From time to time, her head tries to convince Anna Kournikova that returning to the WTA Tour might not be a bad idea.

Then her body chimes in, and reminds her of why she stopped playing competitively five years ago.

“I started practicing a little while ago and my knee started hurting. I was freaking out completely,” Kournikova said Thursday in a national teleconference. “I was like, ‘Oh, my God. You have to be kidding me.’

“But, I'm glad I'm feeling good now. I'm practicing all the time, and I'm really looking forward to being back on the court. I love those moments, obviously. I miss playing, but I love just now playing for fun and really enjoying myself out there.”

Having turned 27 earlier this month, Kournikova is about to begin her sixth season with World TeamTennis for her third team, the St. Louis Aces.

Kournikova will play four matches for St. Louis, making a stop in the Capital District to face the New York Buzz July 22 at the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany.

“WTT is awesome,” she said. “It's a perfect environment for the fans to see singles, doubles, mixed doubles, everything. It couldn't be better. I wouldn't miss it for the world.

“I'm not on the professional tour, so for me this is the best opportunity I can get to be on the tennis court, to be in the match environment, to be in front of my fans, and to just be part of such a great league.”

A Moscow native who lives near Miami, Kournikova has played locally before. She lost a singles match to Viktoriya Kutuzova of the Buzz in 2006 at Schenectady's Central Park, her second of three years with the Sacramento Capitals.

In 2004, as a member of the Kansas City Explorers, Kournikova lost women's doubles and mixed doubles matches to the Buzz in Schenectady. The team will play its entire home schedule this year in Albany.

“I'm just ready to play, you know?” she said. “It's really interesting because it's going to be a new team for me. It's always great to meet new players and have a new experience. WTT is a great, fun atmosphere. It's like Davis Cup, Fed Cup. Everybody's rooting for each other, and I love that.”

Known more for her cover-model beauty than her tennis accomplishments, Kournikova reached a career-high world ranking of No. 8 in singles in 2000, but never won a WTA singles event.

A former No. 1-ranked doubles player, Kournikova won two Grand Slam doubles titles with Martina Hingis, the 1999 and 2002 Australian Open, as well as 16 WTA doubles titles.

In 1997, she became the second woman in the Open era to reach the semifinals in her Wimbledon debut. Today, she does some modeling and works with the Boys and Girls Club.

“Just to be back on the court, playing in front of the fans, to feel a match situation, match environment, I love it,” Kournikova said. “There's always going to be pressure or attention. It's something that goes with it.

“I've had so many things said about me, it's not really something you can worry about. For me, it's very much worth it just to be back on the court and enjoy being a tennis player for that short period of time again.”