The Russian Anna in tennis who gets the most attention is Anna Kournikova, but there is another Anna from Russia whose tennis is on the same level, whose looks are more than pleasant, and whose story is more inspiring. Anna Chakvetadze has been a strong presence on the tennis season these past few years, and worked through much adversity during her childhood to make the pro circuit.

After a few years of struggling to make her mark at the professional level, Anna adjusted to the professional life and game in 2006. She capped the year off with titles in Moscow and Guangzhou (China). To keep herself grounded and maintain her strong family ties, she spends a lot of time with her family.

Having your family nearby can be a great thing for such a young talent, especially when the tour can be so demanding with travel and photo shoots.

In 2007, Chakvetadze really hit her stride. Her return looked better than ever, and through the course of the year, she won five tournaments. This brought her to a career best #5 ranking, and she capped off a great year with a run to the semifinals at the US Open.

A horrible event occurred just a few short months later, right when it looked like things couldn’t get much better for Chakvetadze. During the off-season in December 2007, Chakvetadze was at her home in Russia, which was intruded upon by burglars. They tied her up and threatened her with a gun, severely beat her father, and stole over $300,000 in jewelry and other things from Chakvetadze’s house. Needless to say, she was very shaken up.

As a result, the 2008 tennis season was very difficult for Chakvetadze. She did her best to return her focus to her tennis career, but struggled in her tournaments, as her number five ranking steadily dropped.

Fast forward to 2009, and Chakvetadze is still working as hard as possible to bounce back from this horrific event. She is slowly regaining her form, but still has a long road ahead. One of her favorite places to play is in New York at the US Open, and the upcoming tournament will be a great challenge for Chakvetadze.

No matter how she does from here, all she can do is fight. Having been a fighter all of her life, there’s no doubt that she’ll continue to do so.