places such as the Tennis Club Sokliki Park and in the Spartak Club, despite the fact that her family was not financially well off.

While still in Moscow, Anna's first tennis coach was Larissa Preobraschenskaja, from 1985 until 1989. The budding tennis player trained and practiced while she was going to school.

In 1992, an 11-year-old Anna moved to Florida with her mother, to attend Nick Bolletieri´s Tennis Academy in Bradenton. The tennis facilities made it easier for Anna, who in Moscow had to move around from gyms, the tennis courts and school.

Anna reached the Orange Bowl finals at age 13, and had she won, she would have been the youngest player to win this tournament -- a feat Tiger Woods is most familiar with.

anna makes a racquet

She did, however, win the Orange Bowl 18s in 1995, as well as the European Championships 18s, the Italian Open juniors. She also came out as a Wimbledon junior semifinalist and French Open juniors quarterfinalist, both in 1995. It was also in 1995 that Anna became a professional tennis player.

By the time she was 14, she won the Fed Cup competition, becoming the youngest player to play in the competition and win. Since then, some of Anna's career highlights include:

• 1998 - The first Russian female to be seeded at the US open since 1976.
• 1998 - Reached the Top 10.
• 1998 - Her victory over Martina Hingis made her the ninth-youngest player since 1968 to defeat a world No. 1 player.
• 1998 - Defeated several top 10 players consecutively at the Lipton Championships.
• 1999 - Won her first Grand Slam title at the 1999 Australian Open, winning the doubles title.
• 1999 - Reached her second career final at 1999 Hilton Head.
• 1999 - Defeated world No. 2 Lindsey Davenport in Amelia Island.

Anna was last seen competing at this year's US Open, with a seeding of 12 and a ranking of 14. Her statistics for 2000 are: 35-19 record, 5 semi-final appearances in 19 tournaments.

loving the money

Presently endorsed by Adidas, Yonex, Berlei (the famous sports bra), Omega (also the choice of Cindy Crawford and Pierce Brosnan), and Lycos (who has named Anna the most popular athlete on the Internet, moving Michael Jordan to the number 2 spot), Anna has certainly come a long way from the days when her parents could hardly afford to buy her a tennis racket.

Anna's earnings for 1999 stood at $11 million for endorsements alone, and they have surely increased by now, making her the highest-paid female tennis player.

As a cover girl, Anna was named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1998, and graced the cover of Sports Illustrated's June 2000 edition.

Although most of the talk surrounding Anna has to do with her on-again, off-again romances with hockey players Pavel Bure and Sergei Fedorov (who she is allegedly married to), the provocative 20-year-old still claims that her number one dedication in life remains the sport that made her famous: tennis. Or was it Anna that made tennis famous?