hoLLy goSSip

AP

Enrique Iglesias' sexy ex-wife(?)-tennis player is set to make male admirers slobber once more when she makes her comeback.

However, her return to the professional tennis circuit was slightly dimmed by overly emotional tennis pro Justin Gimelstob.

Kournikova, who's scheduled to return to World TeamTennis and will have a July 22 appearance at Washington Avenue Armory, found herself at the receiving end of a pretty severe denigration thrown by Gimelstob.

During the June 18 episode of The Junkies show, Gimelstob referred to Kournikova with a profanity prior to saying, "I just despise her to the maximum level, right below hate."

Gimelstob, who will be playing host to Kournikova on July 23, went on, "If she's not crying by the time she walks off the court, then I did not do my job. She's gonna be serving 40 miles an hour, and I'm gonna just be plugging it down her throat."

His statements made WTT commissioner Ilana Kloss decide he needed some punishment plugged down his throat.

Although he apologized and said there was no excuse for his actions and that he was “extremely disappointed” in himself, the association still suspended him from a July 11 match.

Kournikova preferred to not take the mouthy guy seriously and merely said, "I'm just gonna kind of take the high road and not get into this discussion. You know, WTT is not about those sorts of things. It's about keeping it fun and positive and really the game of tennis, playing for the fans."

The beauteous and curvaceous Russian, who's more known for being a sex symbol than a serious tennis player, has always been a target of serious mockery.

Professional golfer Kim Hall, who also moonlights as a model, told the LA Times that she "doesn't want to be Kournikova," a gorgeous athlete who doesn't win.

But Kournikova doesn't seem to mind and says she's grateful she was able to achieve success from tennis after growing up in Soviet Union with "literally nothing."

You go, girl. Those twerps are just jealous.