Who is a better tennis player: Maria Sharapova or Anna Kournikova?

Maria

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by Marcus Brooks

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In sports, you have pioneers who blazed the trail for later generations. Julius "Dr. J" Erving created the path that Michael Jordan use to reach basketball greatness. Wayne Gretzky created hockey's new realm that Sidney Crosby is quickly dominating. Previous generations made it better for later generations. The same situation happned in tennis.

During the early 1990s, Anna Kournikova became Russia's most bankable, tennis player. Her singles career wasn't too celestial. She won a few, U.S. tournaments and competed in Grand Slams. However, she failed to gain that one significant victory that propelled her to #1. Despite her Wimbledon Grand Slams in doubles' tournament, Kournikova didn't transfer that success in singles' matches. From age 15 to 25, her "name" wasn't associated with consistent winning. Kournikova's tennis career was medicore at worst, above average at best.

However, her tennis struggles never hurt in marketability. She was still a 5'7-5'8 blonde bombshell. Her blue eyes, tone physique and European looks earned Kournikova tens of millions of advertising and marketing dollars. In addition, she graced the covers of Sports Illustrated, Elle and other top-flight magazines. Her swimsuit and modeling career far exceeding the fame and power tennis could've delivered her. Kournikova enjoyed an "A-lister's" lifestyle. She received invites to award shows. She guest-appeared on prime-time shows and talk shows. She attended dozens of red-carpet events in and out of her tennis career. Also, she had a lucrative shoe deal with Adidas, and now with K-Swiss. She used tennis to as a "second job". The real money came by following three simple rules. 1) Look pretty. 2) Look available. 3) Become every man's fantasy.

Maria Sharapova followed Kournikova to the WTA (World Tennis Association). Upon arriving, she made an immediate point. She came here to dominate women's tennis. In her first Grand Slam at Wimbeldon, she beat Serena Williams. At 18, she was among the youngest to ever win a Major. That victory thrust her to #1 billing. However, tennis wasn't all she did.

Sharapova was also a 6'1, 120 pound, physical beauty. She was tall, lean and blonde. She graced Sports Illustrated swimsuit magazines and dozens of pop culture periodicals. She like Kournikova, transplanted to Florida. That move just increased the media hype. Sharapova's powerful serve, dominating ground game and signature utterances during matches brought in thousands of male fans.

She won three more Grand Slams and dozens of WTA sponsored tournaments. Her face got plastered on-screen and on magazines. A couple of years ago, she became spokesperson for the Powershot digital camera. In several 30 sec to 1 minute slots, viewers saw her with her tiny dog hamming it up for the camera. Sharapova looked personible. The commercials were fun and helped her image.

Sharapova's tennis skills kept in around the top of women's tennis for five years. Since 2001, she, the Williams Sisters and the recently retired, Justine Hardienne dominated WTA's rankings. In addition, her modeling and marketing launched her total earnings to over $20 million in 2007.

Between Kournikova and Sharapova, the latter proved relevant to both sports and pop culture.

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