childhood > PICS

Marat Safin

2007-05-30T20:50:00.000-07:00

Safin was born in Moscow,USSR (now Russia), to an ethnic Tatar family. His parents were former tennis players and coaches. His younger sister is a professional tennis player Dinara Safina, and not the singer Alsou Safina, contrary to public belief, although she also has a brother named Marat. Safin's father managed the local Spartak Tennis Club where Safin trained in his youth alongside several up-and-coming tennis players, including Anna Kournikova, Elena Dementieva, and Anastasia Myskina. At age fourteen he moved to Valencia, Spain, to gain access to advanced tennis training programs which were not available in Russia. Safin gained the attention of the tennis establishment in 1998 with his consecutive victories over Andre Agassi and (defending champion) Gustavo Kueten at the French Open.

Martina Navratilova

2007-05-20T18:20:00.001-07:00

Navratilova was born Martina Subertova in 1956. Her parents divorced when she was three, and in 1962 her mother Jana married Miroslav Navratil, who became her first tennis coach. Martina then took the name of her stepfather (adding the feminine suffix "ova"), thus becoming Martina Navratilova.
In 1972 at the age of 15, Navratilova won the Czech republic national tennis championship. In 1973, aged 16, she made her debut on the USLTA professional tour but did not turn professional until 1975. She won her first professional singles title in Orlando, Florida in 1974 at the age of 17.

Martina Hingis

2007-05-16T23:44:00.000-07:00

Hingis was born to two accomplished tennis players: a Czech mother, Melanie Molitorova, and a Slovak father, Karol Hingis. Molitorová once ranked No. 10 among women in Czechoslovakia. Her father is a tennis trainer in Košice. They named their daughter 'Martina' (originally Martina Hingisova) after Martina Navratilova. Hingis' parents divorced when she was a young girl. She moved with her mother to Moravia for a short period, then to Switzerland. Hingis began hitting tennis balls when she was two years old and entered her first tournament at age four. In 1993, 12-year-old Hingis became the youngest player to win a Grand Slam junior title: the girls' singles at the French Open. In 1994, she retained her French Open junior title, won the girls' singles title at Wimbledon, and was ranked the World No. 1 junior player. She made her professional debut in October 1994, two weeks after her 14th birthday. In 1995, she became the youngest player to win a match at a Grand Slam tournament when she advanced to the second round of the Australian Open.

Maria Sharapova

2007-05-16T19:42:00.001-07:00

Kim Clijsters

2007-05-16T19:25:00.001-07:00

Justine Henin-Hardenne

2007-05-16T19:18:00.001-07:00

Juan Carlos Ferrero

2007-05-16T19:13:00.001-07:00

James Blake

2007-05-16T19:09:00.001-07:00

Guillermo Coria

2007-05-16T19:03:00.001-07:00

Goran Ivanisevic

2007-05-16T18:37:00.001-07:00

Daniela Hantuchova

2007-05-16T18:33:00.001-07:00

Carlos Moya

2007-05-16T18:29:00.001-07:00

Boris Becker

2007-05-16T18:26:00.000-07:00

Arthur Ashe

2007-05-16T18:23:00.001-07:00

Anna Kunikowa

2007-05-16T18:14:00.001-07:00

Roger Federer

2007-05-16T04:46:00.000-07:00

Federer was born in the town of Binningen (near Basel, Switzerland),to Swiss-German Robert Federer and South African Lynette Federer. He grew up 10 minutes from Basel proper, in suburban Munchenstein. Federer has an older sister, Diana. He considers his main language German, but he also speaks French and English fluently. He conducts press conferences in all three. Answering a frequently asked question about the proper pronunciation of his first name, Federer said: "As my mother comes from South Africa, my name has always been pronounced the English way."
As a boy, Federer was very emotional on the court and threw many tantrums, in contrast to his cool, calm playing style today. He admits to being kicked off the practice courts frequently. Federer was also a very talented soccer player. At one point, he considered becoming a professional soccer player but instead decided to make a career in tennis. He continues to support FC Basel, his hometown club.

Monica Seles

2007-05-15T23:51:00.001-07:00

Gabriela Sabatini

2007-05-15T21:33:00.001-07:00

Andy Roddick

2007-05-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

Amelie Mauresmo

2007-05-15T20:23:00.001-07:00

Ai Sugiyama

2007-05-15T20:13:00.001-07:00

Jonny Wilkinson

2007-05-15T20:03:00.001-07:00

Brooke Shields

2007-05-14T22:49:00.001-07:00

Winona Ryder

2007-05-14T22:37:00.000-07:00

Sophie Marceau

2007-05-14T22:00:00.001-07:00

Jennifer Connelly

2007-05-14T21:26:00.000-07:00