Who is to Take Kournikova's Place?

Anna Kournikova no longer a sex symbol?
Russian beauty Anna Kournikova has been the sex-symbol of the world tennis for five years already. Within this period the girl won the title of the sexiest athlete of the world; she struck advertising contracts to several millions of dollars and got proposals from the mighty of the world.

Now the fortune of Anna makes up millions of dollars. She can afford practically everything but winning at least one WTA single tournament, although this is her primary job. 

Recently Anna Kournikova declared she was going to start once again from the very beginning. It means she will be doing the same she did at the age of 13: play challengers, the tournaments that are the first level on the way to the world tennis elite. To all appearances, the beginning of this kind will mean the end for the tennis star.  Anna didn't participate in any tennis events for three months already. The recent news shocked the whole of the tennis community: Kournikova turned down the German Open wild-card, which has become the precedent in the history of the world tennis.

The other day the largest western TV companies reported that Anna Kournikova was pregnant. It is not ruled out that this is just a PR trick similar to information about Anna being engaged to hockey players Pavel Bure and Sergey Fyodorov. But if it is true, Anna will certainly lose the last thing that returns interest to her: the title of the world tennis sex symbol. Who will take the title over? 

It is for sure that another Russian tennis player will be called the next sex symbol. Russian girls are now even more successful than Kournikova in tennis, and by the way they are not less beautiful and sexy than she. Who of the several tennis beauties may have pretensions to the title of the tennis sex symbol?

The newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta conducted a special poll among staffers of the sports column and found out five candidates to the title of the tennis queen among Russian tennis beauties.

Anastasiya Myskina is the number one. The stance on the court, the left cross and all movements in the play that the girl in a short black skirt does are touching for every man. Even outside the tennis court Anastasiya is extremely gracious and has wonderful taste for clothes.

Maria Sharapova is the candidate number two. The 16-year-old girl is also called "the thunder of Wimbledon" and "the Russian grass Queen". She is a charming girl, even her screaming while serving the ball is fascinating. In a couple of years Maria will become the most charming athlete in the world.

Yelena Dementyeva is the number three. Two or three years ago the girl might have laid claims to the first position in the rating. However, time goes by and the life changes. Still, now the girl is very attractive and sexual, especially that she knows now how to emphasize it. Nice slender legs are very important for every girl, but for tennis players particularly. Outside the tennis court the blond is really charming and amazing as well.

Lina Krasnorutskaya is the number four in the rating. Although the girl is not yet 18, she is already called a vamp woman which is incredibly attractive and scary at the same time. Lina is sweet and tender in everyday life, but she turns into an Amazon woman when she steps the tennis court. Her passion in the game enwraps and inspires the audience to become her fans. It is difficult to predict so far, but the girl can get everything she is dreaming of.

Vera Zvonareva goes fifth. This is last but not least position in the rating. The winner of the last Roland Garros is a smiling 19-year-old blond who draws men's attention immediately. Everywhere, on the tennis court and in everyday life she is unbelievably natural. Vera's movements in the game remind of graceful gestures of a panther.

Dmitry Polivoda