1989–1997: Early years and breakthrough Following her arrival in the United States, she became prominent on the tennis scene. By the end of the year, Kournikova was crowned the
ITF Junior World Champion U-18 and Junior European Champion U-18. when she received a wildcard into the qualifications at the
WTA tournament in Moscow, the
Moscow Ladies Open, and qualified before losing in the second round of the main draw to third-seeded
Sabine Appelmans. She also reached her first WTA Tour doubles final in that debut appearance – partnering with
1995 Wimbledon girls' champion in both singles and doubles
Aleksandra Olsza, she lost the title match to
Meredith McGrath and
Larisa Savchenko-Neiland. In February–March 1996, Kournikova won two
ITF titles, in
Midland, Michigan and
Rockford, Illinois. Still only 14 years of age, in
April 1996 she debuted at the
Fed Cup for
Russia, the youngest player ever to participate and win a match. Kournikova was a member of the Russian delegation to the
1996 Olympic Games in
Atlanta, Georgia. In 1996, she was named
WTA Newcomer of the Year, where she lost in the first round to world No. 12,
Amanda Coetzer. At the
Italian Open, Kournikova lost to Amanda Coetzer in the second round. She reached the semi-finals in the doubles partnering with
Elena Likhovtseva, before losing to the sixth seeds
Mary Joe Fernández and
Patricia Tarabini. There she lost to eventual champion Martina Hingis. At the
US Open, she lost in the second round to the eleventh seed
Irina Spîrlea. Partnering with Likhovtseva, she reached the third round of the women's doubles event.
1998–2000: Success and stardom In 1998, Kournikova broke into the WTA's top 20 rankings for the first time, when she was ranked No. 16. At the
Australian Open, Kournikova lost in the third round to world No. 1 player, Martina Hingis. She also partnered with
Larisa Savchenko-Neiland in women's doubles, and they lost to eventual champions Hingis and
Mirjana Lučić in the second round. The Race raised funds for children's Hospital Los Angeles. She won that race for women's
K-Swiss team. Kournikova and Wilkison defeated
Jimmy Arias and
Chanda Rubin, and then Kournikova and Novacek defeated Rubin and Wilkison. She played doubles with
Andy Roddick (they were coached by David Chang) versus
Martina Navratilova and
Jesse Levine (coached by Billie Jean King); Kournikova and Roddick won. The exhibition included a mixed doubles match in which McEnroe and Kournikova defeated Courier and Austin. In 2008, she was named a spokesperson for K-Swiss. In 2005, Kournikova stated that if she were 100% fit, she would like to come back and compete again. In June 2010, Kournikova reunited with her doubles partner
Martina Hingis to participate in competitive tennis for the first time in seven years in the Invitational Ladies Doubles event at Wimbledon. On 29 June 2010 they defeated the British pair
Samantha Smith and
Anne Hobbs. == Playing style ==