It hasn’t been an easy couple of years for Anastasia Myskina. She has suffered setbacks both on and off the court, nursing her mother who was diagnosed with cancer two years ago, and dealing with a toe injury that has seen her ranking plummet to No. 309 in the world.
The former Roland Garros champion, who reached No. 2 in the rankings following her Grand Slam triumph, returned to competition at this year’s French Open but managed to win only one game against American Meghann Shaughnessy in her opening round loss.
After that loss, Myskina did not rule out a comeback but declared that she would no longer compete until she could play at full strength. In the meantime, the 26-year-old Muscovite has agreed to participate in a Russian reality series called “Stars on Ice,” a skating competition that partners celebrities with professional figure skaters and pits the pairs against one another.
The show, in its second season, was a hit in its debut outing, largely in part to the success of Russian skaters at the 2006 Torino Olympic Winter games.
A similar U.S. show called “Skating with the Stars” received mixed reviews in the United States, although it did garner a great deal of ink on tabloid pages when one of the pairs on the show extended their partnership off the ice as well—the problem was that one was married and expecting a child with his wife.
But while such shows tend to garner B-list celebrities stateside, the Russian version does not skimp on the pro or amateur talent. Past participants or hosts on the show include former Olympic gold medalists and world champions, including Alexei Yagudin, Roman Kostomarov, Anton Sikharulidze, Evgeny Plushenko and Irina Slutskaya. The judging panel is also a who’s who of top skating names – famed coach Tatiana Tarasova and American Sasha Cohen, who took home silver in Torino.
So the competition will be stiff for Myskina, but perhaps the workouts will keep her in shape if she returns to tennis – which according to her mother, she will. When is still a question. The show is slated to continue through this winter, so barring early elimination, Myskina could miss the Australian hard court swing.
This won’t be Msykina’s first non-tennis appearance on television – far from it. During her time off, Myskina has become something of a regular on Russian TV screens with a gig on a soccer show and a stint as a tennis commentator. Her future in big-time tennis may be uncertain, but her celebrity status in Russia looks less so.