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The Case for Anna: How Kournikova Survived the Hype and Had a Successful Career
Published: October 19, 2010
That's the kind of thinking that bothers me though. Kournikova has become known so exclusively for looks that her tennis career has become a sort of sneer-worthy afterthought. It's grossly unfair when you consider what she achieved despite having to contend with a media circus from a very early age.
Has there ever been a sporting figure whose celebrity has been so disproportionate to her achievements? There undoubtedly has, but it's the cult of Kournikova that appears to have come to represent the ultimate victory of style over substance.
“With the ascent of Anna, eroticism trumps athleticism,” were the bitter words of one NY Times writer back when Kournikova was a top-10 player.
If Kournikova's level of fame is completely disproportionate to her achievements on court then so is the level of vitriol that has been aimed at her ("Pornikova" according to some feminists).
There’s a general impression that she was completely hopeless as a player. An Ace-King opening hand in poker has been named after her. It looks good but rarely wins. Or as one acquaintance put it: “Playstation games named after her: two. Matches won: zero.”
Amidst all the hype and hate one thing seems to have been forgotten. Namely that Anna Kournikova was a very good tennis player. In November 2000 she was ranked No. 8 in the world. How many people get to say that they were among the eight best in the world at their chosen profession?
She also reached the Wimbledon semifinals on her debut as a 16-year-old becoming only the second woman in the open era to achieve that feat after Chris Evert. Admittedly the gaping hole in her résumé is the lack of a...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis
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