Jennifer Capriati - USA 
| Birth Date:
| 4/29/1976 |
Age:
| 36 |
| Birth Place:
| New York, New York |
Residence:
| Wesley Chapel, Florida |
| Height:
| 5' 7" (1.70 m) |
Weight:
| 160 lbs. (72.5 kg) |
| Year Turned Pro:
| 1990 (22 years on tour) |
Plays:
| Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Official Website:
| |
Twitter:
| |
|
No player in the history of the WTA Tour better suited the phrase “youth is served” than Jennifer Capriati.
She reached her first pro final at 13 years, 11 months and reached the semifinals at the French Open when she was 14 years, two months. She was still 14 when she reached No. 10 in the world, the youngest player ever in the Top 10, and a year later was the youngest-ever semifinalist at Wimbledon. Her career spanned two clear time frames: Her teenage years and her magnificent comeback. Both have been tinged with triumph and tragedy.
For her career she won 14 WTA singles titles including three Grand Slam singles, and reached No. 1 in the world for the first time on Oct. 15, 2001. She also took the gold medal in women’s singles at the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona. Her tour debut came in Boca Raton in 1990, where she defeated four seeded players before falling to Gabriela Sabitini in the final. She made a second final at Hilton Head, beating No. 5 Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario before falling to Martina Navratilova, debuting in the rankings at No. 25 in April. She made the semifinals at the French Open a month later, losing to Monica Seles but jumping from 24th to 13th in the process. She won her first title at Puerto Rico, defeating Zina Garrison in the final, becoming the fourth-youngest player to win a pro title. She finished the year ranked eighth.
In 1991 by winning two titles and reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon, defeating defending champion Navratilova in the quarterfinals. It was Navratilova’s earliest exit from Centre Court since the late 1970s. She defeated No. 1 Seles for the crown at San Diego, and fell to Seles in the semifinals of the US Open, twice failing while serving for match point. She teamed with Seles to win her first career Tour doubles title at Rome, and finished No. 6 in the year-end rankings.
In 1993 she won at Sydney, but was beaten three times in Grand Slam quarterfinals by Steffi Graf. It was her fourth straight season in the Top 10. She had her first brush with the law in 1993, receiving a citation for shoplifting in a suburban mall. In 1994 she fell out of the top 10 early then completely out of the rankings, playing only once – in Philadelphia as a wild card in November. She was arrested in Florida for possession of marijuana, along with friends who were charged with possession of heroin. Two days later, she checked into Mount Sinai Medical Center for drug rehabilitation.
She did not play at all in 1995, and her parents got divorced. She returned to the tour in 1996 after a 15-month layoff (and just one match in 29 months). She reached the final at Chicago, defeating Seles in the semis.
She returned to the rankings at No. 103 on April 1 and ended the year 24th. She reached one final in 1997, but the rest of her year was a disappointment. She fell to No. 66 by year’s end and was down to No. 101 by the end of 1998, although she was ranked as low as No. 267 in April.
Just when it looked like her career was over, Capriati revived it in 1999, winning two singles titles and finishing No. 23 overall. Her first title in six years came at Strasbourg, and she followed it up with a victory at Quebec City. She also reached the fourth round of both the French and US Opens.
She built on that momentum by reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2000, losing to eventual champion Lindsay Davenport. It was her first Grand Slam semifinal in nine years. She won her ninth career title at Luxembourg and finished the year ranked No. 17.
Capriati put all the pieces together in 2001, winning her first two Grand Slam singles crowns and reaching the No. 1 ranking in the world. At the Australian Open, she beat the three previous champions (No.1 Martina Hingis, No. 2 Lindsay Davenport and No. 4 Seles) to become the lowest seed (no. 12) to ever win a Grand Slam title in the Open Era. The victory pushed her back into the Top 10 (No. 7 ) for the first time in seven years, the longest absence from the Top 10 in WTA history. She proceeded to win the Family Circle Cup and took the title at Roland Garros, knocking off Serena Williams, Hingis and then Kim Clijsters in a marathon 1-6, 6-4, 12-10 duel. She reached the semifinals of Wimbledon and the US Open and ended Hingis’ 73-week run atop the rankings when she took over No. 1 in October. She finished at No. 2 with a 56-14 record.
She repeated as Australian Open champion in 2002, defeating three Top 7 seeds, coming back from down 4-6, 0-4 to defeat Hingis. She reached three other finals as well as the semifinals at the French Open and finished the year ranked third.
In 2003, he finished sixth, losing in the first round of the Australian Open after winning the title the two years before. She reached the semifinals of the US Open, and was two points away from the final on 10 different occasions but could not close out Justine Henin-Hardenne. She also suffered a back injury that caused her to miss time in 2004. At Wimbledon, she lost in just 45 minutes to Williams (6-1, 6-1), her most lopsided loss ever. She reached the semifinals at the US Open again, defeating Williams in the quarterfinals. The flu forced her to miss more time, and she failed to qualify for the season-ending Championships for the first time since 1999.
In 2005, injuries continued to plague her. She withdrew from Sydney and the Australian Open, andunderwent surgery in late January, missing the rest of the season with rehab. She was unable to come back from her injuries, retiring soon after.
Career Grand Slam Titles
Singles (3): Australian Open (2001, 2002); French Open (2001).
Year-End Singles Rankings: 1990 – 8th ; 1991 - 6th ; 1992 - ; 1993 - ; 1994 - ; 1995 - NR ; 1996 – 24th ; 1997 – 66th ; 1998 – 101st ; 1999 – 23rd; 2000 – 14th; 2001 – 2nd; 2002 – 3rd; 2003 – 6th; 2004 – 10th.
Personal
Was named Sports Illustrated Sports Woman of the Year in 2001, as well as Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year and Reuters Sportswoman of the Year. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked Capriati 36th in its list of the 40 best players of the Open Era. In June of 2010, was taken to a Florida hospital for treatment of an overdose of prescription medication. Has been revealed she dated adult film star Dale DaBone from 2003 to 2009.
| | |