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Anna Kournikova

The original Anna (with one n) is back

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Chat with her online, follow her Twittering, and she might even give you a call

Anna Kournikova and SportsMates, Inc., today announced the relaunch of Kournikova.com, Anna’s official website.
The K-Swiss-sponsored project features Anna’s personal blog (she was in Tijuana recently), videos and photo galleries (including some from her personal collection).
The site also features an About Me section with a list of her current favorites, product recommendations, where she is, and status updates sent from her mobile phone.
“I am so excited to relaunch my new website,” said Kournikova. “I love communicating with my fans and I am looking forward to having a lot more personal interaction with them in the new Ask Anna community section of my site. It’s a great way for me to keep the relationship strong and I hope they enjoy the new site as much as I do!”
She might call you: To celebrate the relaunch of Kournikova.com, lead sponsor K-Swiss is giving fans the chance to win autographed memorabilia and a telephone call from Anna as part of the K-Swiss “Win a Call from AnnaK” Sweepstakes and Contest which begins on May 19, 2008. Click here for more info.
“We are excited to partner with Kournikova.com as Anna is a fantastic brand ambassador for K-Swiss with her tennis background as well as her unique perspective on women’s athletic footwear and apparel,” stated Jennifer Weiderman, Vice President of Marketing for K-Swiss.
Live chats: K-Swiss will be hosting live online chats with Anna for the members of SportsMates. The first will take place on May 31, 2008 at 3 p.m. Eastern.
FYI: Originally launched in 2001, Kournikova.com has consistently ranked as one of the most popular official athlete websites. According to Lycos, Anna was the most searched-for athlete on the Internet in 2007, a title she’s held for the past eight years.

Anna Kournikova and SportsMates, Inc. Relaunch Kournikova.com

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NOVATO, Calif., May 12, 2008 – Tennis star Anna Kournikova and SportsMates, Inc., the global sports social network, today annAnna Kournikova relaunches her siteounced the relaunch of Kournikova.com, Anna’s official website, with K-Swiss as lead sponsor.
Originally launched in 2001, Kournikova.com has consistently ranked as one of the most popular official athlete websites. According to Lycos, Anna was the most searched-for athlete on the Internet in 2007, a title she’s held for the past eight years.
The completely revamped Kournikova.com features Anna’s personal blog, videos and photo galleries containing exclusive photos from Anna’s personal collection, including behind-the-scenes photos from Anna’s photo shoots and appearances.
The site also features an About Me section that provides her fans with an intimate look into both her professional history as well as current favorites, upcoming events, product recommendations, where she is and status updates sent from her mobile phone.
In addition, the more than 340,000 registered members of Kournikova.com now have their own social networking community on SportsMates.
“I am so excited to relaunch my new website,” Anna Kournikova said. “I love communicating with my fans and I am looking forward to having a lot more personal interaction with them in the new Ask Anna community section of my site. It’s a great way for me to keep the relationship strong and I hope they enjoy the new site as much as I do!”
“Anna has some of the most passionate fans in the world,” stated Blair Cummins, CEO of SportsMates, Inc. “We’re pleased to offer them a highly interactive website and social network to connect with Anna and each other.”
To celebrate the relaunch of Kournikova.com, lead sponsor K-Swiss is giving fans the chance to win autographed memorabilia and a telephone call from Anna as part of the K-Swiss “Win a Call from AnnaK” Sweepstakes and Contest which begins on May 19, 2008. For more information, visit http://www.kournikova.com/win-a-call-from-annak/.
“We are excited to partner with Kournikova.com as Anna is a fantastic brand ambassador for K-Swiss with her tennis background as well as her unique perspective on women’s athletic footwear and apparel,” stated Jennifer Weiderman, Vice President of Marketing for K-Swiss.
K-Swiss will be hosting live online chats with Anna for the members of the social networking community on SportsMates located at http://clubs.sportsmates.com/kournikova/. The first will take place on May 31, 2008 at 3 p.m. Eastern.
About Anna Kournikova
Anna Kournikova is one of today’s most recognized female professional athletes, known the world over for her illustrious tennis career. Over the course of her profession, Anna gained much success in both singles and doubles, reaching the height of her career in 1999 and 2000, where she reached #1 in the world in doubles and #8 in the world in singles in 2000. With her doubles partner, Martina Hingis, she won 2 Grand Slam titles at The Australian Open in 1999 and 2002. Anna’s celebrated tennis career has transcended the sports industry and launched her into the mainstream worlds of fashion, beauty, health and fitness. Anna is currently the spokeswoman for K-Swiss and collaborates with the California-based company on tennis and lifestyle sportswear. Anna is also looked up to as a role-model, with her appeal and reputation extending far beyond the confines of the court. She is an active supporter of the Boys and Girls Club of America.
About SportsMates, Inc.
SportsMates, Inc. (http://www.sportsmatesinc.com/) operates SportsMates (http://www.sportsmates.com/), a global online social network dedicated to providing passionate sports fans a free, one-stop communications platform. The company’s innovative business solutions connect fans, leagues, teams, athletes and sponsors.
SportsMates, Inc. also operates PorDeporte (http://www.pordeporte.com), a Spanish-language sports social network with over 30,000 registered members.
About K-Swiss
Located in Westlake Village, CA, K-Swiss (NasdaqGS:KSWS – News) is a publicly traded company founded forty years ago by two Swiss brothers. The brothers, avid tennis players, introduced the first all-leather tennis sneaker, the K-Swiss “Classic” in 1966, filling a void in the market. The firm currently makes tennis, running, training, lifestyle footwear and apparel.

Tennis' April issue: a look at the best of the Open Era

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The upcoming issue of Tennis looks back at the past 40 years of tennis (the Open Era), which began with an inclusion of professionals into its most esteemed events — the Grand Slams — for the first time. This move revolutionized the sport and brought us some amazing memories in upsets, defeats, victories, and feats. Read on to see what the mag deemed worthy of its list. (Do you agree? Tell us!)
The Best Shots: The invicible serve of Peter Sampras. “No player owed as much to a single shot. Even as he aged, his serve kept winning him Wimbledons.” The runners-up are Steffi Graf’s forehand, Chris Evert’s backhand; Jimmy Connors’ return, and Roger Federer’s forehand.
Crucial Matches: Props to Tennis for not going with the safe choice of Billie Jean King d. Bobby Riggs (no offense, BJK). Instead, they turn our attention to the 1990 U.S. Open meeting between Sampras and Ivan Lendl. “An unknown Sampras ended Lendl’s streak of eight U.S. Open finals, and helped usher in the power era,” according to the magazine. Runners up are McEnroe defeating Borg at the 1981 U.S. Open, the 1973 Battle of the Sexes, Rosewall winning over Laver in Dallas, 1972; and Graf’s victory over Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1988.
Biggest Upsets: Navratilova’s 1983 French Open loss to Kathy Horvath, bringing the American’s win-loss record for that dominant year to 83-1. Runners-up are Doohan d. Becker, 1987; L. McNeil d. Graf, 1994; Yzaga d. Sampras, 1994; and Ashe d. Connors, 1975.
Outrageous Moments: The biggest buhskyooze moment is the 1993 stabbing of Monica Seles. The incident derailed a potentially historic career for Seles (btw, why wasn’t her backhand in the top 5?). Runners-up are McEnroe defaulting in Melbourne, 1990; Connors wiping out a ball mark, 1977; the Ilie Nastase uprising at Flushing Meadows, 1979; and Jennifer Capriati’s drug bust mug shot, 1994. (By the time Martina Hingis effed up at Wimbledon this year, drugs were already passe…)
Biggest Rivalries: “The cold war duals of Navratilova vs. Evert defined the term ‘rivalry’ in tennis,” notes the magazine. Their duels ended up 43-37 in Navratilova’s favor. Other rivalries mentioned are Laver vs. Rosewall, Borg vs. McEnroe, Court vs. King, and Sampras vs. Agassi. It’s early yet, but what about Rafa and Roger?
Records: Steffi Graf’s Golden Slam. Runners-up are Chris Evert’s semifinals run from 1971-1987; Navratilova’s 350 titles (that’s 200 more than almost everyone else, man or woman!); Roger Federer’s 10 Grand Slam Finals from Wimbledon 2005 to the U.S. Open in 2007 (a men’s record), and Nadal’s clay-court streak of 81 consecutive wins.
Best Dressed: Serena Williams takes the title in fashion. “From the cat suit to the soccer socks, Serena has made tennis fashion a sport of its own.” Runners-up are Bjorn Borg, Chris Evert, Maria Sharapova, and Roger Federer.
Biggest Disappointments: The “ornery and super-smooth” Chinito, Marcelo Rios. He never won a major, and he defaulted a match in Los Angeles back in the early aughts, ruining the one chance I had to see him play. Other losers are Iva Majoli, Anna Kournikova; Dick Stockton, Mark Philippoussis.
Feel-Good Victories: The tearful collapse of Jana Novotna in the 1993 Wimbledon final made her 1998 win against Natalie Tauziat even sweeter. Runners-up: Virginia Wade’s win at Wimbledon in 1977, Yannick Noah’s 1983 win at Roland Garros, Jennifer Capriati’s comeback at the 2001 Aussie Open, and Goran Ivanisevic’s historic Monday final in 2001.

WTT finalizes lineups at Roster Player Draft

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Written by the WTT 
WTT April 1, 2008 (Miami) – World TeamTennis franchises finalized their lineups today at the WTT Roster Player Draft in Miami, Fla., completing the player selection process that began last month when marquee player protections were announced. First round roster player draft selections for the 11 teams in the WTT Pro League presented by Advanta included Lisa Raymond, Justin Gimelstob, Rennae Stubbs and American teenager Madison Brengle.
Dmitry Tursunov will be a featured roster player for the Sacramento Capitals this summer, playing one home match on July 11. Liezel Huber, the world’s top-ranked doubles player, is a roster exempt player for the Delaware Smash. Huber will play three matches for the Smash on July 8, 9, and 11.
During the WTT Player Draft, 46 roster players representing 17 countries were added to the 2008 lineup, joining previously announced marquee players including Venus Williams (Philadelphia Freedoms), Serena Williams (Washington Kastles), Anna Kournikova (St. Louis Aces), John McEnroe (New York Sportimes), Lindsay Davenport (Newport Beach Breakers), Andy Roddick (St. Louis Aces) and Mike and Bob Bryan (Kansas City Explorers) to fill out the player list for the 2008 season.
Raymond returns to the Philadelphia Freedoms while another doubles standout, Rennae Stubbs, will play in Kansas City along with her tour partner Kveta Peschke. Gimelstob makes his WTT debut this summer with the League’s newest franchise, the Washington Kastles. Brengle, a Dover, Del. native, will play in front of a friendly home crowd this summer for the Smash.
The League’s two West Coast teams are looking to their WTT veterans to lead their 2008 squads. Sacramento protected Caps stalwart Elena Likhovtseva in the first round while Newport Beach did the same for long-time fan favorite Ramon Delgado. Jasmin Woehr returns to the Aces while 2007 WTT Female MVP Tamarine Tanasugarn will be back for the Springfield Lasers.
The Boston Lobsters selected Jan-Michael Gambill with their first pick and League newcomer Yaroslava Shvedova will make her debut for the New York Buzz.
The schedule for the WTT Pro League presented by Advanta includes 77 matches in 11 markets beginning July 3 and running through July 23 with the season-ending WTT Championship Weekend, set for July 24-27, in Roseville, Calif., home of the Sacramento Capitals.
The 11-team League was co-founded by Billie Jean King in the early 1970s. Each team has two male and two female players who play singles, doubles and mixed doubles matches. For details on the complete draft results and the 2008 schedule, visit www.WTT.com.