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by Christopher Gerby Absent from the WTA Tour for more than a year, due to a chronic back injury, Anna Kournikova has become more of a professional celebrity than a tennis player. Her off-court life provides seemingly endless fodder for the tabloids, replete with rumors of a secret marriage (to pop star Enrique Inglesias) and pregnancy. Kournikova has even managed to be sued by her own parents in a dispute over ownership of her Miami residence. However, Anna was able to spend the bulk of a June 17th conference call discussing what made her famous in the first place: playing competitive tennis. The month of July will feature four World Team Tennis appearances by the blonde bombshell. Playing for the league's Kansas City Explorers, Kournikova will suit up for road matches on the 6th (in Mamaroneck, NY), 8th (Schenectady, NY), and 9th (Hartford, CT) before a lone home date with the Explorers on July 10th (hosting the Philadelphia Freedoms). The Moscow native's Team Tennis play last season was limited to doubles sets, but she intends to see some singles action this time around. "Hopefully, yeah. It's up to the coach." Noting that she "had a great experience last year," Kournikova praised the league's fast-paced format and fan involvement. "The team spirit is really good and the crowd really gets into it." More important in the big picture is Anna's admission that Team Tennis "provides a great opportunity for me to play short term tennis without getting injured again. It's obviously a little bit less demanding than normal tournaments." Tennis purists may dismiss her as an irrelevant sideshow, but Kournikova hasn't lost her ability to put butts in the seats. Ticket demand for her appearance in Hartford was so strong, the match had to be moved from its originally scheduled venue (the Apple Arena at Blue Fox Run Golf Course) to the considerably larger Hartford Civic Center. "Anna mania" seems to be alive and well, but will it ever resurface on the WTA circuit? "I definitely hope so," says Kournikova, but she's loathe to announce any kind of timetable for her return to the tour. "I don't want to say anything, because I had a bad experience last time." Labeling her status as "still uncertain," Anna will wait and "see how my body's feeling, how my back is doing." Even setting specific goals is out of the question at this point. "My main goal is to get healthy. Then I can start to look forward." Kournikova hasn't been alone in her plight. The past couple years have seen every big name in women's tennis -- from Monica Seles to the Williams sisters to "the Belgian sisters" and beyond -- plagued by one serious malady or another. "It's not very surprising," Kournikova says of the widespread injury woes. "Our season is extremely long and we've been playing from a young age." Of her own particular case, Anna figures, "I was never the most muscular girl and I guess that took a toll on my body." During her last few appearances on the pro tour, back in 2003, "I was in so much pain, it wasn't worth it, being on the court." Reasoning that "it's a very serious thing to have back surgery," Kournikova has been hoping rest would do the trick. She has not, however, considered hanging up her racquet for good at the tender age of 23. "I never really thought about retiring yet...I still work out every day, just not the amount I used to play. The only thing that's missing is playing tournaments." In the interim, Kournikova has taken stabs at acting and modeling, even signing on for a notoriously short-lived turn as a roving reporter for USA Network's coverage of the 2003 US Open. At the end of the day, however, playing tennis is "always going to be something that I have a passion for. It's my only passion." |