ABSTRACT

In 2010, I wrote a chapter in David Baggett’s edited anthology Tennis and Philosophy exploring Russian-born tennis star Anna Kournikova’s extraordinary rise to success during the 1990s into the 2000s, despite her less than exemplary athletic achievements. 1 Although Kournikova initially won crowds over with her outstanding performance as a junior athlete, her eventual decline in the world of tennis hardly tainted her status or popularity. Instead, as a result of the massive media attention, numerous advertising endorsements with Adidas, Charles-Schwab and Lycos (among many others), and much-reported romance with Latin sensation Enrique Englesias, Kournikova transformed herself into a high-profile celebrity praised for her alluring sex appeal and coveted beauty. In fact, according to People magazine, Kournikova herself has been quoted unabashedly admitting, ‘I’m beautiful, famous and gorgeous’ – hardly a surprising comment from the tennis star who has repeatedly secured the title of ‘50 Most Beautiful People’ for several years (1998, p.121). Moreover, in 2002, FHM Magazine also noted Kournikova as one of the ‘100 Sexiest Women in the World’, and in 2004, Sports Illustrated featured Kournikova as one of the top models in the infamous Swimsuit Issue.