ANNA KOURNIKOVA - KOURNIKOVA'S NEW FITNESS ROLE

Tennis babe ANNA KOURNIKOVA has landed a new job as ELLE magazine's new fitness guru.

The Russian-born stunner is thrilled with her new job, because it gives her a fresh incentive to find new work-outs to help her stay lean and trim.

In her inaugural column, which appears in the June (05) issue of Elle, Kournikova admits she has struggled to stay in shape since announcing a hiatus from tennis to correct back and foot problems.

She writes, "As I've shifted from an intense training schedule to a more moderate pace... I'm suddenly facing the real issues of a nonprofessional athlete - which means worrying about how often I should hit the gym and what I need to incorporate into my diet and figuring out what fitness and food combination works best for me.

"Finally I can risk some new activities (such as rock climbing and Yogalates) without fearing that I'll get hurt and be sidelined, and report back on how rigorous and fun they really are.

"When I was playing competitively, I never really thought much about my body. As long as I could slam my serve at a WILLIAMS sister (VENUS or SERENA), I didn't worry about what I ate or if I needed to log StairMaster time because I wasn't exercising."