Anna Kournikova Is Leaving Biggest Loser

I wasn’t surprised at all when I read that one of the new trainers on The Biggest Loser, Anna Kournikova, will not be returning next season. The word is that she didn’t mesh well with the staff behind the scenes. And a lot of the contestants didn’t like her approach to training. They thought she was “too brash”.

I don’t know what Anna Kournikova’s background is as far as being a personal trainer, but I thought her approach was a little unsympathetic. She told one contestant to basically suck it up and deal with it when the teams got rearranged. She’s not the best when it comes to capitalizing on the contestants breakthrough moments. There are times when a contestant is worked out so hard they have a mental breakthrough. On an episode a few weeks ago, one contestant (I forget who it was now, Becky maybe?) was definitely at that breakthrough moment (the times when Jillian Michaels would ask “why are you here?" over and over), and Anna didn’t get it.

She seems like a nice person on camera, and I know she’s a wonderful tennis player. But I don’t think Anna Kourniva is cut out for the personal trainer scene. I don’t know if she realized that herself and left the show on her own, or if she was let go by the higher ups, but I hope she realized it herself and stepped down.

There’s no mention yet on who will be replacing her, if anyone. Personally I think Bob Harper and Dolvett Quince could do nicely by themselves. They’ve both got the personal trainer background experience, and they both are in-tune with how the contestants are feeling. They capitalize on breakthrough moments. Both Bob and Dolvett really listen to what the contestants have to say. They don’t just nod in agreement and tell them to deal with it.

Season 13 of The Biggest Loser starts January 3, and it will interesting to see who the trainers are. I haven’t heard anything about Dolvett leaving, so it will probably be Dolvett and Bob for sure, and possibly someone new. We shall see.