Real reason tennis ace Anna Kournikova ditched fame, kept twins secret and built 16ft wall round her Miami mansion
BACK in the 1990s, you could hardly open a glossy mag without seeing tennis star Anna Kournikova’s athletic figure sprawled over the pages.
Despite never reaching a final of a grand slam singles tournament, the Russian was in such demand she was the highest-earning female player in 2000.
One of her endorsements that year saw her in a sports bra on billboards next to the line “only the ball should bounce”.
But since quitting the game in 2003, aged just 21, due to back problems, she has become something of a recluse, living behind 16ft walls at the beach-front mansion in Miami she shares with her pop star partner Enrique Iglesias and their three children.
So it came as a shock to fans this week, to see Anna photographed in public for the first time in nearly three years.
And it seems the 43-year-old has not shaken off the injuries that prevented her career on court reaching its full potential.
Anna was spotted at Bal Harbour in Miami being pushed along in a wheelchair by family and friends, with her right foot clad in an orthopaedic boot.
‘I love being a mum’
Smiling by her side were her two daughters, Lucy, seven, and five-year-old Mary.
The image provided a brief window into the happiness that motherhood has brought the star, who also has Lucy’s twin brother Nicholas, since she turned her back on fame.
It is a world away from her years as a teenage sensation when she once joked that “every country I visit, I have a different boyfriend and I kiss them all”, following rumours she was seeing two Russian ice hockey stars at the same time.
I did feel pressure when people were saying things like, ‘You’re too pretty, you can’t play’, or whatever.
Anna Kournikova
At the peak of her fame, she could not go anywhere without being photographed, and could not chat to a man without being romantically linked to him.
And her reluctance to go out in public is understandable, given that a stalker once tried to get on to her property.
Talking about her previous worldwide fame, she told The Sun in 2019: “It’s really strange, it feels like it happened to me but it didn’t happen to me because it was such a long time ago.”
And she confessed that all the attention she received had made her anxious.
She said: “Being in the spotlight since I was a child was really hard.
“I did feel pressure when people were saying things like, ‘You’re too pretty, you can’t play’, or whatever.
“I would get so nervous and get anxiety on the court, I wouldn’t be able to move.”
Anna was last seen by fans when she shared a photo of her family celebrating Mother’s Day and Enrique’s 47th birthday in their back garden in May 2022.
It was becoming a mum to twins Nicholas and Lucy in December 2017 that truly sealed her move away from public view.
Having seen every part of her life pored over as a teenager, Anna did not announce their birth until a full month later.
Since then there have been the occasional images of her children posted on social media.
They include a cute video of her three children driving a toy red Range Rover around the tennis court at her house.
She said: “I love being a mum.
“I absolutely wanted to have children, whether I had my own or adopted.”
But Anna and Enrique give so little away that they have not even confirmed a rumoured marriage.
She wears a huge sparkly ring on her wedding finger and calls herself Anna Kournikova Iglesias on her Instagram page.
Enrique once referred to Anna as his wife.
I’m like a menu at an expensive restaurant — you can look at me, but you can’t afford me.
Anna Kournikova
He also said in 2022: “We haven’t gotten married in public, but that doesn’t mean we are not married.
“We have been together for such a long time, for half of our lives.”
For many, Kournikova was a poster girl for unfulfilled talent.
She was the first of the Russian women to make it big on the tennis circuit, paving the way for stars such as Maria Sharapova.
When Anna was five, her mum Alla sold her television in order to buy he girl a tennis racket — and within five years she had secured a place at a prestigious academy in Florida.
She turned professional aged 14 and the following year reached the fourth round of the US Open, losing to eventual champion Steffi Graf.
But it was making the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 1997 aged 16 — which would be her best grand slam result in the singles game — that sent her into the sporting stratosphere.
Her 44-inch legs, blonde hair and perfect smile were a godsend for advertisers and in 2001 she earned £7million from sponsorship deals alone.
It was no surprise that FHM magazine named her the sexiest woman on the planet in 2002.
There was a slew of rumoured male admirers, including Brazilian footballer Ronaldo, who she gave a kiss to at the 1998 French Open, and Australian tennis star Mark Philippoussis.
She played up to her reputation as a heartbreaker by commenting: “I’m like a menu at an expensive restaurant — you can look at me, but you can’t afford me”.
The most infamous story surrounded a love triangle involving two Russian ice hockey stars.
Anna was said to have been in an on-off relationship with Sergei Fedorov after meeting him in 1999 when she was 17.
But his team-mate Pavel Bure also made a move in 2000, with The Sun revealing that diners had seen him propose to her with a pink rose in a Miami restaurant.
In the end, Anna chose Sergei.
A marriage certificate in Moscow appeared to show that the couple tied the knot in 2001.
Anna always denied getting married, but Sergei insisted they had been man and wife.
He said in 2003 after what he said was their divorce: “I loved her but she had her own plans.”
It was meeting Enrique, 49, the son of Spanish crooner Julio, in late 2001 when she played his girlfriend in the video for his song Escape, that changed everything.
In 2002 she announced her retirement from tennis, having struggled with a long-standing injury.
She said: “My back really forced me to stop.
“It got so bad I couldn’t tie my shoes, literally. I would be in excruciating pain.”
While Anna never reached the heights it was believed she would, she was twice the women’s doubles champion at the Australian Open.
Explicit emails
By 2004 she was also at odds with her mum Alla, who had orchestrated much of her early career.
Alla and dad Sergei launched legal action to get their daughter out of the Miami pad which they claimed to own.
The tennis star then counter-sued and a secret settlement was reached.
I’d love to appear in something like Sex And The City or Friends.
Anna Kournikova
A year later homeless man William Lepeska, who had a history of violence, was arrested at a swimming pool near her home, shouting, “Anna, save me”.
He had got the wrong house.
Lepeska, who was ordered by a court to stay away from Anna, had also sent her sexually explicit emails.
Afterwards, Anna bulked up her security, bringing in bodyguards, and her public appearances lessened.
There had been talk of her going into acting or presenting following her retirement from tennis.
She enjoyed a cameo in the 2000 Jim Carrey movie Me, Myself & Irene and said: “I’d love to appear in something like Sex And The City or Friends.”
But apart from stints as a workout coach on reality show The Biggest Loser in 2010 and 2011, Anna did not pursue the numerous opportunities offered to her.
It is clear she values privacy more than fame.
Given the last photo she posted of herself on social media was in 2021, there is little chance she is going to talk publicly about her latest injury.
But with a loving family around her, nowadays she can just block out what the world has to say about her and how she is looking.