Despite losing to her in the 1997 semifinal at Wimbledon, a tournament she did not
contest in 1998, Anna Kournikova teamed up with another 'pin-up' woman of world
tennis Martina Hingis and together in 1999 they set off on a successful doubles partnership
. They captured the Australian Open title (Anna's first ever Grand Slam success) and were
runners-up in the French. In addition the pair enjoyed victories at four other events including
the Italian Open and ended the year as the world's number one ranked doubles players.
In singles Anna didn't get beyond the fourth round of any of the Grand Slam events
(she is pictured above at Wimbledon where she lost to Venus Williams), losing in
each at exactly that stage - a consistency of sorts. In other events she made the final at
Hilton Head and the semifinals at Oklahoma City, Amelia Island and Eastbourne.
None the less her popularity continued to rise and with it the lucrative contracts a
world star can command.