ANNA KOURNIKOVA - KOURNIKOVA THRILLED WITH SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SHOTS

Tennis ace ANNA KOURNIKOVA has been dreading the release of the SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SWIMWEAR EDITION annual magazine because she felt she wasn't in good enough shape to compete with other models.

The sexy sports star, who is dating ENRIQUE IGLESIAS, was forced to temporary give up tennis last year (03), due to a back injury - and, as a result, she hasn't stuck to a rigorous training schedule.

Kournikova admits she felt "out of shape" when she posed in a bikini for the provocative beach shoot, and feared she'd look dreadful when the mag hit newsstands.

The tennis star, who plans to start training again next month (MAR04), saw the magazine for the first time yesterday (09FEB04) and admits she's "very impressed" with the finished result.

She says, "Everyone looks so beautiful."

The magazine, which comes out tomorrow (11FEB04), also features a spread of past Sports Illustrated supermodels like ELLE MACPHERSON, CHRISTIE BRINKLEY and CHERYL TIEGS.