In the heyday of his fame, he was one of the most photographed women in the world, a magnet for paparazzi, as well as for the impressively ignorant jokes about the perceived disparity between their appearance and their talent.
However, the images that appeared this week of an Anna Kournikova, destined for wheelchairs, in the rich in the coastal garden of Miami de Bal Harbor, say more about the former tennis star than thousands of brilliant photos they could.
They offer a moving reminder of the struggles for injuries that forced Kournikova, who arrived at the Wimbledon semifinals in 1997 and achieved a ranking of No. 8 in the world, to call his career at the age of 21.
The first photos of the lonely 43 -year -old woman in emerge in more than two years, which shows that she uses an orthopedic boot while accompanied by her two young daughters, also tell the story of a woman whose life has suffered a change of sea in the Sea change in the years since it left the sports stage.
They offer a portrait of the old adolescent prodigy as a mother and also, by virtue of their own rarity, a wink to the most private and family -centered life that the Russian lonely has enjoyed in the years elapsed since the bulbs vanished.
Kournikova's personal life, once the approach to the endless speculation of the media, to the point where he told Sports Illustrated: 'All the countries I visit, I have a different boyfriend and kiss them all', he left of being the subject of Tittle-Tittle de tabloids.
The Russian has been in a relationship with the Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias since 2001, although the marital status of the couple: “We have not married in public, but that does not mean that we are not married,” Churches said crystically two years ago – continues being a lasting mystery.
Kournikova and Iglesias have three children, the twins Lucy and Nicholas, seven years old and Mary, five years old. Lucy and Mary accompanied their mother in Bal Harbor, while the whole family is last represented together in May 2022, when Kournikova published a photo of Churches' birthday celebrations on social networks.
The first photos of the former tennis prodigy Anna Kournikova seen in more than two years show her with an orthopedic boot while sitting in a wheelchair during an excursion in Miami
A young Kournikova is seen with his partner, Enrique Iglesias. The couple, whose marital status is not clear, has been together since 2001 and has three children.
Kournikova models an Adidas outfit during a 2003 photo shoot in Key Biscayne, Florida. A chronic back problem forced her to retire later the same year
Kournikova's privacy desire, evident in the 16 -foot walls that surround the family's house, is not simply a reaction to an early life lived before the global gaze.
In 2005, two years after his retirement, he was attacked by a stalker, William Lepeska, who swam naked by Biscayne's bay towards his house with the hope that he would save him from drowning.
In the case, Lepeska, who was issued a permanent restriction order that required him to stay at least 1,000 feet from Kournikova, swam to the wrong house.
“I was absolutely shocked and fearful and was very worried about my security,” said Kournikova, who hired bodyguards and increased security at home after the incident.
“It was very scary and scary, just knowing that there is someone who is obsessive.”
Given the questionable way in which she was portrayed during her adolescence, even Sports Illustrated called her a 'adolescent sexpot' at the age of 16, there was a depressing sense of inevitability about the incident.
By the time she was voted as the sexiest woman in the world by Men's Lifestyle FHM in 2002, Kournikova had already acquired notoriety when presenting in a sports bra that presented the motto: “Only the ball should bounce.”
He even inspired a computer virus, with an attached email file that allegedly endured his image extending as forest fires in early 2001, which earned him a mention in the penultimate season of friends the following year.
Kournikova, voted the sexiest woman in the world for the FHM male lifestyle magazine in 2002, infamously faced a campaign of sports fasteners for Berlei
Before they represented it in Miami, the most recent public photography of Kournikova appeared on its Instagram page in May 2022. The family is celebrating the birthday of Iglesias
Kourniova is a view of action in Wimbledon in 1997, the year he went on to do the semifinals. It was to demonstrate his best ending in a Grand Slam event
KOURNIKOVA MODELA THE ADIDAS US OPEN TENIS ATUEND
However, the unfortunate way in which it was portrayed did not prevent Kournikova from becoming the world The best paid female athlete, and did not prevent him from compiling a record that would be the envy of most players.
In addition to a classification between the 10 best and an important semifinal, Kournikova win early nineties.
A final or better quarter in double and mixed doubles in each of the four largest, challenged the finals in the France Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. And reached the ranking of the world number 1 in doubles in 1999.
Just significant was her influence on the generation of Russian players who followed her. Within a year of his retirement, Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anastasia Myskina had won Grand Slam titles, and in the years since Russian players have been a fixed element at the upper end of sport.
Kuznetsova, a champion of the France Open and the US and the former world No. 2, has no illusions about the scope of the influence of Kournikova, insisting that his compatriot was responsible for putting Russian tennis on the map.
“She brought great popularity to Russian tennis, female tennis,” Kuznetsova said in 2017. “All after her were just after her.
In 2005, two years after his retirement, Kournikova, seen here five years before, was attacked by a stalker, William Lepeska, who swam naked through Biscayne Bay towards his house
Kournikova is photographed in a film premiere in New York in 2003. Now 43, it has become an increasingly lonely figure since a family began in December 2017
“I always defend her when they say:” Oh, she never won a tournament. “So what? She was one of the 10 best players. It's not just about winning tournaments. She was a great image for the game, no Only for Russia but for tennis worldwide.
'Everyone said he never won a tournament. I'm fine, have you been in the Top 10? Have you ever had a racket? I am always surprised that people give these opinions without achieving anything in their lives.
“I think she was great.”
While not everyone would get so far, Kournikova's sports and cultural importance is invaluable than many have suggested.