Whatever Happened To Anna Kournikova?

Although she no longer plays professionally, Anna Kournikova still courts her fans by playing in exhibition and charity matches, most notably the World Team Tennis Smash Hits. These charity tennis matches that benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF), are the result of a partnership between long-time friends and tennis lovers Sir Elton John and the legendary Billie Jean King. Tennis greats like Andre Agassi, Stefanie Graf, Andy Roddick, and, of course, Kournikova have all donated their time and talent to the event that has raised millions of dollars for EJAF and local AIDS charities since its inception in 1993. Participating in this star-studded tournament is not the only work Kournikova has done to help AIDS research. She returned to her native Russia with Population Services International to meet with youth most at-risk for HIV/AIDS. As she wrote in a feature for Oprah.com, “Our goal here is to reach young people before they begin using drugs, to educate them, to give them the tools they need to make healthy choices.”

What’s more Kournikova is all about hosting youth tennis clinics on her many charity trips, and she regularly encourages kids to get into sports. “It teaches you teamwork, it teaches you leadership, discipline, how to set goals, how to achieve goals,” she said in an interview with VOA. “And all those things you can use in life.”