Anna Kournikova was five when she started playing tennis in a club in Moscow. Unlike children of other ambitious parents, Anna wasn´t forced to do anything; Alla and Sergei (a Greco-Roman wrestler) didn´t know anything about tennis and they just wanted her to play for health reasons. But her talent for tennis was discovered early in a children's sports program. From this moment it was clear that Anna had the skills to reach the top.

Their financial situation in Russia in the early 80s forced the Kournikova´s to sell their TV set to buy Anna a tennis racket! Hard to imagine when you look on Anna´s current earnings with sponsors and prize money.

Though she spends most of her time in the US now, she still doesn´t deny her origin. The truth is, however, that many people in Russia are not so fond of her. One example - a radio interview in Russia underlined the fact that Anna said she felt more like an American!

Who is the most popular sports figure on the internet? You guessed it - Anna Kournikova! For two straight years, Anna has been named the most searched athlete online both by Lycos and Yahoo, two of the largest search engines on the web! She even received a trophy in 2000 at the Official Lycos web awards to confirm her supremacy!