One of the most Googled people ever, Anna Kournikova gave up her early tennis fame for a quiet family life, and she has since become one of the most forgotten about people.
As a rising tennis star, she had the entire world at her fingers.
The 41-year-old Anna Kournikova, meanwhile, stays out of the spotlight in her new life as a dedicated mother and lover. It’s a far way from the celebrity that swept her up at such a young age in the late 1990s.
Emma Raducanu seems like a pensioner in comparison to the Russian, who had her theatrical debut at the age of 14. But whereas most others were just getting started, she quit her career after seven tumultuous years.
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Despite never making it through the semifinals of a Grand Slam and only rising to the eighth slot in the global singles rankings, Kournikova became well-known.
She had a cameo appearance in the sitcom Friends, was named the world’s most beautiful woman by FHM magazine in 2002, and was called “the Spice Girls of tennis” together with doubles partner Martina Hingis.
There was obviously a lot to handle. She recalled how challenging it was for her to grow up in the public eye.
“I did feel under pressure when people said things like, ‘You’re too lovely, you can’t play,’ or other such sentiments. I would get so nervous and tight on the court that I couldn’t move.
Kournikova did succeed, winning the Australian Open twice with Hingis by her side, and she ascended to the top of the world rankings.
Injuries, particularly severe back and spinal problems, finally ended up ending her career as a professional player.
She had Iglesias, whom she had first met when she starred in the music video for his song Escape in 2001, and everything else she needed thanks to her celebrity.
They soon began dating, and they haven’t looked back since. Nicholas and Lucy, Kournikova’s twins, were born in 2015; Mary, their third child, was born in 2020.
Given what Iglesias candidly revealed in an interview with The Sun in 2018: “I think there’s more passion now than before,” it makes sense why. The enthusiasm is still present.
The young Kournikova says on social media that she still looks stunning despite taking her boyfriend’s last name and without yet being married.
She takes pleasure in the fact that she is no longer one of the most Googled people but still has fond recollections of her early years.
“It’s incredibly strange; it feels like it happened to me, but it didn’t happen to me because it was so long ago,” said Kournikova. By the age of 16, I had participated in sports on every continent.
That kind of upbringing was intriguing. When I quit, the majority of people had just received their college degrees, and I was simply doing what I knew how to do.
