Anna Kournikova is moving away from her image as a sexy tennis star in hopes of reaching out to a much younger audience.
Known as much for her good looks as her success on the court, Kournikova now works for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the Cartoon Network. She says she is driven to get kids off their sofas and into sports and exercise.
Kournikova says the move from bikini model in magazines like FHM and Maxim to kids’ exercise advocate was not expected by some of her fans.
“People always get shocked,” Kournikova said Wednesday while preparing for the Boys and Girls Club of America’s national conference in Atlanta. “It has been a gradual transition, and I wanted it that way.”
Kournikova’s provocative photo spreads made some refuse to respect her tennis career, despite winning two Grand Slams doubles titles with Martina Hingis and becoming the eighth-ranked singles player in the world in 2000.

Anna Kournikova

The 27-year-old says she is determined to be taken seriously when educating kids about exercise.
“I started working with the Boys and Girls Club in 2004,” she said. “The first couple of years I didn’t want to do any publicity. I just wanted to learn about the organization and find out about what was going on. I went to the conferences and went to the conventions unannounced and just sat in the back and listened.
“People can tell if you’re being sincere, and I think that has helped me in the last few years. I think people have seen that I am sincere about it and I know what I’m talking about.”
She said proof came in a recent appearance on Rachel Ray’s talk show.

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