How tennis star Daniela the gaunt's grown a figure to flaunt

By Julie Moult for MailOnline Updated:

Daniela Hantuchova

Pin-up: Daniela poses confidently at the poolside

It isn't long since she was known as the Slovakian Skeleton – her angular frame prompting rumours of an eating disorder.

But just look at tennis star Daniela Hantuchova now.

The 26-year-old is happy to pose in a swimsuit to reveal her more rounded physique. Gone are the sinewy muscles and visible rib cage.

Her incredible 44-inch legs now look shapely rather than scrawny.

Despite her transformation, 5ft 11in Miss Hantuchova is still unhappy at the way sportswomen come under constant scrutiny, particularly about their weight.

'I think that there is way too much emphasis on the way we look in sport in general,' she said in an interview last year.

'With the guys nobody bothers, except to say that Ronaldo (the Brazilian footballer) has got a little bit heavy or something.

'But with the women, there is too much. Everyone has a different shape. People should focus only on the game.

'After ten years on the tour, I can handle things. This is what I love doing and I wouldn't change it for anything else in the world.'

Miss Hantuchova, a classically-trained pianist who speaks an impressive six languages, looked painfully thin and appeared on the verge of a nervous breakdown when she crashed out of Wimbledon in tears in 2003.

She blamed the pressure of the game for her change in her shape after bursting on to the scene as a 15-year-old.

'Yes, I did change shape, because there was too much pressure on me and I was not ready to handle it all,' she said. 'Now I hope that I can be some kind of inspiration for young kids, by showing them that you can turn things around.'

The former world number five, now ranked 33, was posing in Miami where she was competing in the Sony Eriksson Open.

In February she appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimwear Edition alongside Bar Refaeli – the Israeli model girlfriend of actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

Enlarge   Daniela Hantuchova

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