Sometimes, all it takes is hearing a single name to cast our minds back to the past. For example, we recently overheard someone mention Anna Kournikova, and they discussed how easy the tennis legend must have had. When they said that, we very nearly spit our water out in shock and surprise.
That’s because Kournikova had a surprisingly sad life punctuated by one miserable moment after another. Don’t believe it? Keep reading to discover the saddest things about Anna Kournikova’s life!
Dealing with a controlling mother
Anna Kournikova was a tennis prodigy early on, and she certainly owes some of her success to the encouragement of her mother, Alla Kournikova. On paper, having a very supportive mother may sound like a good thing. In reality, though, Alla was very controlling and may have effectively held her daughter’s career back.
Her coach, tennis icon Nick Bollettieri said as much in the 2002 documentary below. “I believe what happened here—whether it was deliberate or not deliberate—is that Anna became too dependent on her mother,” he said. “She [Anna] always had to answer to someone on the sidelines. Her mother really did run the show and sort of have different ideas of how she felt the ball should be hit.” Because of this, “I really never had the chance to develop Anna Kournikova’s strokes.”
Considering how Kournikova’s career eventually plateaued, it seems his assessment was, sadly, correct.
She had to support her family while still a child
As she trained for a career in tennis, Anna Kournikova’s career took her very far…specifically, it took her from her native Russia all the way to Florida. She really enjoyed the change of environment and thrived in the sunny state, but she also had to deal with a specific pressure most people never have to face.
On the Graham Norton Show, she admitted that when it came to finances, “I was supporting everybody, basically.” While she had some fun, the pressure was too much, and she eventually came to a bleak realization. “Looking back at it now…I would never do that to my kid.”
Very few friends during childhood
For Anna Kournikova, there were many side effects to having an overly controlling mother. One of the sadder effects was having no real friends growing up. In that same documentary, her coach Nick Bollettieri revealed that “Her mother didn’t let her forget where she came from, so her interaction with the other students [at the tennis academy] was very limited…You play, you eat, you go home with Mama.”
You could say that this discipline paid off thanks to her later success as a pro athlete. But her former coach seemed sad about the missed opportunities for making friends like normal kids. “Anna, in that young life there, there was not too much social activity.”
A military-style upbringing
By now, you’ve got a decent idea of just how miserable Anna Kournikova’s life really was. She had a domineering mother, a demanding training schedule, and hardly time for anything else. Eventually, the tennis star grew up and gave her super-strict upbringing a name. As she said on the Graham Norton Show, she effectively had a “military” upbringing.
And to hear her tell the story, she had about as much fun as the average enrollee into a military academy. She confirmed that she “didn’t go to prom,” missing out on some of the big moments that defined the lives of other children her age. “I didn’t go to…Because I was traveling [for tennis].”
For better or for worse, this military-style upbringing has had a lasting effect on Kournikova’s life and personality. “I mean, I’m still really OCD and disciplined.” Being disciplined is all well and good, but we can’t help but wonder…at what cost does it stop being worth it?
Struggles with a relentless media
Almost all celebs have a rough time with the media from time to time. Unfortunately, Anna Kournikova had to deal with with a relentlessly cruel media from a very tender age. She made it to the semi-finals at the 1997 Wimbledon, making her a household name worldwide. The tennis star would never quite reach that level of success again, but she would spend the next half-decade dealing with paparazzi that made her life miserable.
For example, while still only 16 years old, Kournikova had to deal with grown, married sports journalists like Michael Silver hitting on her. Other reporters settled for outright objectification, running photos meant to highlight how her butt looked while she was playing. Years later, when she started dating musician and future husband Enrique Iglesias, she even had to deal with the paparazzi openly stalking her every move.
Eventually, Kournikova had to retire from tennis at a relatively early age due to a number of debilitating injuries. While it was a disappointing end to a meteoric career, there was one major silver lining: she no longer had to deal with so many reporters breathlessly following her every move.