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Jennifer Capriati - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jennifer Capriati

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jennifer Capriati
Jennifer Capriati at Wimbledon 2004
Country Flag of the United States United States
Residence Wesley Chapel, FL
Date of birth March 29, 1976 (1976-03-29) (age 32)
Place of birth New York, New York
Height 5' 7" (1.70 m)
Weight 160 lb (73 kg)
Turned pro March 5, 1990
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money $10,206,639
Singles
Career record: 430–176
Career titles: 14
Highest ranking: No. 1 (October 15, 2001)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open W (2001, 2002)
French Open W (2001)
Wimbledon SF (1991, 2001)
US Open SF (1991, 2001, 2003, 2004)
Doubles
Career record: 66–50
Career titles: 1
Highest ranking: No. 28 (March 2, 1992)

Infobox last updated on: February 5, 2007.

Olympic medal record
Women's Tennis
Competitor for Flag of the United States United States
Gold 1992 Barcelona Singles

Jennifer Marie Capriati (born March 29, 1976, in New York City) is a former World No. 1 women's tennis player from the United States. She won three Grand Slam singles titles (2001 and 2002 Australian Open, 2001 French Open), and the women's singles gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games.

Contents

[edit] Introduction to tennis

While she was still a toddler, Jennifer was introduced to tennis by her father, Stefano Capriati, an Italian-American boxer turned tennis coach, who has continued to coach her in her later professional career.

In 1986, when Jennifer's aptitude for tennis was beginning to show, her family moved to Florida. At the age of ten, Jennifer enrolled in an intense training program run by Jimmy Evert (whose daughter Chris Evert also became a world class tennis player).

[edit] Early career

In 1989, Capriati became the youngest player to win the French Open junior singles title at the age of 13 years and 2 months. (The record stood until 1993, when Martina Hingis won the title as a 12-year-old.) She then went on to win the junior singles title at the 1989 U.S. Open and the junior doubles titles at both the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, partnering with Meredith McGrath. On September 14, 1989, she became the youngest ever Wightman Cup player,[1] playing against Clare Wood, and the first player for four years to win a Wightman Cup match 6–0, 6–0.[2]

On March 5, 1990, three weeks before her 14th birthday, she became a professional tennis player. In her debut tournament at Boca Raton, Florida, she defeated four seeded players while becoming the youngest-ever player to reach a tour final, where she lost 6–4, 7–5 to Gabriela Sabatini. Despite the loss, her debut was on the cover of Sports Illustrated the following week. Three months later, she became the youngest-ever semifinalist at the French Open (aged 14 years and 2 months), where she lost to the eventual champion, Monica Seles. She then reached the fourth round at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open that year and won her first professional singles title in October at San Juan, Puerto Rico. She finished the year ranked eighth in the world.

In 1991, she reached the semifinals at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. She was Wimbledon's youngest-ever semifinalist after defeating the then-defending champion Martina Navratilova in the quarterfinals, which was Navratilova's earliest Wimbledon exit in 14 years. Capriati won two singles titles that year and her only tour doubles title (in Rome, partnering with Seles).

The biggest moment of Capriati's early career came in 1992, when she won the women's singles gold medal at the Olympic Games in Barcelona. In the final, she defeated Steffi Graf (who was the gold medalist four years earlier in Seoul) 3–6, 6–3, 6–4.

[edit] Personal challenges

Booking photograph of Jennifer Capriati, arrested by Coral Gables, Florida police in May 1994 for possession of marijuana.
Booking photograph of Jennifer Capriati, arrested by Coral Gables, Florida police in May 1994 for possession of marijuana.

Amid mounting pressures to live up to the expectations placed on her, and a first round loss to Leila Meshki at the 1993 U.S. Open, Capriati took a break from competitive tennis in late 1993. She soon ran into personal and legal troubles. She was involved in a shoplifting incident in December 1993, and in May 1994 was arrested for marijuana possession. In November 1994, Capriati attempted a return to the tour at a tournament in Philadelphia. The return lasted just one match, losing to Anke Huber in the first round. After that, she did not play on the tour for 15 months. Her arrests and associated mugshot made her "the poster child for burned-out sports prodigies," to quote the Chicago Sun-Times.[3] [4]

[edit] A comeback career

With her career seemingly in doubt, Capriati returned to the tour in February 1996 and began a steady rise that would culminate in the World No. 1 ranking, but not before several false starts. It was not until May 1999 that she finally won her first tournament in six years, at Strasbourg.

Nearly 11 years after she had started playing on the tour, Capriati finally made her Grand Slam breakthrough. From having gone as long as five years without winning a singles match at a Grand Slam, Capriati, the 12th seed, captured the 2001 Australian Open title, defeating then-World No. 1 player Martina Hingis 6–4, 6–3. Along the way, she defeated then-World No. 4 Monica Seles in the quarterfinals and then-World No. 2 Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals. Capriati followed up by capturing the French Open title five months later, beating Kim Clijsters 1–6, 6–4, 12–10. She reached the semifinals of both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open that year as well, amassing the best Grand Slam singles record for the year. In October 2001, Capriati claimed the World No. 1 ranking.

Capriati won her third Grand Slam title in 2002, when she successfully defended her Australian Open crown. In the final against Hingis, Capriati was down 6–4, 4–0 but battled back to win 4–6, 7–6, 6–2. She saved 4 championship points during the final, which is a record for most match points saved during a Grand Slam tournament final.[5]

In 2003, Capriati reached the U.S. Open semifinals, losing a close match to Belgium's Justine Henin in a third set tiebreak 4–6, 7–5, 7–6(4). The battle concluded well past midnight and left Henin needing medical attention due to dehydration and exhaustion. During the match, Capriati was just two points from victory eleven times.

Capriati has won 14 professional singles titles and 1 doubles title.

In January 2007, Capriati stated she had not given up hopes of a comeback at 30 after undergoing arthroscopic surgery in 2005 and playing her last match in Philadelphia in late 2004.[6]

In an interview with the New York Daily News in July 2007, Capriati admitted to suffering from depression and having suicidal thoughts. She said, "When I stopped playing, that's when all this came crumbling down. If I don't have [tennis], who am I? What am I? I was just alive because of this. I've had to ask, 'Well, who is Jennifer? What if this is gone now?' I can't live off of this the rest of my life." She underwent a third shoulder surgery in 2007, and whether she will ever return to the tennis tour is still unclear.[7]

[edit] Accolades

In 2002, she received an ESPY for Comeback Player of the Year. That year's nominees included such high profile talent as Mario Lemieux and Michael Jordan.

In 2005, TENNIS Magazine put her in 36th place in its list of 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS era.

[edit] Playing style

Capriati was one of the first big-hitters to emerge on the women's tennis tour in the 1990s, along with players such as Lindsay Davenport, Mary Pierce, and Monica Seles. Her game was built around her flat forehand, which could be devastating when hit hard.

When she made a comeback in 2001, Capriati was a faster and more agile player than before and was able to run down many more balls. A slight weakness in her game was her second serve, hit with slice, which had a tendency to break down under pressure.

[edit] Grand Slam singles finals

[edit] Wins (3)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
2001 Australian Open Flag of Switzerland Martina Hingis 6–4, 6–3
2001 French Open Flag of Belgium Kim Clijsters 1–6, 6–4, 12–10
2002 Australian Open (2nd) Flag of Switzerland Martina Hingis 4–6, 7–6, 6–2

[edit] Titles (15)

[edit] Singles (14)

Legend
Grand Slam (3)
WTA Championships (0)
Olympic Gold (1)
Tier I (2)
Tier II (4)
Tier III (3)
Tier IV & V (1)
ITF Tour (0)
Titles by Surface
Hard (9)
Clay (4)
Grass (0)
Carpet (1)
No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score
1. October 22, 1990 San Juan, Puerto Rico Hard Flag of the United States Zina Garrison 5–7, 6–4, 6–2
2. July 29, 1991 San Diego, California, USA Hard Flag of Yugoslavia Monica Seles 4–6, 6–1, 7–6(2)
3. August 5, 1991 Toronto, Canada Hard Flag of Bulgaria Katerina Maleeva 6–2, 6–3
4. July 27, 1992 Olympic Games, Barcelona, Spain Clay Flag of Germany Steffi Graf 3–6, 6–3, 6–4
5. August 24, 1992 San Diego, California, USA Hard Flag of Spain Conchita Martinez 6–3, 6–2
6. January 11, 1993 Sydney, Australia Hard Flag of Germany Anke Huber 6–1, 6–4
7. May 17, 1999 Strasbourg, France Clay Flag of Russia Elena Likhovtseva 6–1, 6–3
8. November 1, 1999 Quebec City, Canada Hard Flag of the United States Chanda Rubin 4–6, 6–1, 6–2
9. September 25, 2000 Luxembourg, Luxembourg Carpet Flag of Bulgaria Magdalena Maleeva 4–6, 6–1, 6–4
10. January 15, 2001 Australian Open, Melbourne Hard Flag of Switzerland Martina Hingis 6–4, 6–3
11. April 16, 2001 Charleston, South Carolina, USA Clay Flag of Switzerland Martina Hingis 6–0, 4–6, 6–4
12. May 28, 2001 French Open, Paris Clay Flag of Belgium Kim Clijsters 1–6, 6–4, 12–10
13. January 14, 2002 Australian Open, Melbourne Hard Flag of Switzerland Martina Hingis 4–6, 7–6(7), 6–2
14. August 18, 2003 New Haven, Connecticut, USA Hard Flag of the United States Lindsay Davenport 6–2, 4–0 retired

[edit] Doubles (1)

No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents in the final Score
1. May 12, 1991 Rome, Italy Clay Flag of Yugoslavia Monica Seles Flag of Australia Nicole Bradtke
Flag of South Africa Elna Reinach
7–5, 6–2

[edit] Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Career SR
Australian Open A A QF QF A A A 1R A 2R SF W W 1R A A A A 2 / 8
French Open SF 4R QF QF A A 1R A A 4R 1R W SF 4R SF A A A 1 / 11
Wimbledon 4R SF QF QF A A A A 2R 2R 4R SF QF QF QF A A A 0 / 11
U.S. Open 4R SF 3R 1R A A 1R 1R 1R 4R 4R SF QF SF SF A A A 0 / 13
Grand Slam SR 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 4 0 / 4 2 / 4 1 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 3 / 43

A = did not participate in the tournament

SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Martina Hingis
Lindsay Davenport
Venus Williams
Venus Williams
World No. 1
October 15, 2001 - November 4, 2001
January 14, 2002 - February 24, 2002
March 18, 2002 - April 21, 2002
May 20, 2002 - June 9, 2002
Succeeded by
Lindsay Davenport
Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Awards
Preceded by
-
WTA Newcomer of the Year
1990
Succeeded by
Andrea Strnadova
Preceded by
Monica Seles
WTA Comeback Player of the Year
1996
Succeeded by
Mary Pierce
Preceded by
Venus Wiliams
WTA Player of the Year
2001
Succeeded by
Serena Williams
Preceded by
Martina Hingis
ITF World Champion
2001
Succeeded by
Serena Williams
Preceded by
Marion Jones
Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year
2001
Succeeded by
Serena Williams
Preceded by
Cathy Freeman
World Sportswoman of the Year
2002
Succeeded by
Serena Williams


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