Is it time for Anna Kournikova to call it quits?

In My Humble Opinion
1

http://espn.go.com/tennis/news/2003/0729/1587179.html

All right, let’s get one thing out of the way right away: I was disgusted that such a marginal WTA player was able to get so much uncritical press, not to mention huge truckloads of non-tennis related money. When the Minnesota Timberwolves signed Kevin Garnett…a tremendous athlete and the first impact player the Timberwolves have had in history…to a nine-figure deal, he was raked over the coals. So why exactly is she so rich and famous? Because she’s popular with horny heterosexual males, and there are a lot of pictures on the Internet. I’ve never seen such a bizarre success formula in my life, especially in professional tennis, which IIRC is still a fairly conservative institution.

That said, it’s hard to see her like this. There’s never any good news about her anymore. Every other week it’s another early-round flameout, another missed tournament, another injury. Never mind winning a tournament (which now looks like a complete impossibility), can she even reach the finals anymore? Even Mark Phillippoussis, who’s been wavering between “dark horse” and “has been” territory for ages, reached the finals of Wimbledon not too long ago. In fact, the heck with even that, is she ever going to play a regular schedule again? As disappointing as first-round flameouts are, at least it means she’s able to show up. If she can’t…and remember, a lot of those contracts are based on her being seen…the well could dry up in a hurry.

And health. God, her health. It’s distressing to see a 22-year-old in such terrible condition. When an otherwise healthy athlete suddenly develops all kinds of chronic injuries, it usually indicates a lack of proper physical training (this has become a big problem in sumo), or worse, that the person just doesn’t have the right body for the sport. If either is the case with Kournikova, her career definitely is in jeopardy.

I don’t think she should consider retirement…I think she should do it right now. She’s never going to have any degree of success, she’s going to plummet out of the top 100 any time now, and whatever magic she had is gone (for the record, 22 years old = zippo “Lolita” factor). The only reason for her to continue is if she had an overwhelming need to prove herself on the court, but that’s defintely not in evidence.

She’s made her mark. She took full advantage of a crazy, magical, billion-to-one fluke that will never be duplicated by anyone else. She’s made more money out of less talent than anyone else on the WTA tour. Playing on will just increase the chance of a horrific career-ending injury or having to deal with pain for the rest of her life.

Get out, Empress…get out while the going is good. There’ll be nothing but regrets if you don’t.

2

I think it slightly mitigates her outrageous fame-to-skill ratio that she did have a great deal of success as a doubles player.

SLIGHTLY!

3

Kournikova should’ve retired ages back. She would continuously say that tennis is her life and that modelling would always come second, but while she was constantly getting her ass whipped in the second and third rounds of every tournament she played, more and more modelling photographs of her kept popiing up.

The media had overblown her only five match winning-streak (to reach the Wimbledon semis a bunch of years back) and that had catapaulted her to fame. She’s always been nothing more than a mediocre player. I honestly don’t believe she could win a challenger tournament if/when she decides to return from injury.

Snoooopy (is that the right number of Os? :wink: ), regarding her success as a doubles player: Sure, she was good, but let’s not forget that her doubles partner was Martina Hingis.

I think it’s about time for her to officially become a full-time model :smiley:

4

It’s time for her to retire and remand herself and her fortune to the care of an experienced, mature “older brother” figure clears throat, points to self

5

I agree that she may as well go into modeling full time. It seems like that is what she really wants to do anyway. I am a fan of women’s sports, and I am just a bit upset that Anna K. gets so much attention, mostly for her looks, while other more accomplished women athletes do not get as much attention for what they ACTUALLY DO AS ATHLETES!!!

6

Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.

In the world of not just tennis followers, but sports followers in general, Anna gets very little attention. Venus, Serena and Capriati get it, and deservedly. I have seen more about Anna in here over the last month than I have in the past year on TV or in the newspapers. I can’t remember the last tennis match I watched where her name was even mentioned.

In the world of people who like cute girls, she gets a lot of attention. Venus, Serena and Capriati do not, all of which I personally think are hotter than Anna, but most don’t.

She markets herself, or allows herself to be marketed to, both sides. God bless her. Use every asset you have. I find nothing wrong with that. She got the spotlight put on her and ran with it. She sort of reminds me of Tracy Austin when she was the flavor of the years for tennis. I know very few who wouldn’t do the same. Can she ever win a major? Why not? Lots of people said that Capriati was washed up years ago and should quit. Now she is once again the sweetheart of tennis, even though the Williams sisters can spank her on nearly any given day. (Now THERE is a nice mental image!!!) It depends on the drive. Just getting to the tournaments takes more than a wee bit of talent. Just because somebody isn’t winning the trophy doesn’t mean they should have to stop doing something they love. Just because Phil Mickelson hasn’t won a major and probably never will doesn’t mean he should quit golfing. But more people who don’t follow golf know him than they do Garcia, Els, or Jacobsen and nobody but a golfer could pick out Tom Kite or Greg Norman in a lineup. My wife can spot Phil in a crowd, but wouldn’t know Vijay Singh if he bit her on the ass.

Whether you believe it is right or wrong, in sports (where the general public is concerned) image is everything. A good looking average player with a decent attitude, especially a perennial underdog will tend to get much more publicity than a great athlete with a poor image, unless it involves the cops. (what do you call a drug ring in Dallas? A huddle) But in the world of sports alone, the performer gets top billing.

Personally I have more respect for Anna than any supermodel and many actresses who are a lot more famous. She could take the easy way and go straight to modelling and probably acting, but she is still trying to do what she wants, injuries and all, same as she was doing before she was world famous. You don’t get to tournaments on looks. She gets there by proving she’s better than her competition. Just because she hasn’t won or perhaps might never win, doesn’t mean she has to quit. Just because a couple million geeks and a million non-geeks find her cute is hardly a slight against her. She may not be a great tennis player, but she certainly is good. If she wasn’t, you wouldn’t know who she was.

Continually trying to win, even while injured, takes a bit of sand. Personally, if she gave up tennis for the easy life, I would lose respect for her.

7

Fortunately I have just begun construction of an exclusive retirement village in my pants. :stuck_out_tongue:

8

GO TURBO DOG!!! What you said. Every word. Well; except the bit about being attracted to Jennifer and the Williams sisters.

9

Go Maureen! What you said. Every word. No exceptions. :wink:

10

Anna K. did reach number 8 in the world in singles and number 1 in doubles, so was hardly mediocre. Sadly, it is not unusual to see a young woman tennis player suffering badly from injuries. Can anyone say “Hingis”? Hingis is also only 22.

11

I think she should go into porn. That way we can have the benefit of looking at her as nature truly intended instead of all this teasing stuff, with the added benefit that she can spend all of her time on her back. What a deal. :smiley:

12

And her knees.

13

Turbo Dog - I’m not saying Empress A shouldn’t have milked her stardom for all it was worth. In fact, it would’ve been incredibly foolish for her not to. What I don’t like was that it could’ve happened at all. Can you name any other famous women’s tennis player in history who achieved stardom by appealing to horny heterosexual males and becoming a cult figure on the internet?? (Same deal as Mike Tyson having more than a snowballs chance of another big fight because “he’s the only name casual fans recognize”. I know this is reality. I still find it disgusting.)

And dogged perserverance is noble only if there’s a dang point to it. This isn’t anything like Mark Phillippoussis nearly winning Wimbledon after months in a wheelchair, Jennifer Capriati weathering absolutely nightmarish personal problems (including a man who set the bar for parasitic waste of flesh tennis parents) to return to Grand Slam form, or Carlos Moya not only fighting off a seemingly neverending string of injuries, but actually developing a potent hardcourt game to complement his clay dominance. These are athletes who always had the potential for greatness and took a while to reach it. I’ve never seen any of that from Kournikova.

I vividly remember a recent Wimbledon outing ('02, IIRC). She was downright amateurish. Flat-footed time after time, no quickness, no power on the serve, and I could not believe how many easy volleys she just plain botched. This is clearly not someone who’s seriously playing to win (or is too hurt for her desire to make a difference).

I see no shame in her “taking the easy way out”. If her health doesn’t improve…and again, so much hinges on health…it may soon become moot.

amarone - Broken clock, etc. Jim Courier actually reached #1, and in a time when Pete Sampras and Michael Chang were in their prime and Andre Agassi was getting heated up. His game slipped, the pack caught up, and he fell off the face of the earth. Need I even mention all the fluke Grand Slam champions (Chang is one)?

Anyway, the past doesn’t matter; it’s what she’s capable of now. I don’t see this ever improving.

everyone - Turning to professional modelling would be a great idea. If nothing else, it’s honest, and much less likely to result in injury (unless she stumbles off the walkway or something).

14

I don’t understand your point. Are you saying that Courier (4 slams, world #1, 23 singles titles) was also mediocre? And Chang won 34 singles titles and reached world #2 and reached 3 other slam finals, so it is harldy surprising he won a slam (yes, it is surprising he won at 17).

15

I agree she should call it quits, except I believe that women’s tennis WANTS her to stick around because her presence sells tickets. I don’t have figures but I’d be willing to bet that attendance at her matches are up considerably versus other athletes of similar talent and rank.

Was the ATP sorry to see Patrick Rafter retire? You bet, and it wasn’t just because he was a top 10 player. Old news: Sex sells.

16

Well, with boxing, all I need to say to demonstrate how (bleep)ed up it is is the fact that two of the probable contenders for the heavtweight title are a man with HIV, if not AIDS, and a man who’s 55.

17

Why the wide appeal of her? A bunch of people who don’t follow tennis found her very attractive and packed the internet with a bunch of worship sites. That’s hardly her fault or under her control. Based on that, a few non-tennis magazines approach her now and then for interviews and a photo-spread for a lot of money. Should she say no? I wouldn’t, and neither would most people.

As far as why she should quit, well I just don’t understand the reasoning. Because she may never win a title? Does this apply only to her or to all tennis players and other individual sport athletes who haven’t won a title or consistently have not made the top ten or even 20 in the past 5 years? She looked bad at Wimbledon so she should hang it up? Hey, she got to Wimbledon. You don’t do that by having no talent.

Individual sports are the toughest. If you ate bad chinese food the night before, pulled a muscle in the last outing, etc., hey too bad. You still have to play. You can’t sit out a game and rest up while the team covers you. One bad day can finish you for a season. You get where you are by your own ability and when you are playing at that level, the line between champion and 12th place is a very fine one.

In the world of tennis, you earn your standings by playing. To be rated in the top 10 in the world, even if it is every three years is pretty impressive no matter what you do. Never being number one is never a reason to quit trying to be, whatever the odds.

18

Again, the big issue is health. Check the link I provided again. Even her agent says this is now a serious concern. Maybe she didn’t do enough physical training, or she played too many events too soon, or she never got used to the grueling around-the-world schedule, or she just started too young, but there’s no reason a 22-year-old in a sport that’s not rough or dangerous should be in such terrible shape.

If her helath doesn’t improve, and dramatically, the only sane option is retirement; any and all mental factors are irrelevant. Look at Troy Aikman. Did a few sub-great seasons with the Cowboys completely crush his desire to play football? Of course not, and he’ll be the first person to tell you that. If his concussions hadn’t gotten so serious, would he have stayed for at least a couple more years? Of course. But the risk to his health was just too serious, so he made the right choice.

Again, I don’t have a problem with her cashing in (my sister would’ve done the same…hell, I would’ve done the same); I’m just amazed, if not a little disgusted, that it was allowed to happen at all. Yeah, sex sells, but did, say, Gabriela Sabbatini, who at least had some bright moments, get even a tenth the contract lucre Kournikova did? In any case, no amount of money can fix a ruined back. Here’s hoping she realizes that in time.

Oh, and I brought up Courier because he was a man with a lot of talent who, for one brief, wondrous moment, became #1…and then went into freefall. He knew he’d never reach the top or be competitive again, so he quietly bowed out. It didn’t matter how good he was; he was never reaching that plateau again. I have a lot of respect for athletes who don’t live in the past and realize that they just can’t hack it anymore. (Anyone remember that ludicrous Bjorn Borg comeback?)

PunditLisa - Remember that Rafter was still under 30, not to mention the last pure serve-and-volley player. Plus there was no indication that he’d lost his desire for the game. It was a huge shock for the ATP.

19

Michael Chang was a great competitor, but only on a few occasions did he even come CLOSE to winning a second Grand Slam title. I think he made one other final. (He says that one reason his last couple of years have been so bad is that he started over-training and it cost him because his style has always been so physically demanding.) He was an excellent player and always around the top of the tour when he was healthy, but a lot of Slams weren’t in the cards for him. That doesn’t make him mediocre.

He was not only popular with the ladies, he was a very successful player, a good ambassador for the sport (to use the old cliche), very well-liked by the other players - he was supposed to be a really nice guy - and still pretty young. The ATP would’ve been sorry to see him go even if he wasn’t handsome.

20

It has been time for a while now. She needs to get into porn while she’s still young and before she has the baby she’s allegedly talking about having.