The Overlooked Career of Anna Chakvetadze
Posted on August 21, 2009
Filed Under Tennis
The following story is one of persistence and perseverance. Through a lot of hard work over the years, Anna Chakvetadze has made it in the tennis world. Outranked by many on the junior circuit and never the most able player in Russia during her childhood, Chakvetadze fought hard to climb the ranks as a junior.
Chakvetadze took a few years as a pro before finally finding her way in 2006. With wins in Guangzhou and Moscow at the end of the year, Chakvetadze broke through as a pro. This was the beginning of a run that would bring her game to another level.
Chakvetadze kept her family close to her during her ascent, and this greatly benefited her mental state. It’s often difficult for a young pro to travel around the world alone, without the support of their family. Photographers and magazines quickly took on to Anna’s looks, and she became the focus of many photo shoots as well.
Anna is not afraid of her beauty and as you can tell by the pictures; her personality is front and center. She likes sports cars, the faster the better and has her own collection to prove it Anna was on top of the world during the tennis season in 2007. Her return of serve was considered among the best in the game. Her ability to switch from defense to offense helped her elevate her game to #5 in the world. She reached the semifinals of the US Open and the Year Ending Championships. In all she had wins over both Williams sisters and Jelena Jankovic to go with 4 more titles in her collection.
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.
Due to the effect that this event had on her psyche, 2008 was an extremely challenging year for Anna. While she tried every day to focus on tennis and her well being, she had much difficulty, and the level of play she exhibited in 2007 quickly dissipated.
She continues to fight on the court and with herself to regain her former form. This uphill battle is likely to be a challenge for the remainder of the season, but the US Open crowd will do their best to elevate her nonetheless.
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.
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