This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2010)

Lycos, Inc.

File:Lycos Logo.png
Type	Subsidiary
Founded	Pittsburgh, 1994
Founder(s)	Bob Davis
Headquarters	Waltham, Massachusetts
Revenue	$24.76M (2009)[1]
Employees	72 in US (2007)
Parent	Ybrant Digital[2]
Slogan	Go get it!
Website	Lycos Search Home
Alexa rank	1,748 (June 2012[update])[3]
Type of site	Search Engine and Web Portal
Registration	optional
Available in	multilingual
Launched	April 13, 1995; 17 years ago  (1995-04-13)
Current status	active
Screenshot 250px A screenshot of Lycos.com

Lycos, Inc. is a search engine and web portal established in 1994. Lycos also encompasses a network of email, webhosting, social networking, and entertainment websites.

Corporate history[link]

Lycos is a university spin-off that began as a research project by Michael Loren Mauldin of Carnegie Mellon University's main Pittsburgh campus in 1994. Lycos Inc. was formed with approximately US $2 million ($3.1 million today) in venture capital funding from CMGI. Bob Davis became the CEO and first employee of the new company in 1995. After unsuccessfully attempting to turn the business into a software company selling an enterprise version of the search software^{[citation needed]}, Davis concentrated on building the company into an advertising-supported web portal. Lycos enjoyed several years of growth during the 1990s and became the most visited online destination in the world in 1999, with a global presence in more than 40 countries.^{[citation needed]}

In 1996, the company completed the fastest IPO from inception to offering in NASDAQ history. In 1997, it became one of the first profitable internet businesses in the world. In 1998, Lycos paid $58 million ($82.7 million today) for Tripod in an attempt to "break into the portal market."^[4] Over the course of the next few years, Lycos acquired nearly two dozen internet brands including Gamesville, WhoWhere, Wired Digital (eventually sold to Wired), Quote.com, Angelfire, Matchmaker.com and Raging Bull.

Lycos Europe was a joint venture between Lycos and the Bertelsmann transnational media corporation, but it has always been a distinct corporate entity. Although Lycos Europe remains the largest of Lycos's overseas ventures, several other companies also entered into joint venture agreements including Lycos Canada, Lycos Korea and Lycos Asia.

Near the peak of the internet bubble on May 16, 2000, Lycos announced its intent to be acquired by Terra Networks, the internet arm of the Spanish telecommunications giant Telefónica, for $12.5 billion ($17.4 billion today). [1] The acquisition price represented a return of nearly 3000 times the company's initial venture capital investment and about 20 times its initial public offering valuation. The transaction closed in October 2000 and the merged company was renamed Terra Lycos, although the Lycos brand continued to be used in the United States. Overseas, the company continued to be known as Terra Networks.

On August 2, 2004, Terra announced that it was selling Lycos to Seoul, South Korea-based Daum Communications Corporation for $95.4 million in cash ($117.38 million today), less than 2% of Terra's initial multi-billion dollar investment. In October 2004, the transaction closed and the company name was changed back to Lycos Inc. The remaining half of the business owned by Terra was subsequently reacquired by Telefónica.

Under new ownership, Lycos began to refocus its strategy. In 2005, the company moved away from a search-centric portal and toward a community destination for broadband entertainment content. With a new management team in place, Lycos also began divesting properties that were not core to its new strategy. In July 2006, Wired News, which had been part of Lycos since the purchase of Wired Digital in 1998, was sold to Condé Nast Publications and re-merged with Wired Magazine. The Lycos Finance division, best known for Quote.com and Raging Bull.com, was sold to FT Interactive Data Corporation in February 2006, while its online dating site, Matchmaker.com, was sold to Date.com. In 2006, Lycos regained ownership of the Lycos trademark from Carnegie Mellon University.

During 2006, Lycos introduced several media services, including Lycos Phone which combined video chat, real-time video on demand, and an MP3 player. In August of the same year, a new version of Lycos Mail was released, which allowed sending and receiving large files, including unlimited file attachment sizes. In November 2006, Lycos began to roll out applications centered around social media, including the first^{[citation needed]} "watch and chat" video application with the launch of its Lycos Cinema platform. In February 2007, Lycos MIX was launched, allowing users to pull video clips from YouTube, Google Video, Yahoo! Video and MySpace Video. Lycos MIX also allowed users to create playlists where other users could add video comments and chat in real-time.

As part of a corporate restructuring to focus on mobile, social networks and location-based serves, Daum sold Lycos for $36 million in August 2010 to Ybrant Digital, an internet marketing company based in Hyderabad, India.^[5][6][2]

Lycos Network sites[link]

• Angelfire, a Lycos property providing free web hosting, blogging and web publishing tools
• Gamesville, Lycos's massive multi-player gaming site
• Hotbot, a Lycos-owned search engine
• HtmlGear, a Lycos property providing web-page add-ons (guestbooks, etc.)
• Tripod.com, a Lycos property providing free web hosting, blogging and web publishing tools
• Webon, a webhosting and publishing platform
• WhoWhere.com, a people search engine
• InsiderInfo
• Weather Zombie, a Lycos property providing weather forecasts, with a zombie theme, via an Accuweather.com feed.

Lycos-branded sites[link]

• Lycos Domains, Internet domain name purchasing
• Lycos Mail, an e-mail provider formerly known as Mailcity.com.
• Lycos Retriever, an automatically generated information summarization service.
• Lycos Chat, an advanced photo chatting community suitable for all ages.
• Lycos Shopping
• Lycos Deals
• Lycos Classifieds
• Lycos Weather
• Lycos Jobs
• Lycos Yellow Pages

Former Lycos sites[link]

• GetRelevant.com, a Lycos online advertising site
• Quote.com and Raging Bull, finance sites
• Matchmaker.com, a dating site
• Webmonkey, web-building help and tutorials
• Wired.com, the online arm of Wired magazine
• Lycos Radio, allowed users to create and host their own free internet radio shows

Web hosting[link]

Tripod.com and Angelfire are owned by Lycos and Angelfire has a free hosting plan.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lycos Search Home
• Lycos Chat
• Ybrant Digital – Lycos' parent company
• Lycos About page

Anna Kournikova
Анна Ку́рникова

Kournikova at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, during a United Service Organization tour 15 Dec. 2009.
Country	Russia
Residence	Miami, Florida, United States
Born	(1981-06-07) 7 June 1981 (age 31) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	56 kg (120 lb)
Turned pro	October 1995
Retired	May 2007
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	US$3,584,662
Singles
Career record	209–129
Career titles	0 WTA, 2 ITF[1]
Highest ranking	No. 8 (20 November 2000)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	QF (2001)
French Open	4R (1998, 1999)
Wimbledon	SF (1997)
US Open	4R (1996, 1998)
Other tournaments
Championships	SF (2000)
Olympic Games	1R (1996)
Doubles
Career record	200–71
Career titles	16 WTA[1]
Highest ranking	No. 1 (22 November 1999)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	W (1999, 2002)
French Open	F (1999)
Wimbledon	SF (2000, 2002)
US Open	QF (1996, 2002)
Other Doubles tournaments
WTA Championships	W (1999, 2000)
Last updated on: 29 October 2008.

Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova (Russian:  Анна Сергеевна Ку́рникова; born 7 June 1981) is a Russian retired professional tennis player. Her beauty and celebrity status made her one of the best known tennis stars worldwide, despite her never winning a WTA singles title. At the peak of her fame, fans looking for images of Kournikova made her name one of the most common search strings on Google.^[2][3][4]

Although reaching No. 8 in the world in 2000, she never won a WTA Title in singles. Kournikova's forte has been doubles, where she has at times been the World No. 1 player. With Martina Hingis as her partner, she won Grand Slam titles in Australia in 1999 and 2002. Based on their looks, Hingis and Kournikova referred to themselves as the "Spice Girls of Tennis".^[5]

Kournikova's professional tennis career has been curtailed, and possibly ended, by serious back and spinal problems in the past several years. She resides in Miami Beach, Florida,^[1] and plays in occasional exhibitions and in doubles for the St. Louis Aces of World Team Tennis. She was a new trainer for season 12 of the television show The Biggest Loser, replacing Jillian Michaels, but will not return for season 13. In addition to her tennis and television work, Kournikova serves as a Global Ambassador for Population Services International's Five & Alive program, which addresses health crises facing children under the age of five and their families.^[6]

Early life[link]

Anna Kournikova was born in Moscow, Soviet Union, on 7 June 1981. Her father, Sergei Kournikov (born 1961), was 19 at the time.^[7] Sergei, a former Greco-Roman wrestling champion, had earned a PhD and was a professor at the University of Physical Culture and Sport in Moscow. As of 2001, he was still a part-time martial arts instructor there.^[8] Her mother Alla (born 1962), who was 18 when Kournikova was born, had been a 400-meter runner.^[8]

Sergei Kournikov has said, "We were young and we liked the clean, physical life, so Anna was in a good environment for sport from the beginning."^[8] The family name is spelled in Russian without an "o", so a direct transliteration would be "Kurnikov", and it is sometimes written that way. But it is pronounced "Kournikov", so the family chose that as their English spelling.^[8]

Kournikova received her first tennis racquet as a New Year gift in 1986 at age 5.^[8] Describing her early regimen, she said, "I played two times a week from age six. It was a children's program. And it was just for fun; my parents didn't know I was going to play professionally, they just wanted me to do something because I had lots of energy. It was only when I started playing well at seven that I went to a professional academy. I would go to school, and then my parents would take me to the club, and I'd spend the rest of the day there just having fun with the kids."^[8] In 1986, Kournikova became a member of the Spartak Tennis Club, coached by Larissa Preobrazhenskaya.^[9] In 1989, at the age of eight, Kournikova began appearing in junior tournaments, and by the following year, was attracting attention from tennis scouts across the world. Kournikova signed a management deal at age ten and went to Bradenton, Florida, to train at Nick Bollettieri's celebrated tennis academy.^[9]

Tennis career[link]

1989–1997: Early years and breakthrough[link]

Following her arrival in the United States, Kournikova became prominent on the tennis scene.^[9] At 14, she won the European Championships and the Italian Open Junior tournament. She became the youngest player to win the 18-and-under division of the Junior Orange Bowl tennis tournament. By the end of the year, Kournikova was crowned the ITF Junior World Champion U-18 and Junior European Champion U-18.^[9]

In 1994, Kournikova received a wild card into ITF tournament in Moscow qualifications, but lost to third seeded Sabine Appelmans.^[10] She debuted in professional tennis at 14 in the Fed Cup for Russia, the youngest player ever to participate and win.^[9] In 1995, she turned pro, and won two ITF titles, in Midland, Michigan and Rockford, Illinois. The same year Kournikova reached her first WTA Tour doubles final at the Kremlin Cup. Partnering with 1995 Wimbledon girls' champion in both singles and doubles Aleksandra Olsza, they lost to Meredith McGrath and Larisa Neiland.

At 15, she made her grand slam debut, when she reached the fourth round of the 1996 US Open, only to be stopped by then-top ranked player Steffi Graf, the eventual champion. After this tournament, Kournikova's ranking jumped from No. 144 to debut in the Top 100 at No. 69.^[10] 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,^[9] and she was ranked No. 57 in the end of the season.^[1]

Kournikova entered the 1997 Australian Open as World No. 67,^[11] 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. However, she reached the semifinals in the doubles partnering with Elena Likhovtseva, before losing to the sixth seeds Mary Joe Fernández and Patricia Tarabini.^[11]

At the 1997 French Open, Kournikova made it to the third round before losing to World No. 1 Martina Hingis. She also reached the third round in doubles with Likhovtseva. At the 1997 Wimbledon Championships, Kournikova became only the second woman in the open era to reach the semifinals in her Wimbledon debut, the first being Chris Evert in 1972.^[10] There she lost to eventual champion Martina Hingis.

At the 1997 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.^[11] Kournikova played her last WTA Tour event of 1997 at Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Filderstadt, losing to Amanda Coetzer in the second round of singles, and in the first round of doubles to Lindsay Davenport and Jana Novotná partnering with Likhovtseva. She broke into the top 50 on 19 May, and was ranked No. 32 in singles and No. 41 in doubles at the end of the season.^[12]

1998–2000: Success and stardom[link]

In 1998, Kournikova broke into the WTA's top 20 rankings for the first time, when she was ranked No. 16. At the 1998 Australian Open, Kournikova lost in the third round to World No. 1 player Martina Hingis. She also partnered with Larisa Neiland in women's doubles, and they lost to eventual champions Hingis and Mirjana Lučić in the second round.^[11] Although she lost in the second round of the Paris Open to Anke Huber in singles, Kournikova reached her second doubles WTA Tour final, partnering with Larisa Neiland. They lost to Sabine Appelmans and Miriam Oremans. Kournikova and Neiland reached their second consecutive final at the Linz Open, losing to Alexandra Fusai and Nathalie Tauziat. At the Miami Open, Kournikova reached her first WTA Tour singles final, before losing to Venus Williams in the final.^[10]

Anna Kournikova practices her backhand for a match at the Family Circle Cup Tennis Tournament on Daniel Island in Charleston, South Carolina.

Kournikova then reached two consecutive quarterfinals, at Amelia Island and the Italian Open, losing respectively to Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis. At the German Open, she reached the semifinals in both singles and doubles, partnering with Larisa Neiland. At the 1998 French Open Kournikova had her best result at this tournament, making it to the fourth round before losing to Jana Novotná. She also reached her first Grand Slam doubles semifinals, losing with Neiland to Lindsay Davenport and Natasha Zvereva. During her quarterfinals match at the grass-court Eastbourne Open versus Steffi Graf, Kournikova injured her thumb, which would eventually force her to withdraw from the 1998 Wimbledon Championships.^[10] However, she won that match, but then withdraw from her semifinals match against Arantxa Sánchez Vicario.^[10] Kournikova returned for the Du Maurier Open and made it to the third round, before losing to Conchita Martínez. At the 1998 US Open Kournikova reached the fourth round before losing to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. Her strong year qualified her for the year-end 1998 WTA Tour Championships, but she lost to Monica Seles in the first round. However, with Seles, she won her first WTA doubles title, in Tokyo, beating Mary Joe Fernández and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the final. At the end of the season, she was ranked No. 10 in doubles.^[12]

At the start of the 1999 season, Kournikova advanced to the fourth round in singles before losing to Mary Pierce. However, Kournikova won her first doubles Grand Slam title, partnering Martina Hingis. The two defeated Lindsay Davenport and Natasha Zvereva in the final. At the Tier I Family Circle Cup, Kournikova reached her second WTA Tour final, but lost to Martina Hingis.^[12] She then defeated Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport and Patty Schnyder on her route to the Bausch & Lomb Championships semifinals, losing to Ruxandra Dragomir. At The French Open, Kournikova reached the fourth round before losing to eventual champion Steffi Graf.^[12] Once the grass-court season commenced in England, Kournikova lost to Nathalie Tauziat in the semifinals in Eastbourne. At Wimbledon, Kournikova lost to Venus Williams in the fourth round. She also reached the final in mixed doubles, partnering with Jonas Björkman, but they lost to Leander Paes and Lisa Raymond. Kournikova again qualified for year-end WTA Tour Championships, but lost to Mary Pierce in the first round, and ended the season as World No. 12.^[12]

Kournikova (left) with doubles partner Martina Hingis.

While Kournikova had a successful singles season, she was even more successful in doubles. After their victory at the Australian Open, she and Martina Hingis won tournaments in Indian Wells, Rome, Eastbourne and the WTA Tour Championshiops, and reached the final of The French Open where they lost to Serena and Venus Williams. Partnering with Elena Likhovtseva, Kournikova also reached the final in Stanford. On 22 November 1999 she reached the World No. 1 ranking in doubles, and ended the season at this ranking. Anna Kournikova and Martina Hingis were presented with the WTA Award for Doubles Team of the Year.

Kournikova opened her 2000 season winning the Gold Coast Open doubles tournament partnering with Julie Halard. She then reached the singles semifinals at the Medibank International Sydney, losing to Lindsay Davenport. At the 2000 Australian Open, she reached the fourth round in singles and the semifinals in doubles. That season, Kournikova reached eight semifinals (Sydney, Scottsdale, Stanford, San Diego, Luxembourg, Leipzig and 2000 WTA Tour Championships), seven quarterfinals (Gold Coast, Tokyo, Amelia Island, Hamburg, Eastbourne, Zürich and Philadelphia) and one final. On 20 November 2000 she broke into top 10 for the first time, reaching No. 8.^[12] She was also ranked No. 4 in doubles at the end of the season.^[12] Kournikova was once again, more successful in doubles. She reached the final of the 2000 US Open in mixed doubles, partnering with Max Mirnyi, but they lost to Jared Palmer and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. She also won six doubles titles – Gold Coast (with Julie Halard), Hamburg (with Natasha Zvereva), Filderstadt, Zürich, Philadelphia and the 2000 WTA Tour Championships (with Martina Hingis).

2001–2003: Injuries and final years[link]

Her 2001 season was dominated by injury, including a left foot stress fracture which forced her withdrawal from twelve tournaments, including the French Open and Wimbledon.^[10] She underwent surgery in April.^[10] She reached her second career grand slam quarterfinals, at the Australian Open. Kournikova then withdrew from several events due to continuing problems with her left foot and did not return until Leipzig. With Barbara Schett, she won the doubles title in Sydney. She then lost in the finals in Tokyo, partnering with Iroda Tulyaganova, and at San Diego, partnering with Martina Hingis. Hingis and Kournikova also won the Kremlin Cup. At the end of the 2001 season, she was ranked No. 74 in singles and No. 26 in doubles.^[12]

Anna Kournikova playing at the Medibank International Sydney in 2002.

Kournikova was quite successful in 2002. She reached the semifinals of Auckland, Tokyo, Acapulco and San Diego, and the finals of China Open, losing to Anna Smashnova. This was Kournikova's last singles finals. With Martina Hingis, Anna Kournikova lost in the finals of Sydney, but they won their second grand slam title together, the Australian Open in women's doubles. They also lost in the quarterfinals of the US Open. With Chanda Rubin, Anna Kournikova played the semifinals of Wimbledon, but they lost to Serena and Venus Williams. Partnering Janet Lee, she won the Shanghai title. At the end of 2002 season, she was ranked No. 35 in singles and No. 11 in doubles.^[12]

In 2003, Anna Kournikova collected her first grand slam match victory in two years at the Australian Open. She defeated Henrieta Nagyová in the 1st round, and then lost to Justine Henin-Hardenne in the 2nd round. She withdrew from Tokyo due to a sprained back suffered at the Australian Open and did not return to Tour until Miami. Kournikova retired in the 1st round of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, due to a left adductor strain. She reached the semifinals at the ITF tournament in Sea Island, before withdrawing from a match versus Maria Sharapova due to the adductor injury. She lost in the 1st round of the ITF tournament in Charlottesville. She did not compete for the rest of the season due to a continuing back injury At the end of the 2003 season and her professional career, she was ranked No. 305 in singles and No. 176 in doubles.^[12]

Kournikova's two Grand Slam doubles titles came in 1999 and 2002, both at the Australian Open in the Women's Doubles event with partner Martina Hingis. Kournikova proved a successful doubles player on the professional circuit, winning 16 tournament doubles titles, including two Australian Opens and being a finalist in mixed doubles at the US Open and at Wimbledon, and reaching the No.1 ranking in doubles in the Women's Tennis Association tour rankings. Her pro career doubles record was 200–71. However, her singles career plateaued after 1999. For the most part, she managed to retain her ranking between 10 and 15 (her career high singles ranking was No.8), but her expected finals breakthrough failed to occur; she only reached four finals out of 130 singles tournaments, never in a Grand Slam event, and never won one.

Her singles record is 209–129. Her final playing years were marred by a string of injuries, especially back injuries, which caused her ranking to erode gradually. As a personality Kournikova was among the most common search strings for both articles and images in her prime.^[2][3][4]

2004–present: Exhibitions and World Team Tennis[link]

Kournikova at a USO-sponsored tour at Forward Operating Base Sharana on 15 December 2009

Kournikova has not played on the WTA Tour since 2003, but still plays exhibition matches for charitable causes. In late 2004, she participated in three events organized by Elton John and by fellow tennis players Serena Williams and Andy Roddick. In January 2005, she played in a doubles charity event for the Indian Ocean tsunami with John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, and Chris Evert. In November 2005, she teamed up with Martina Hingis, playing against Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur in the WTT finals for charity. Kournikova is also a member of the St. Louis Aces in the World Team Tennis (WTT), playing doubles only.

In September 2008, Kournikova showed up for the 2008 Nautica Malibu Triathlon held at Zuma Beach in Malibu, California.^[13] The Race raised funds for children's Hospital Los Angeles. She won that race for women's K-Swiss team.^[13] On 27 September 2008, Kournikova played exhibition mixed doubles matches in Charlotte, North Carolina, partnering with Tim Wilkison and Karel Nováček.^[14] Kournikova and Wilkison defeated Jimmy Arias and Chanda Rubin, and then Kournikova and Novacek defeated Rubin and Wilkison.^[14]

On 12 October 2008, Anna Kournikova played one exhibition match for the annual charity event, hosted by Billie Jean King and Elton John, and raised more than $400,000 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Atlanta AIDS Partnership Fund.^[15] She played doubles with Andy Roddick (they were coached by Elton John) versus Martina Navratilova and Jesse Levine (coached by Billie Jean King); Kournikova and Roddick won.^[15]

Kournikova competed alongside John McEnroe, Tracy Austin and Jim Courier at the "Legendary Night", which was held on 2 May 2009, at the Turning Stone Event Center, Verona, New York.^[16] The exhibition included a mixed doubles match of McEnroe and Austin against Courier and Kournikova.

In 2008, she was named a spokesperson for K-Swiss.^[17] In 2005, Kournikova stated that if she were 100% fit, she would like to come back and compete again.^[18]

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.^[19][20] On 29 June 2010 they defeated the British pair Samantha Smith and Anne Hobbs.^[21]

Playing style[link]

As a player, Kournikova was noted for her footspeed and aggressive baseline play, and excellent angles and dropshots; however, her relatively flat, high-risk groundstrokes tended to produce frequent errors, and her serve was sometimes unreliable in singles.

Kournikova plays right-handed with a two-handed backhand.^[1] She is a great player at the net.^[22] She can hit forceful groundstrokes and also drop shots.^[23]

Her playing style fits the profile for a doubles player, and is complemented by her height.^[24] She has been compared to such doubles specialists as Pam Shriver and Peter Fleming.^[24]

Personal life[link]

Kournikova was in a relationship with fellow Russian, Pavel Bure, an NHL ice hockey player. The two met in 1999 when Kournikova was still linked to Bure's former Russian teammate Sergei Fedorov.^[25] Bure and Kournikova were reported to have been engaged in 2000 after a reporter took a photo of them together in a Florida restaurant where Bure supposedly asked Kournikova to marry him. As the story made headlines in Russia, where they were both heavily followed in the media as celebrities, Bure and Kournikova both denied any engagement. Kournikova, 10 years younger than Bure, was 18 years old at the time.^[26] The following year, Kournikova and Fedorov were married in Moscow.^[25] They were soon divorced, however. Fedorov claimed he and tennis star Anna Kournikova were married in 2001, but later divorced in 2003.^[27] Kournikova's representatives deny any marriage to Fedorov; however, Sergei's agent Pat Brisson claims that although he does not know when they got married, he knew "he was married".^[28]

Kournikova started dating pop star Enrique Iglesias in late 2001 (she appeared in his video, "Escape"), and rumors that the couple had secretly married circulated in 2003 and again in 2005. Kournikova herself has consistently refused to directly confirm or deny the status of her personal relationships. But in May 2007, Enrique Iglesias was (mistakenly, as he would clarify later) quoted in the New York Sun that he had no intention of marrying Kournikova and settling down because they had split up. The singer would later deny these rumors of "divorce" or simply separation. In June 2008, Iglesias told the Daily Star that he had married Kournikova the previous year and that they are currently separated.^[29] In an interview with Graham Norton in 2010, Kournikova confirmed that she and Iglesias have been together for over eight years but have no plans to marry in the near future. Kournikova and Iglesias have been in a long term relationship for 10 years now.

Kournikova has a younger brother, Allan.^[30] He became an American citizen in late 2009.

Kournikova resides in Miami Beach, Florida. She put her seven-bedroom, waterfront property in Bayshore on the market in May 2011.^[31][32]

Media publicity[link]

Kournikova preparing to serve

Most of Kournikova's fame has come from the publicity surrounding her looks and her personal life. During Kournikova's debut at the 1996 US Open at the age of 15, the world noticed her beauty, and soon pictures of her appeared in numerous magazines worldwide.

In 2000, Kournikova became the new face for Berlei's shock absorber sports bras, and appeared in the "only the ball should bounce" billboard campaign.^[33] Following that, she was cast by the Farrelly brothers for a minor role in the 2000 film Me, Myself & Irene starring Jim Carrey and Renée Zellweger.^[34] Photographs of her scantily-clad form have appeared in various men's magazines, including one in the much-publicized 2004 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue,^[35] where she posed in bikinis and swimsuits, and in other men's publications such as FHM^[36] and Maxim.^[37] Kournikova was named one of People's 50 Most Beautiful People in 1998^[38] and was voted "hottest female athlete" on ESPN.com.^[39] In 2002 she also placed first in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World in US and UK editions.^[36] By contrast, ESPN—citing the degree of hype as compared to actual accomplishments as a singles player—ranked Kournikova 18th in its "25 Biggest Sports Flops of the Past 25 Years".^[40] Kournikova was also ranked No. 1 in the ESPN Classic series "Who's number 1?" when the series featured sport's most overrated athletes.

She continued to be the most searched athlete on the Internet through 2008 even though she had retired from the professional tennis circuit years earlier.^{[41][42][43][44]} After slipping from first to sixth among athletes in 2009,^[45] she moved back up to third place among athletes in terms of search popularity in 2010.^[46]

In October 2010, Kournikova headed to NBC's The Biggest Loser where she led the contestants in a tennis-workout challenge.^[47][48] In May 2011, it was announced that Kournikova would join The Biggest Loser as a regular celebrity trainer in season 12.^[49] She will not be returning for season 13.^[50]

In November 2010, she became an American citizen.^[51] In 2011, Men's Health named her one of the "100 Hottest Women of All-Time", ranking her at No. 29.^[52]

Influences on popular culture[link]

A variation of a White Russian made with skim milk is known as an Anna Kournikova.^[53][54] In the lingo of the poker variation Texas Hold 'em, the hole cards Ace–King (unsuited) are sometimes referred to as an "Anna Kournikova", a term introduced by the poker commentator Vince van Patton during a WPT tournament because it "looks great but never wins".^[55][56][57] A computer virus named the Anna Kournikova virus arose on 12 February 2001.^[53][58]

Career statistics and awards[link]

• 1996: WTA Newcomer of the Year
• 1999: WTA Doubles Team of the Year (with Martina Hingis)

See also[link]

• World TeamTennis, currently playing for the St. Louis Aces.

Books[link]

• Anna Kournikova by Susan Holden (2001) (ISBN 978-1-84222-416-8 / ISBN 978-1-84222-416-8)
• Anna Kournikova (Women Who Win) by Connie Berman (2001) (ISBN 978-0-7910-6529-7 / ISBN 978-0-7910-6529-7)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Anna Kournikova

• Anna Kournikova on Facebook
• Anna Kournikova at the Women's Tennis Association
• Anna Kournikova at the Internet Movie Database

v t e Women's Tennis Association (WTA) World No. 1 doubles players Martina Navratilova (1984/1990 – 237 w) · Pam Shriver (1985/1986 – 48 w) · Helena Suková (1990/1993 – 68 w) · Jana Novotná (1990/1999 – 67 w) Gigi Fernández (1991/1995 – 80 w) · Natasha Zvereva (1991/1999 – 124 w) · Larisa Neiland (1992 – 4 w) · Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (1992/1997 – 111 w) Lindsay Davenport (1997/2000 – 32 w) · Martina Hingis (1998/1999 – 35 w) · Anna Kournikova (1999/2000 – 10 w) · Corina Morariu (2000 – 7 w) · Lisa Raymond (2000/2012 – 120 w) · Rennae Stubbs (2000 – 3 w) · Julie Halard-Decugis (2000 – 14 w) · Ai Sugiyama (2000/2003 – 45 w) Paola Suárez (2002/2004 – 87 w) · Kim Clijsters (2003 – 4 w) · Virginia Ruano Pascual (2003/2005 – 65 w) · Cara Black (2005/2010 – 163 w) Samantha Stosur (2006/2007 – 61 w) · Liezel Huber (2007/2012 – 182 w) · Serena Williams (2010 – 8 w) · Venus Williams (2010 – 8 w) Gisela Dulko (2010/2011 – 24 w) · Flavia Pennetta (2011 – 18 w) · Květa Peschke (2011 – 10 w) · Katarina Srebotnik (2011 – 10 w) WTA rankings incepted on September 4, 1984 · (year first held/year last held – number of weeks (w)) · current No. 1 in bold, as of May 7, 2012

Mark McGwire
St. Louis Cardinals – No. 25
First baseman
Born: (1963-10-01) October 1, 1963 (age 48) Pomona, California
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 22, 1986 for the Oakland Athletics
Last MLB appearance
October 7, 2001 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Career statistics
Batting average	.263
Home runs	583
Runs batted in	1,414
Teams
As player Oakland Athletics (1986–1997) St. Louis Cardinals (1997–2001) As coach St. Louis Cardinals (2010–present)
Career highlights and awards
12× All-Star (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000) 2× World Series champion (1989, 2011) Gold Glove Award winner (1990) 3× Silver Slugger Award winner (1992, 1996, 1998) 1987 AL Rookie of the Year 1999 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award 1992 Home Run Derby winner Major League Baseball All-Century Team MLB Records 10.61 At bats per home run ratio 49 home runs rookie season

Medal record
Competitor for  United States
Men's Baseball
Summer Olympics
Silver	1984 Los Angeles	Team
Pan American Games
Bronze	1983 Caracas	Team
Intercontinental Cup
Silver	1983 Brussels	Team

Mark David McGwire (born October 1, 1963), nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball player who played his major league career with the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals.^[1] He is currently the hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals.

For his career, McGwire averaged a home run once every 10.61 at bats, the lowest at bats per home run ratio in baseball history (Babe Ruth is second at 11.76).^[2] In 1987, he broke the single-season home run record for rookies, with 49. In 1998, McGwire and Sammy Sosa achieved national fame for their home run-hitting prowess in pursuit of Roger Maris' single season home run record; McGwire broke the record and hit 70 home runs that year.^[3] Barry Bonds^[4] now holds the record, after hitting 73 home runs during the 2001 season.

Playing career[link]

Oakland Athletics (1984–97)[link]

After three years at Southern California and a stint on the 1984 U.S. Olympic team, McGwire was drafted 10th overall by the Oakland Athletics in the 1984 Major League Baseball Draft.

McGwire made the major leagues in August. As a rookie in 1987 he hit 33 homers before the All-Star break and was a unanimous choice for AL Rookie of the Year after finishing with 49 homers, 118 RBI and a .289 average. His 49 longballs smashed the old rookie record of 38, jointly held by Frank Robinson and Wally Berger. He sat out the season's final two games and gave up a chance at 50 home runs to be present at the birth of his first child.

McGwire worked hard on his defense at first base and resisted being seen as a one-dimensional player. He was regarded as a good fielder in his early years, even winning a Gold Glove in 1990, the only one not won by Don Mattingly between 1985 and 1994. In later years, his mobility decreased and, with it, his defense.

McGwire's total of 363 home runs with the Athletics is that franchise's record. He was selected or voted to nine American League All-Star Teams while playing for the A's, including six consecutive appearances from 1987 through 1992. He was one of only four players to hit a ball over the roof in the left field of Tiger Stadium.^[5]

1987–91[link]

In his first full Major League season in 1987, McGwire hit 49 home runs, a single-season record for a rookie, surpassing Al Rosen's AL rookie record;^[6] he was named the American League Rookie of the Year. McGwire hit 32, 33, and 39 homers the next three seasons, the first Major Leaguer to hit 30+ home runs in each of his first 4 full seasons.^[1] On July 3 and 4, 1988, McGwire hit game-winning home runs in the 16th inning of each game.^[7][8] Through May 2009 McGwire was tied for third all-time with Joe DiMaggio in home runs over his first two calendar years in the major leagues (71), behind Chuck Klein (83) and Ryan Braun (79).^[9]

But McGwire's most famous home run with the A's was likely his game-winning solo shot in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 3 of the 1988 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers and former A's closer Jay Howell.^[10] McGwire's game-winner brought the A's their only victory in the 1988 World Series, which they lost in five games. However, Big Mac and his fellow Bash Brother José Canseco did play a large part in the 1989 World Champion A's team that defeated the San Francisco Giants in the famous "Earthquake Series".^[11]

McGwire's batting average, .289 as a rookie, plummeted over the next three seasons to .260, .231, and .235, respectively. In 1991, he bottomed out with a .201 average and 22 homers. Manager Tony LaRussa sat him out the last game of the season so his average could not dip below .200. Despite the declining batting averages during this time of his career, his high bases on balls totals allowed him to maintain acceptable on-base percentages. In fact, when he hit .201, his adjusted OPS (OPS+) was 103, or just over league average.

McGwire stated in an interview with Sports Illustrated that 1991 was the "worst year" of his life, with his on-field performance and marriage difficulties, and that he "didn't lift a weight" that entire season. With all that behind him, McGwire re-dedicated himself to working out harder than ever and received visual therapy from a sports vision specialist.^[12][13]

1992–97[link]

He changed his clean-cut look and grew a mullet, a mustache, and a goatee to look more fearsome. The "new look" McGwire hit 42 homers and batted .268 in 1992, with an outstanding OPS+ of 175 (the highest of his career to that point), and put on a home run hitting show at the Home Run Derby during the 1992 All-Star break. His performance propelled the A's to the American League West Division title in 1992, their fourth in five seasons. The A's lost in the playoffs to the eventual World Series champion, the Toronto Blue Jays.

Foot injuries limited McGwire to a total of 74 games in 1993 and 1994, and just 9 home runs in each of the two seasons. He played just 104 games in 1995, but his proportional totals were much improved: 39 home runs in 317 at-bats. In 1996, McGwire belted a major league leading 52 homers in 423 at-bats. He also hit a career high .312 average, and led the league in both slugging percentage and on base percentage.

St. Louis Cardinals and the HR record chase (1997–2001)[link]

McGwire batting for the Cardinals.

On July 31, having already amassed 34 home runs to this point in the 1997 season, McGwire was traded from the Oakland Athletics to the St. Louis Cardinals, being the third member in just two seasons to go from Oakland to St. Louis (after Tony La Russa and Dennis Eckersley). He led the majors with 58 home runs in 1997. In the last year of his contract, there was speculation that McGwire would play for the Cardinals only for the remainder of the season, then seek a long-term deal, possibly in Southern California, where he still lives. However, McGwire signed a contract to stay in St. Louis instead. It is also believed that McGwire later encouraged Jim Edmonds, another Southern California resident who was traded to St. Louis, to forgo free agency and sign a contract with the Cardinals in 2000.

As the 1998 season progressed, it became clear that McGwire, Ken Griffey Jr., and Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa were all on track to break Roger Maris' single-season home run record. The race to break the record first attracted media attention as the home run leader changed often throughout the season. On August 19, Sosa hit his 48th home run to move ahead of McGwire. However, later that day McGwire hit his 48th and 49th home runs to regain the lead.

On September 8, 1998 at 8:18 p.m. CDT, McGwire hit a pitch by the Cubs' Steve Trachsel over the left field wall for his record-breaking 62nd home run, setting off huge celebrations at Busch Stadium. The fact that the game was against the Cubs meant that Sosa was able to congratulate McGwire personally on his achievement. Members of Roger Maris' family were also present at the game. The ball was freely, albeit controversially, given to McGwire in a ceremony on the field by the stadium worker who found it.

McGwire finished the 1998 season with 70 home runs (including five in his last three games), four ahead of Sosa's 66, a record that was broken three seasons later in 2001 by Barry Bonds with 73.

McGwire was honored with the inaugural Babe Ruth Home Run Award for leading MLB in home runs.^[14] Although McGwire had the prestige of the home run record, Sammy Sosa (who had fewer HR but more RBI and stolen bases) won the 1998 NL MVP award, as his contributions helped propel the Cubs to the playoffs (the Cardinals in 1998 finished third in the NL Central). Many credited the Sosa-McGwire home run chase in 1998 with "saving baseball," by both bringing in new, younger fans and bringing back old fans soured by the 1994 Major League Baseball strike.

1999–2001[link]

In 1999, McGwire hit 65 home runs and drove in a league-leading 147 runs while only having 145 hits, the highest RBI-per-hit tally for a season in baseball history. Sammy Sosa, hitting 63 home runs, again closely trailed McGwire.

Statistically in 2000 and 2001, McGwire's numbers declined relative to previous years as McGwire struggled to avoid injury (32 HR in 89 games, and 29 HR in 97 games, respectively).^[15]

McGwire ended his career with 583 home runs, which was then fifth-most in history. He led Major League Baseball in home runs five times. He hit 50 or more home runs four seasons in a row (1996-1999), leading Major League Baseball in homers all four seasons, and also shared the MLB lead in home runs in 1987, his rookie year, when he set the Major League record for home runs by a rookie with 49. McGwire had the fewest career triples (6) of any player with 5,000 or more at-bats.

Coaching career[link]

On October 26, 2009, Tony LaRussa confirmed that McGwire will become the hitting coach for the Cardinals, replacing Hal McRae as the fifth hitting coach in Tony LaRussa's term as manager.

On January 7, 2010 Tony LaRussa mentioned that he might consider putting McGwire in the lineup as a pinch-hitter on August 31, should the Cardinals be in contention to make the playoffs, but LaRussa admitted it was a dream and he was only kidding.^[16]

McGwire received a standing ovation prior to the Cardinals home opener on April 12, 2010.^[17]

Honors[link]

In 1999, The Sporting News released a list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players. The list had been compiled during the 1998 season and included statistics through the 1997 season. McGwire was ranked at Number 91. That year, he was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team (though he received fewer votes than any other selected player). In 2005, The Sporting News published an update of their list and McGwire had been moved up to Number 84.

However, in the 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 balloting for the Baseball Hall of Fame, McGwire failed to attain election receiving 128 of the 545 cast (23.5% of the vote) in 2007, 128 of 543 (23.6%) in 2008, 118 of 539 (21.9%) in 2009, 128 of 539 (23.7%) in 2010, 115 of 581 (19.8%) in 2011, and 112 of 573 (19.5%) in 2012.

A portion of Interstate 70 (see also: Interstate 70 in Missouri) in St. Louis and near Busch Stadium was named "Mark McGwire Highway" to honor his 70 home run achievement, along with his various good works for the city. In May, 2010, St. Louis politicians succeeded in passing a state bill to change the name of "Mark McGwire Highway", a 5-mile stretch of Interstate 70, to "Mark Twain Highway".^[18]

Steroid use[link]

In 2005, McGwire and Canseco were among 11 baseball players and executives subpoenaed to testify at a congressional hearing on steroids. During his testimony on March 17, 2005, McGwire declined to answer questions under oath when he appeared before the House Government Reform Committee.

On January 11, 2010, McGwire admitted to using steroids on and off for a decade and said, "I wish I had never touched steroids. It was foolish and it was a mistake. I truly apologize. Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era."^[19] He admitted using them in the 1989/90 offseason and then after he was injured in 1993. He admitted using them on occasion throughout the '90s, including during the 1998 season. McGwire stated that he used steroids to recover from injuries.^[20]

McGwire's decision to admit using steroids was prompted by his decision to become hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals. According to McGwire, he took steroids for health reasons rather than to improve performance.^[21]

Personal life[link]

McGwire was born in Pomona, California. He attended Damien High School in La Verne, California, where he started playing baseball, golf, and basketball. He played college baseball at the University of Southern California under coach Rod Dedeaux.

His brother Dan McGwire was a quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins of the NFL in the early 1990s, and was a first-round draft choice out of San Diego State University.

McGwire married Stephanie Slemer – a former pharmaceutical sales representative from the St. Louis area – in Las Vegas on April 20, 2002. On June 1, 2010, their triplet girls were born: Monet Rose, Marlo Rose, and Monroe Rose. They join brothers Max and Mason. They reside in a gated community in Shady Canyon Irvine, California.^[22] Together they created the Mark McGwire Foundation for Children to support agencies that help children who have been sexually and physically abused come to terms with a difficult childhood. Mark has a son, Matthew b.1987, from a previous marriage (1984–1990, div.) to Kathleen Hughes.

Prior to admitting to using steroids, McGwire avoided the media and spent much of his free time playing golf.^[23] He also worked as a hitting coach for Major League players Matt Holliday, Bobby Crosby, Chris Duncan and Skip Schumaker.^[24]

McGwire appeared as himself on an episode of the sitcom Mad About You.

McGwire provided his voice for an episode of The Simpsons titled "Brother's Little Helper". He played himself.

Career totals[link]

In 16 seasons (1986–2001), McGwire accumulated the following career stats:^[1]

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Baseball portal

• List of Major League Baseball home run records
• List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters
• 500 home run club
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1,000 runs
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1,000 runs batted in
• List of Major League Baseball runs batted in champions
• List of Major League Baseball home run champions
• Major League Baseball titles leaders
• 1998 Major League Baseball home run record chase
• List of doping cases in sport

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mark McGwire

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube