I think this is a bit of an overstatement. What has she ever done on a tennis court to be deserving of being called a tennis star? I thought you had to win a tournament once in a while to be called a tennis star. Tennis player or tennis professional, yes. But tennis star, that's a laugh. If it wasn't for her looks, nobody would have ever heard of Anna Kournikova.
Well, I might go so far as saying that her fifteen minutes of fame might be over. She may have stretched those fifteen minutes farther than anyone else on earth, but they may be over...
However, I would still say that she actually deserves (or did deserve) to be called a tennis star.
Before her last two injuries, she would almost routinely make it to the quarters or semis of most tournaments. She was like the female, attractive version of a guy from my era called Eddie Dibbs. A career of quarters and semis. But, if you do it regularly, I think you reach the bottom level of the scale called "star."
And it's never really too late to count Anna out. Who would have believed Jennifer Capriati would come back better than ever? (I don't see it happening with Anna, but you just never know in sports.)
Mark W.