Anna Chakvetadze robbed at home

Robbers broke into Anna Chakvetadze's home outside Moscow, tied Russian tennis player and stole money and goods worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Photo: Anna Chakvetadze robbed at home

Six assailants approached the home before dawn, tied up a maid in another building and forced her to hand over a remote control that enabled them to enter the home through the garage, Dzhamal Chakvetadze told NTV television.

"They started to beat me, and I resisted. They hit me over the head with, I think, a pistol butt. It was dark," he said, taking off his cap to show his bruised scalp. "They took out a pistol and told me my child was at home - reminded me - and they told me to hand everything over. I did."

Police and Russia tennis coach Shamil Tarpishchev said the masked assailants tied up Chakvetadze and her parents, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. Tarpishchev said the 20-year-old Chakvetadze, ranked No. 6 in the world, "tried to resist but it was useless," ITAR-Tass reported.

NTV reported that the robbers took about US$106,000 (74,000 EUR) in cash, as well as jewelry and other goods worth about 5 million rubles (US$200,000; 140,000 EUR). The ITAR-Tass news agency cited unidentified police officials as saying the total worth of the stolen money and goods was about 5 million rubles.

Moscow region police did not answer telephone calls seeking comment.