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Kournikova to quit tennis
By Richard Simpson and Ian Sparks, Evening Standard Last updated at 00:00am on 13.10.03
Glamour shot: Anna Kournikova at the World Music Awards
Anna Kournikova has always been more successful as a showbusiness star than a sportswoman and now she is poised to end her tennis career permanently.
The 22-year-old Russian, hosting the World Music Awards in Monte Carlo last night, revealed why she intends turning her back on the centre court. Resplendent in a green and silver Versace floor-length dress slashed to the hip, she also made it clear that her tennis career may be over.
In the new year she plans to move into full-time TV presentation with a sports promotion company. Kournikova - who handed out awards with actor Rupert Everett - said she would take a final decision in January.
The player, who has made an estimated £7million from sponsors such as adidas and Omega, has yet to win a major singles tournament.
After her presentation last night she said today: "Acting and presenting are definitely things I enjoy doing - I'd love to appear in something like Sex And The City or Friends. I get offered lots of those sort of jobs but I've never had time to pursue them because of my tennis."
The Moscow-born star now lives in Florida with boyfriend Enrique Iglesias.
She said: "I have been playing since I was five - that's 17 years of hard training every day. Tennis is my life and I really don't know what's going to happen but we will see in January."
Kournikova - who was ranked number eight in the world and reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 1997 - has been plagued by injuries to her feet and back. She said: "They say my injury is chronic because it keeps coming back."
Kournikova added: "I do not want to go on playing unless I can participate 100 per cent as I don't like pulling out of tournaments at the last minute.
"I am still working out regularly and doing exercises on my back. I can still do occasional exhibition games but I can't cope with the rigorous schedule of major tournaments.
"At the end of the day my health is the most important thing I have and I don't want to risk losing that."
So far this year, her prize money has totalled only £16,000 - compared with total career winnings of £2.5 million.
Before setting up with Iglesias, the son of Spanish singer Julio, Kournikova had a secret marriage to Russian-born American icehockey star Sergei Fedorov in 2001 which ended in divorce.
