Kournikova was about a lot more than looks

By PAUL BAUMAN
Sacramento Bee
Friday, July 06, 2007

Everyone, it seems, is an expert on Anna Kournikova.

People might not know a tiebreaker from a circuit breaker, but they're convinced the Russian beauty was a lousy player because she never won a singles title at the top level of women's tennis.

On closer inspection, Kournikova was a highly accomplished athlete whose career was derailed by injuries, and she remains one of the most influential figures in recent tennis history.

Ten years ago at 16, Kournikova became the second woman in the Open Era (since 1968) to reach the singles semifinals in her Wimbledon debut. Chris Evert (1972) was the first, and qualifier Alexandra Stevenson, the daughter of basketball legend Julius Erving, became the third in 1999.

What would you rather do, reach the Wimbledon semifinals or win Shanghai?

Kournikova also cracked the top 10 in the world in singles, hitting a career-high No. 8 in 2000. She earned the unique distinction of, within three months in 1998, beating the five players who held the No. 1 ranking from August 1987 until October 2001: Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport.

Nor is it true that Kournikova never won a professional singles title. She earned two minor-league crowns the year after turning pro at 14.

Most of Kournikova's success, though, came in doubles, which receives about as much media exposure as curling.

She reached No. 1 in doubles in 1999 and won 16 titles on the women's tour, including two Grand Slam events _ the Australian Open in 1999 and 2002 with Martina Hingis.

Moreover, Kournikova sparked a Russian revolution with her wealth and fame. Russia now boasts four women in the top 10 _--No. 2 Maria Sharapova, No. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 7 Anna Chakvetadze and No. 9 Nadia Petrova -- seven in the top 20 and 17 in the top 100. The United States and France, each with 10 players in the top 100, are tied for second.

"(Kournikova) had a tremendous effect," Dmitry Tursunov, a Moscow native and the 23rd-ranked man in the world, told The Sacramento Bee in January. "Every parent (in Russia) wants her daughter to grow up like Sharapova. Kournikova was the first one, not necessarily by swinging a racket. Anna was being noticed for her looks.

"She had a good game, but she had trouble dealing with the media pressure. Sharapova is doing a better job of separating tennis from glamour."

In a conference call with reporters last week, a bubbly Kournikova said she put too much pressure on herself during her career.

"I'm too much of a perfectionist. I used to get disappointed a lot when something didn't go the way I wanted it to go," said Kournikova, who reached four singles finals on the WTA Tour. "It's very important to understand that you will make mistakes sometimes. Before, I kind of took it really hard when I did make mistakes."

Kournikova battled not only mental demons but foot, ankle and back injuries. She was just 21 when she retired from the women's circuit in 2003.

These days, the Moscow native and Miami resident plays "a lot" of charity events and exhibitions in addition to her time with the Sacramento Capitals in World TeamTennis. She also does promotional work for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and K-Swiss, a tennis shoe and apparel company.

Kournikova said she feels fine physically as long as she limits her tennis to an hour a day.

No, she never won a singles title on the WTA Tour. But the pinup could play.

(Paul Bauman can be reached at pbauman@sacbee.com.)