From Kournik to Sharapova: what iconic Russian tennis players of the 21st century look like now

At one time, Anna became the youngest participant in the Olympic Games in the history of Russia – at the time of her debut at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, she was 15 years and 47 days old. In many ways, the triumphal parade of Russian female tennis players began with Kournikova – after her, they began to look at them in particular and, of course, admire the beauty of Russian stars. Kournikova was included in the lists of the sexiest women on the planet, and the paparazzi followed her novels.

Kournik’s professional achievements may seem modest compared to other athletes – she twice won the Australian Open and the WTA doubles final. In 2003, after an injury, the athlete finished his career. Since 2001, Anna has been in a relationship with singer Enrique Iglesias, whom she met on the set of a music video. The couple already has three children: twins Nicholas and Lucy and a daughter Mary.

Myskina was the first tennis player from the entire post-Soviet space to win a Grand Slam singles tournament. For some time, the athlete was in the shadow of Elena Dementieva, who was her friend from childhood, but in the final of Roland Garros in the 2004/2005 season, all the accents were put: Myskina defeated her opponent.

After ending her career, Myskina tried her hand as a presenter and in 2016 was elected vice-president of the Russian Tennis Federation. The tennis player does not like to talk about her personal life, so few facts are known. Once Myskina was engaged to hockey player Konstantin Korneev, but the wedding never took place. Since 2006, Myskina met businessman and official Sergei Mamedov, from whom she gave birth to three sons, but in 2017 the couple broke up.

Elena can boast the highest achievement in the life of any athlete – she is the 2008 Olympic champion in singles.

The spectacular blonde had a lot of fans not only among tennis fans – for many she became the “successor” of Kournik’s image. Demetyeva was also called to appear in clips, but after completing her career, she worked on television.

Since 2007, Elena has been married to hockey player Maxim Afinogenov, the couple has two children.

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Maria became a bronze medalist of the London Olympic Games in doubles, as well as a finalist in two Grand Slam doubles tournaments. At the height of her successful career, she played tennis for Sports Illustrated and worked with Adidas.

In 2011, Maria began dating Alexander Ovechkin, young people planned a wedding, but they broke up unexpectedly for everyone. In 2015, Kirilenko married official Alexei Stepanov, and after giving birth to two children, she decided not to return to big sports. Today, Maria trains children in her own tennis school.

The sister of the famous Marat Safin did not disgrace her name on the world courts. The girl was the first racket in the world and won the silver of the Olympic Games in singles.

Today, Dinara lives in Monte Carlo and posts pictures of her “beautiful life” on social networks. Officially, the athlete is not in a relationship.

Sharapova became a real tennis phenomenon in the 2000s and by far the best Russian tennis player in history. It was immediately clear that a unique athlete appeared on the world stage: Maria played an adult tournament for the first time at the age of 14! 2004 was a triumphant year when Sharapova defeated world number one Serena Williams in the final to win Wimbledon.

Since 2018, Maria has been dating British millionaire Alex Gilks. In 2020, their engagement took place, but the lovers have not yet played the wedding. But they already managed to become parents – their son Theodore was born in 2022. Today, Maria is developing her own business.

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