Russian tennis player Anna Chakvetadze was tied up by robbers who broke into her home outside Moscow on Tuesday and stole money and goods worth thousands of dollars, her father said.
"Five to six unknown people wearing masks climbed over the fence of the country house at about 4am Moscow time, then broke into the house and tied her parents up," a police spokesman was quoted as saying by the Russian media.
The assailants approached the home before dawn, tied up a maid in another building and forced her to hand over a remote control that enabled them to enter the home through the garage, Anna's father, Dzhamal Chakvetadze, told NTV television.
"They started to beat me, and I resisted. They hit me over the head with, I think, a pistol butt. It was dark," he said, taking off his cap to show his bruised scalp. "They took out a pistol and told me my child was at home -- reminded me -- and they told me to hand everything over. I did."
Police and Russia tennis coach Shamil Tarpishchev said the masked assailants tied up Chakvetadze and her parents, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. Tarpishchev said the 20-year-old Chakvetadze, ranked No. 6 in the world, "tried to resist, but it was useless."
Chakvetadze's nine-year-old brother, Roman, was asleep in the house during the break-in and was not touched, Tarpishchev said.
NTV reported Chakvetadze was bound for 30 minutes but not seriously hurt.
"Anna is holding up quite well," Tarpishchev told ITAR-Tass. However, he added the ordeal could not fail to affect her psychologically.
NTV reported the robbers took about US$106,000 in cash, as well as jewelry and other goods worth about 5 million rubles (US$200,000).
Moscow region police did not answer telephone calls seeking comment.
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