Why tennis beauty Anna Kournikova is happy to swap Wimbledon glare for being mum to her twins with Enrique Iglesias
GLAMOROUS tennis ace Anna Kournikova brought Wimbledon to a standstill as she stepped on to Centre Court for the first time in 1997.
But now the former sports star ace, ranked eighth in the world at the height of her career, has swapped the adoring crowds of SW19 for two new fans — her 18-month-old twins.
Since her shock departure from the sport in 2003, aged just 21, Anna has never been happier than in her new role as mum to Lucy and Nicholas, her kids with long-term partner, singer Enrique Iglesias, 44.
The 38-year-old Russian, who turned professional at 14, said: “I love being a mum. I absolutely wanted to have children, whether I had my own or adopted.
“I love taking care of people.”
As tennis stars compete at this year’s Wimbledon, Anna recalls how the pressure of tournaments often left her incapacitated.
She said: “Being in the spotlight since I was a child was really hard.
‘I’D BE SO NERVOUS I COULDN’T MOVE’
“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.”
Today we can reveal Anna is most content when with her family at their home in Miami, away from the world’s glare.
Anna started playing tennis aged five, after her mum Alla told her she could “be the best player in the world”.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Anna, then ten, and her mum, a runner, relocated to the US to enrol Anna at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida.
It had already produced sensations including eight-time Grand Slam winner Andre Agassi, 49, and Monica Seles, 45, who won nine titles. Anna said: “We had an amazing tennis school and clubs in Russia.
“It’s just the opportunities were never really there when it was still the Soviet Union for us to travel.
“Everything was controlled by the Federation.”
On meeting Anna for the first time, academy founder Nick said: “This little girl comes and jumps in my ball basket and says, ‘I’m here for the lesson’. I thought, ‘Who the hell is this?’”
Anna’s brave move paved the way for other young players to leave Russia and train at the academy, most notably Maria Sharapova, 32, who has ranked No1 in singles five times.
It is testament to the school and Anna’s skill that she became one of the youngest ever professionals, at just 14.
She recalled: “I had a great team, my mum was always there — she was a little over-protective and a lot of people didn’t like her very much.
“She was like a drill sergeant and a parrot, repeating the same things over to me. I’m happy she did — it has helped me so much later in life.”
Despite never winning a major singles title, Anna’s looks and resolve made her a household name — and the most Googled star in the world.
She even had a guest role on hit Nineties sitcom Friends as one of “The Spice Girls Of Tennis”.
Speaking about her fame, Anna said: “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. I played in every single continent by the time I was 16.
“It was an interesting way to grow up. When I stopped, most people had just come out of college and I was stopping the only thing I knew.”
In the final years of her tennis career, Anna was plagued by injuries, eventually quitting due to a serious problem. By then, she was ranked just No305 in singles.
It was a happier story off the court.
In 2001, she was invited to appear in Spanish superstar Enrique’s music video for Hero, and romance blossomed between the pair.
They moved in together in his beachfront home in Miami.
Enrique — dubbed the King of Latin Pop — continued to sell out arenas around the world while Anna modelled and hosted US weight loss show The Biggest Loser in 2011.
But mainly she shunned the spotlight to focus on her relationship.
Despite rumours that they had tied the knot, Anna said: “I’m in a happy relationship with Enrique, that’s all that matters.
‘I DON’T WANT TO MISS A SECOND WITH MY TWINS’
“Marriage isn’t important to me. I believe in being open and trusting each other and respecting each other completely.
“We’ve been together for years. He’s the male version of me, and I’m the female version of him.”
Enrique shared the sentiment last year when he said: “I’ve never really thought marriage would make a difference. Maybe it’s because I come from divorced parents, but I don’t think you love someone more because of a piece of paper.”
But it has not been all plain sailing in her personal life.
In 2005 Anna had to call the police after a naked stalker, who had a tattoo of her name on his arm, broke into her home as she slept.
Before that he had sent the tennis ace harassing letters via her website.
Homeless William Lepeska was ordered by a court to stay at least 1,000ft away from Anna.
She later said: “I was absolutely shocked and fearful, and I was very much concerned for my safety.
“It’s frightening to know there is someone out there who’s obsessive.” In 2010, the star’s mother Alla, now 56, was charged with child neglect after her five-year-old son, Allan — Anna’s half-brother — was injured after falling 15ft from a window.
The charges were later dropped.
But it was in December 2017 that Anna life-changing moment came with the arrival of her twins.
She had managed to hide her pregnancy from the public, only posting a picture of her bump on social media four months after giving birth to Nicholas and Lucy.
By then, Anna had already spent three months in the gym in a bid to shed her baby weight and regain her fitness.
She still posts videos on Instagram of her workouts, where she is often seen with the family’s adorable pet dogs Max and Jack. The slender, health-conscious star surprisingly doesn’t deprive herself of any particular foods, preferring the rule of everything in moderation.
Anna said: “I find it’s important to eat smaller meals often.
“I will have a little piece of chocolate every day, or every other day. I love chocolate and ice cream. I love potatoes and pasta.
“My typical day is getting up at 6.30am. We have breakfast, walk with a stroller. The twins have just started walking.
“While they sleep, I do yoga or Pilates.
“From noon housework begins and by 8pm I am usually exhausted on the sofa.
“When I got pregnant, I reduced the workload, and realised I want to devote all my time to children.
“Being with them is happiness, I am not ready to miss a single second.”
But parenthood hasn’t dampened her love life.
Anna tells how she still has “date nights” with Enrique and in a rare — and searingly honest — interview last year, he revealed: “It’s probably more sex now than ever.
“The sex has not diminished.”
On getting their children into tennis, Anna said: “They’re not at the age where I have bought them rackets, but they’re already playing with balls.”
If Nicholas and Lucy inherit their mum’s skill, we could soon be seeing the first twins paired up in the Wimbledon mixed doubles.
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