Russian tennis player Anna Kournikova played for the first time in the Grand Slam tournament when she was barely 15 years old. Anna’s arrival in New York at the 1996 US Open was marked by great success.
The Russian youngster sensationally reached the fourth round, where she lost to one of the most titled tennis players of all time, Germany’s Steffi Graf. That’s when people started talking seriously about Kournikova for the first time.
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At the age of 14, Kournikova proved to everyone around her that she was ready to move to the adult level. Ella Anna won the European Junior Championship and the Italian Open, and took the cup at the prestigious Orange Bowl competition, where tennis players under 18 years old competed. After that, there was no doubt that the time had come for her to debut on the WTA circuit, which happened in September 1995 at the Moscow Women’s Open.
In February-March 1996, Kournikova won two ITF titles in Midland and Rockford, and in April, still 14 years old, she competed in the Fed Cup as part of the Russian team, becoming the youngest tennis player in history in ¿ Have you ever participated and won a match at this level? This was followed by a match at the Atlanta Olympics, after which the question of making his debut in the Grand Slam tournaments arose. Anna got to try to fight the best tennis players in the world for the first time at the 1996 US Open. At the age of 10, Kournikova received a scholarship to the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton. The Russian settled well in the United States, she was very recognizable in the country for her first successes on the court and she had no problem adapting abroad.
Anna Kournikova at the US Open – 1996
Photo: Simon Bruty/Allsport
Kournikova was ranked 144th in the WTA rankings before the start of the 1996 US Open, so she qualified. Anna confidently beat little-known Canadian Jana Nejedly, Hungarian Virag Churgo and Greek Christina Papadaki without dropping a set to their opponents. An easy path for Kournikova was not expected in the main draw, but the Russian knew how to surprise.
15-year-old Anna Kournikova earned her first TBS win in a match against Czech Lyudmila Richterova, four years her senior. Score – 7:6 (7:4), 6:3. Anna was somewhat lucky with the draw, as the qualifier could have been up against a much more formidable opponent in the opening round. Although in any case, the Russian showed later that she is prepared for difficult challenges.
“Why did I win today? Good question. I think I played well, although I was very excited about my first Slam match. I just went out and did the best I could. I came here for the first time in 1991. I was here, just looking at the court. I thought it would be cool to play here and everything. “I think my dream has come true,” Kournikova said.
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In the second round of the US Open, Kournikova defeated 24-year-old Italian Natalie Bodon (6-3, 6-3). Another opponent, although not famous, but quite experienced, was defeated in an easy and relaxed style.
This is where simple opponents definitely ran out. Further down the pack, Anna met Austrian Barbara Paulus, number 14, who in the mid-1990s showcased some of the best tennis of her career and even climbed into the top 10 of the WTA rankings. Paulus was 11 years older than Kournikova. It seemed that Barbara would easily beat Anna, but the young Russian achieved a resounding victory 3:6, 6:2, 6:4. And further down the grid, the first racket in the world awaited her, the then 19-time TBS champion and current US Open champion Steffi Graf (a total of 22 majors won in her career).
“I really want to meet Steffi. I hope to play the same way as in the match against Barbara, when I moved very well, did not lose concentration and did not get discouraged after losing the first set. I am very encouraged to have reached the fourth round of my Slam debut. As I already said, after the Olympics I trained very hard at Nick Bollettieri’s academy. I was hoping to achieve something and for me this is definitely a good achievement. I hope I can fight Steffi. I tried to learn from the best players: Steffi Graf and Monica Seles. I watched their games on television. “Definitely my dream was to play with Steffi,” Anna said.
Kournikova really impressed in her US Open debut. Reaching the fourth round exceeded the wildest expectations of the tennis player herself, but there she ended the fairy tale. There was no miracle in the form of a victory over Graf. Anna lost without a chance to the first racket in the world by 2:6, 1:6.
Steffi Graf at the US Open – 1996
Photo: Simon Bruty/Allsport
Although Steffi did not experience any special difficulties on the track, she paid tribute to her young rival.
“It’s good to know that the future of tennis is showing itself. Anna has character, she can perform any blow. She just needs more patience and experience,” Graf said.
In Kournikova’s situation at the 1996 US Open, it is more appropriate than ever to use the hackneyed sports phrase: “The main thing is not victory, but participation.” Just playing with the best tennis player on the planet in the second week of the debut Slam is a huge achievement for 15-year-old Anna. The Russian was not upset at all by the loss.
“Playing against Steffi is really great. I felt very comfortable on the court. I think I played well. Steffi also played very well. You know, she was always focused. She did what she always does. After the match with her, I realized that I could be here and play with tennis players like that. It was a really good experience for me. I would like to play with Steffi again and again. I am very happy, despite the defeat. I played with one of the best tennis players in history,” Kournikova said.
Steffi Graf eventually won the 1996 US Open. In the semifinals, the German defeated 15-year-old Swiss Martina Hingis (7:5, 6:3), another young tennis player who was considered the future of women’s tennis along with Kournikova. . And in the decisive match Steffi easily defeated the second racket in the world, Monica Seles (7:5, 6:4).
As for Kournikova, reaching the fourth round of the US Open is her best result in New York in her entire career. She did it for the first time at the age of 15 and then repeated it two years later. Of course, in 1996 the achievement seems more impressive. Anna did not become the youngest tennis player in history to reach this stage in New York, having previously rewrote all sorts of age records by Monica Seles, and then Jennifer Capriati and Martina Hingis. Capriati himself played in the semi-finals of Roland Garros, the fourth round of Wimbledon and the US Open in general at the age of 14.
The young Anna Kournikova in 1996
Photo: Clive Brunskill/ALLSPORT
However, Anna is younger than Monica, Jennifer and Martina. And her achievement remains impressive on a historical scale. She became the last of the young generation of the turn of the last century who performed with unusual success on the court, mainly in childhood.
Not even sisters Venus and Serena Williams could compare to her, and they achieved their first successes on the court at just the age of 17. Kournikova remains the last 15-year-old tennis player to reach the fourth round of the US Open. In the 21st century no one has done this and it is unlikely that they will in the next few years. The closest to Anna was the American Cori Gauff, who in 2019 at the same age managed to reach the third round in New York.
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Steffi Graf called Kournikova “the future of tennis.” Journalists and fans gave him a similar description. At that moment he was completely justified. In 1997, Anna reached the semifinals of Wimbledon, showing the best result of her career on TBS at the age of 16. There were several more appearances in the later stages of the majors, reaching the top 10 of the world rankings, but overall the Russian did not live up to expectations. Anna, together with Martina Hingis, won the Australian Open twice (1999, 2002), but did not win in singles, not only in the majors, but in general in any WTA tournament. Kournikova ended her career in 2003, when she was 22 years old.
Be that as it may, Anna Kournikova is a rare example where early success in sports did not lead to her head in the clouds and subsequent collapse. Anna fully realized herself in life, but not in tennis. Although without this game she really wouldn’t have achieved anything. Her achievements at the age of 15 or 16 laid the most powerful foundation for moving into another field. The attractive tennis player became a model and she earned much more from endorsement deals than she could have earned on the court. She met the popular Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias, with whom she has lived for more than 20 years and raised three children. Of course, tennis fans would like to see major tournament victories on Kournikova’s resume, but she still accomplished a lot. It seems that it will not take long for a tennis player to appear on the circuit who can reach the fourth round of the US Open at only 15 years old.
