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"Anna Kournikova will join The Biggest Loser next season, it has been confirmed. The international tennis star made an appearance on stage during the grand final of the NBC weight loss reality show following speculation that she would join the programme as a trainer. She will replace the departing Jillian Michaels. Kournikova told the audience that she was &amp;quot;beyond excited&amp;quot; to join the show. &amp;quot;This is an amazing opportunity for me to join the Biggest Loser family,&amp;quot; she said. She also hailed the three finalists, praising their &amp;quot;incredible job&amp;quot; and offering her congratulations on their achievements. Executive producer Todd Lubin told NY Magazine&amp;#039;s Vulture blog that Kournikova was selected from hundreds of trainers and was chosen because &amp;quot;we intentionally tried not to replace Jillian&amp;quot;. &amp;quot;She grew up with very little in Moscow, pounding tennis balls every day when she was 5,&amp;quot; he added. &amp;quot;That&amp;#039;s the drive she&amp;#039;s bringing to the show.&amp;quot; He also hinted at a reboot for the programme&amp;#039;s twelfth season with a stronger focus on overall health and wellbeing as opposed to just weight loss. The Biggest Loser returns to NBC later this year. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/the-biggest-loser/news/a321362/anna-kournikova-joins-the-biggest-loser/>